Tag Archives: classic car

Fall Event Entries Opened!

Are you looking for another driving adventure? Good news! Our Fall Driving experiences are ready to go, and the entry forms are now live! Don’t miss your chance to join one of our September Driving events, spaces can fill up quickly and entry lists are limited.

The Hagerty Fall Classic is our Washington/Oregon event, starting September 16th 2016 and ending three days later on September 18th, 2016. This year we’ll be starting in Snoqualmie Washington, and we’ve cooked up roughly 700 miles of twisty, mountain backroads and highways for you to enjoy. This year marks our fifth year for a West-Coast Fall driving adventure, so you can be sure we’ve got some celebration plans in store for the event. Full event information, including entry forms are now posted on the Hagerty Fall Classic Event Page!

Our second September Event happens on the other side of North America, in beautiful Ontario Canada. The Hagerty Maple Mille is running September 23rd to 25th 2016, and explores all new new roads in the Ontario countryside. This year we’ll be starting in Peterborough Ontario, and our three day adventure has roughly 900km of phenomenal backroads and byways for our guests to explore. This year’s route book is being planned with optional road additions, which will bring the total mileage up to 1200km for guests who absolutely love the twisties. This late fall event is late enough for quiet roads without tourist traffic, but just in time for the early fall colours. Full event details, including the entry forms, are now posted on the Hagerty Maple Mille Event Page!

2016 Hagerty Silver Summit – Day Three Photos

Day Three of the Hagerty Silver Summit opened with sunshine, a fantastic breakfast, and a slightly stressed organizer. The clutch cable, you see, had snapped just as I arrived the night before in Mt Crested Butte. With no spare on board, there was only one option…drive without. Park the car? Trailer the car? These are not valid options, where is the adventure!?! At home, which is sea level, the car will roll on the starter in first and get going without any issues. Up at 8,000+ feet, however, was going to be an adventure indeed.

With the Driver’s meeting concluded, some of our group stood with cameras and video cameras. The whole group waited for my car to leave first, so as to give me the best chance of getting going without impediment. As I reached down to turn the key and see if it would go, the real reason for my stress was finally here. I wasn’t worried about driving without a clutch, but I was worried about getting it going the first try with an audience! We rolled for a moment, it coughed and sputtered and then suddenly the rally bug came alive and day three began in earnest!

Soon we were traveling along, below the posted speed limit so the rest of the group could catch up. We drove from Crested Butte to Gunnison with Erik and Andy in the Oldsmobile 442, another car which was not expected to arrive at the finish. Coming out of Gunnison, West along Highway 50, we lead a pack of Porsches and a Pontiac GTO before letting them pass for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

The route book took us along the North Rim of the Canyon on CO-92. As the road winds and twists its way along the Canyon edge, you get the unique opportunity to see your fellow enthusiasts as they motor along ahead and behind you. With almost zero traffic, and the sounds of our classic machinery around us, it was very easy to imagine a time when the roads were only filled with classic cars.

With the tight twists for the sports cars taken care of, it was North through Crawford, Hotchkiss and Paonia on touring roads best suited for big engines. We then wound our way through Bowie and Somerset, literally driving underneath the Coal-Mining equipment on the highway. We then wound through red canyons cut by rivers, and finally broke through the West Elk mountains via the 8,755 ft high McLure Pass.

Our group gathered to end the day just shy of Glenwood Springs, at the Ironbridge Golf Course. Our parking lot party, and following lunch was no longer a gathering of entrants, but rather a gathering of friends. Following lunch, we awarded the traditional Classic Car Adventures awards. The Macgyver award, for best fix on the event, was awarded to Jacob and Ross for their record fuel filter swap times. The Hard Luck Award was given to Kevin Lewis, as he had to switch from his gorgeous Bug-Eye Sprite to a rather modern looking S2000 when the transmission in the Sprite died. And the Hagerty Spirit of the Summit award? That was given to Nathan York, of Oklahoma City. Nathan heard about the event from Randy Kaplin (Spirit runner-up!), and promptly began roping a whole crew of cars from Oklahoma into joining him. Sharing a love of driving and adventure is a sure way to earn a nomination for a Spirit Award!

Sadly though, it seems all good things must come to an end. After an amazing weekend of great cars, amazing roads, brilliant weather and fantastic friends…it was time to say goodbye. The 2016 Hagerty Silver Summit was complete, but not before we were asked for the 2017 dates. It would seem our Colorado Family is all ready to gather again next year, and hopefully introduce a whole new wave of enthusiasts to our brand of adventure. We can’t wait, it’s only been a few hours and we miss our friends already.

