Epic drive - western MA & southern VT - 7/8 Sunday
 

Who: FT86 (BRZ/FRS) owners
What: Epic drive
Where: Orange, MA Dunkin Donuts/Shell Station
When: Sunday 7/8 2:00 PM (drivers meeting @ 2:10, we leave promptly @ 2:15)
How:

• Optional: If possible, please bring a GMRS radio that supports private codes (see post 15 for details).
• Route map and details will be provided at the meet.
• It's setup in stages so that people can break away at spots if they can't stay for the whole thing.
• Pace will be moderate. The last thing I want to do is get anyone in trouble and these roads will be fun even at reasonable speeds (also, there will be opportunities for brisk little surges without doing anything unsafe/scary).
• FYI for people that drove with me during the Lancaster meet: those roads were nothing compared to what I have in mind.

Start off where we left off. Nice.

I like the sound of that :thumbup:

Oh and I'll definitely be past the 1K barrier by then so :burnrubber:

Maybe? So far nothing is going on that day.

Looks good as of now!

Definitely interested in coming!!

I'll try to make it. Sounds awesome

Tentatively in. Will confirm as we get closer.

Stupid work....

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This one's a possibility for me. I'll put it on the calendar!

Oh, how long do you expect this to go?

What route are you doing? I did this one a few weeks ago and it was a blast:

http://goo.gl/maps/RQ0l

The route I have planned is 146 miles with several break away points for anyone who can't stay for all of it. I figure that with a couple short stops, we'll end in Greenfield at 5:30-6:00 PM and get some dinner.

I'm not posting the route until the drive, but I will say that our paths share over 40 miles :D

BTW, I used to have an SV650. Great bike.

Just a note before you come to the meet spot make sure you stop and gas up!!! It would suck to be the one person to stop the group mid-drive because you forgot to fuel up.

:thumbsup:

Update: I initially suggested that people bring FRS or GMRS radios, but changed it to just GMRS because of the increased range. If anyone already has an FRS radio and doesn't want to shell out for a GMRS radio, bring what you have and we'll figure it out.

As mentioned previously, GMRS technically requires an FCC license. Supposedly it's not enforced (I've read that 1 in 1000 GMRS operators are licensed), but I applied for one anyway.

Good advice, though we're meeting at a gas station so no worries in this case :D

I moved specifics about GMRS radios to clean up the main post (which links here):

1. Models range from 1 watt to 2 watts (usually, moar = better)
2. Technically, you're supposed to get an FCC license to operate GMRS, but you can still buy a radio without one and they're backwards compatible with FRS (0.5 watts)
3. These are widely available at Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, etc
4. A headset might be a good idea too
5. If you don't bring a radio, no worries... it's not required for the drive (it's just a suggestion)

Count me in. I find excuses to tear up and down 32 (tully lake to richmond) as well as Northfield to Warwick, oh and NH 137 (Jaffrey to Han****) most weekends anyway. I look forward to seeing where your route will take us.

Mostly look forward to meeting forum members in person :thumbsup:



edit : really ? Han**** NH gets censored ??

Happy 4th everyone!

Roll call for Sunday:

blalor (possibly)
Deslock
M-17 (maybe)
MannyO
NRGBalanced (tentative)
Spaceywilly (will try)
speedracer38 (interested)
taosracer
WRXGuy1

Also, I'm doing a dry run of most of the planned route after work tomorrow (Thu, 7/5). I suspect just about everyone is too far away and/or working too late, but PM me if you want to join me on Thu. Going with someone would allow me to not only check road conditions, but also test the radios I got yesterday.

:burnrubber:

What time thurs. ? I could make it to Orange by 6ish.

PM sent.

You can put me in as definitely coming :thumbsup:

Picking up a radio tomorrow or Saturday (cheapest FRS/GMRS I can get my hands on).