Andrew Snucins and Dan Evans were able to snag some amazing early Day Three photos before rushing to the airport for their flights home. A preview of today’s work: [print_gllr id=3733]

2016 Hagerty Silver Summit – Day Two Preview

Day one of the Hagerty Silver Summit was dominated by tight, twisting roads with multiple switchbacks going back and forth. With fantastic weather and new driving friends, the group awoke excited for what day two would bring. The Driver’s meeting was held outside in the sunshine, with a promise of perfect driving weather ahead…

Normally, when we dismiss the driver’s meeting there is a small version of a LeMans start as driver’s and co-driver’s try not to look like they are running for first position on the road. Our group today, however, was interestingly different. Despite cars being warmed up before the driver’s meeting, despite bags packed and washroom breaks taken, the group wasn’t jockeying for first spot on the road. No, instead it seemed road-groups were forming, everyone making sure each car was ready before heading out.

Today’s route was designed with the ‘bigger’ cars, in both size and engine, in mind. We looked for highways and byways which we consider to be great ‘touring roads’. They meander through the countryside, offering elevation changes and sweeping corners. Rather than rowing between 2nd and 3rd gear in the switchbacks, driver’s were predominantly moving between 4th and 5th gear throughout the day.

We certainly didn’t forget about the twisties though! Each hour of faster touring brought a section of twisting corners or a mountain pass to challenge both car and driver alike. Whether it was carving corners through the canyons on CO-114, or climbing one of the many mountain passes…the route found something for everyone to enjoy.

Especially enjoyable today was the way in which the whole event seemed to spend time hanging out with each other. The first group stop I came upon in the Rally Beetle was at the summit of Monarch Pass. Here, over 11,000ft up, a group of cars were building snowmen from the snow on the side of the road. We had our usual meet ups at the Petrol Stations, but it was in the town of Del Norte that the group really found a bond.

The first cars to arrive at Del Norte decided on an outdoor patio and wood fired pizza for lunch. Just as they were finishing their meal, the next wave of cars arrived. A third wave arrived, just in time to see the first set of cars off. Just as the 2nd and 3rd wave were preparing to leave, the final set of cars from our group pulled in. Throughout the course of an hour the entire event enjoyed a well organized, but completely spontaneous, lunch together.

The afternoon continued our mix of touring roads and mountain passes, climbing to over 10,000 feet on Spring Creek Pass, and then over 11,000 feet on Slumgullion Pass. In the late afternoon, climbing through one of the passes, the view suddenly opens up and the West Elk Mountains, completely snow capped, suddenly dominate the horizon. For the rest of the day we drove towards them, eventually arriving in Mt. Crested Butte for the finish of day two.

A preview gallery of photos from Andrew Snucins Photography is available below:

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2016 Hagerty Silver Summit – Day One

Typically, the week of an event, I stop watching the weather reports. By time our first driver’s meeting begins, it’s too late to worry about it. The weather is, what the weather is. Last year in Colorado, however, taught me differently. No where else in the world does the saying “don’t like the weather, wait five minutes” ring more true. 2” of snow on our first day last year wasn’t what I was hoping for…so this year, I’ve been watching the weather like a hawk.

By the time this morning’s Driver’s meeting began, I knew today would be a weather hit. True, there was a threat of rain for part of the afternoon, but we’d be in the lower valleys by that point, and snow free for certain. With a final check of the road reports, I opened the morning’s participant meeting.

By the time we departed the Hagerty Collector Car Insurance Denver office, the anticipation and excitement for what lay ahead was palatable. Right off the bat, half the entrants turned right instead of left…Yup, this was going to be just as fun as all our other events! With a quick correction, or meeting up around the block, we were off onto the first highway into the mountains.

Today’s morning route took the group through Golden, up Mt Evans and over Squaw pass into Evergreen. We enjoyed gorgeous pine forests, tight switchbacks front range mountain passes. The morning route took the group by some snow, to remind them of our opening year, but fortunately this year it was just on the side of the road and not falling! After passing through Evergreen, we explored twisty low roads and then climbed up towards this historic mining town of Victor, before descending down into Canon City for our evening finish. Along the way we found B-roads and C-roads that even our lifetime Colorado residents didn’t know existed.

The day wasn’t without it’s mechanical difficulties. Kevin and Mary’s beautiful bug-eye Sprite decided to give them only 4th gear in Evergreen, and unfortunately won’t be repairable this weekend. They’ll be meeting us tomorrow in their “other Sprite”, cleverly disguised as a Honda S2000. The Mercedes guys seem to be having fuel issues, but suspected problems before the event mean they’re traveling with a trunk full of filters and simply change out at regular intervals. Duncan’s Mustang has a curious case of vapour lock. Curious, because it carries a fuel-injected modern drivetrain! Otherwise we haven’t heard of any problems, and the two cars we anticipated to have issues (the beetle and the 442) are humming along nicely.

No trip to Canon City is complete without a run up, and down, Skyline Drive. With 800 foot drops on either side, this 1903 road follows the spine of a ridge and gives a most unique perspective of the city as you arrive. Upon arrival, it seemed dinner wasn’t that important. Everyone was more interested in sharing stories, debating the best road option, or discussing the details of cars and friendships. Never before have we had to encourage folks to get up and join the buffet line, usually it’s a stampede!

A preview of photos from Andrew Snucins Photography is available below:

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2016 Spring Thaw Registration

The registration opening date has been set! If you’re interested in being one of our guests on the 8th running of the Hagerty Spring Thaw, you’ll want to mark your calendar! Registration forms will be posted on the website in the early (wee) hours of Sunday January 10th. Registration officially opens at 10am. Please be sure you’ve read the event supplementary regulations before submitting an application.

As per previous years, applications are accepted via mail, courier and in-person at the CCA Squamish office. A number of spots have been reserved for guests using mail or courier to submit their application.

The Hagerty Spring Thaw sells out every year, so we definitely encourage applying early. So far, in eight years, we’ve managed to get every guest on the waiting list an open space…so don’t be scared to enter if you see things filling up. It’s never surprising to hear a restoration isn’t going as quickly as planned, and a space subsequently becomes available.

2015 Hagerty Maple Mille – Day Three Photo Preview

Whew! What a weekend! The weather was simply stunning. I’m thoroughly sunburnt from driving in a Convertible most of the weekend…and deaf from from driving the ’65 Mustang. The deaf part is probably my fault, it’s hard not to continually romp on the ‘loud pedal’, when the car sounds so good!

Day Three began, as per usual, with a driver’s meeting outside the parking lot. After sharing jokes and thank you’s, we got down to the nitty gritty; Construction and road paving had played havoc with our plans for day three. The day’s route map (found in the route book) was pulled out, and the problems highlighted. Just as the co-driver’s were readying their pens for a tonne of note taking, Dave pulled out a ‘route book supplement’ for all the participants. The route book supplement included a new map, new route and our usual style of notes and directions. Sleep? Organizer’s don’t need sleep! All kidding aside, we tossed a coffee between the front seats and embarked South towards the finish.

Today’s route, a touch shortened due to construction, wound it’s way down highway 11 with views of the Canadian Shield and the fall colours starting to emerge. Secondary roads and strategic loops took our group off the main highway for some great touring roads. As the finish loomed closer, one final road surprise was waiting. The summer camp Dave worked at in his youth was located next to a highlight in Muskoka’s road collection. Tight turns, elevation changes, lakeside views and not another car in sight. Just as the road straightened out, we turned into Golf Course and parked for our finish.

The golf-course fairway, concour d’elegance, style of parking was a first for Classic Car Adventures…and a fitting way to finish our first event in Ontario Canada.

Here are some Day Three photo previews, courtesy of Ralph Saulnier Photography:

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2015 Hagerty Maple Mille – Day Two Preview

Glorious weather welcomed us for day two of the Hagerty Maple Mille. The group descended onto a figure eight of Muskoka Loops, before heading North, and then East to North Bay Ontario. The hotel check-in staff couldn’t believe we took eight hours to get from Parry Sound to North Bay, as the trip is normally just 1.5 hours by the fastest route! But the fastest route would miss favourites such as Muskoka 632 to Port Sandfield, the Bunny Trail from Dunchurch and of course lunch at the Red Door Bakery.

Throughout the day we began to see the fall colours taking shape, and there is nothing quite like rolling hills, twisting turns and classic cars against a backdrop of yellows, red and orange.

Once again it seemed that everyone wanted to try someone else’s car. Cars, keys, seats and co-drivers were being traded so often it was hard to keep track. At one point, as a group of cars pulled into a gas station one owner was heard to exclaim “wait, if you’re here in a Triumph…where is my Mustang!?!” Eventually all the cars, drivers and co-driver’s arrived at our hotel and combinations returned to matching the entry list.

A preview of photos, courtesy of Ralph Saulnier:

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