Really looking forward to this drive! :happyanim:

@Deslock: Do you have scenic photo stops along the route? After seeing the white mountain pics, I feel this is a perfect chance for :coolpics:

Well I decided to not get the BRZ this past weekend. Oh well. :(

So now I'm thinking it might be weird to have a Legacy "amongst" the BRZ's and FRS's. :bellyroll:

However, I could help out in the photo taking department. :popcorn:

But I'll be sure whether I can make it or not by this Saturday.

Sweet, the updated list is:

blalor (possibly)
Deslock
M-17 (maybe)
MannyO
NRGBalanced (tentative)
Spaceywilly (will try)
speedracer38
taosracer
WRXGuy1

Those shots from the white mountains run were excellent! The mountains we're going by aren't as majestic, but there are a couple spots where we should be able to take some nice photos :D

I'm in for this Sunday, barring any horrible news from the dealer tomorrow. I'm taking it in to have an A/C compressor squeak and a suspension noise looked at.

I'm 90% sure I'm going Sunday.

Updated List:

blalor (possibly)
Deslock
M-17 (maybe)
MannyO
NRGBalanced
Spaceywilly (will try)
speedracer38
taosracer
WRXGuy1

@taosracer, @Sony, and I did a dry run of most of the route yesterday (and I went through more of it after we all spilt up). It was fun and the roads seem in good condition (it's a nice mix of tight technical parts and smooth sweepers). I tried out my Motorola 53725 Headset and VOX worked well.

FYI, I added a drivers meeting at 2:10 PM to the original post.

See everyone on Sunday!

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...8.031-keep.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...18.56-keep.jpg

Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it. I've gotta head to NYC today for a family thing and won't be headed back North until Sunday morning. Have a great drive, and I'll try to catch up for the next one!

Ok, I am now a definite go for Sunday! Weather looks decent, a chance of isolated thunderstorms but we can watch the radar and plan accordingly.

@FT-86GOD, I think you may have posted here by mistake :D

Sorry you can't make it, @blalor. Weather looks good for the drive.

LOL my bad.....

I'm still down, weather is going to be perfect

Leaving CT now....see everyone soon!

Same here. Leaving Lowell now.

I'm so jelly... wish I could have come. Please tell me this is going to happen again soon!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Didn't make it back from the wedding until now...oh well. Next time!

What an incredible afternoon!!! That was by far the most enjoyment I've had in my BRZ since I took delivery of the car. THANK YOU Adam for setting up the drive and being a great leader for our crew you did a great job :happy0180: In total we had 4 WRB and 1 SWP BRZs :thumbup:

Just wondering... before I post pictures tomorrow, would you guys prefer that I censor out your plates?

And yeah it was nice to meet Speedracer38, NRGBalanced, Deslock, MannyO, and WRXGuy1 and their BRZ's out for a good day of spirited driving.

And I must say I payed good close attention to the car's capability on the road and they look liked the real deal out there.

And thank you Adam for setting this up and letting me tag along.

Makes no difference to me. I know you took a ton of pics so you'd have a lot of work to do to edit them all.

Ditto. Nice to meet you too, M-17.

+1...Thanks for the warning about the SUV cop...even though he was probably texting :bonk:

epic drive was epic
 

That was a hell of a lot of fun! Was nice to see @MannyO and @NRGBalanced again, and to meet @M-17, @speedracer38, and @WRXGuy1. Thanks for joining me on this leisurely Sunday drive.

Apart from a few radio glitches during the first leg, one wrong turn during the 2nd leg (oops), and switching restaurants for dinner (due to the wait), there were no issues. We got stuck behind some especially slow traffic here and there, but that's to be expected.

@M-17 (and anyone else posting photos): It doesn't matter to me if you edit out my plate or not.

@Chewie4299: I'm sure it'll happen again (perhaps next month, but at the very least we'll have to do a Fall foliage cruise).

I had a blast as well, can't wait to do it again soon! It was a big help that you had everything planned out in advance, thanks for all your hard work Adam!