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Rush to Gold Bridge – Day Three

As the Rush to Gold Bridge awoke for the third and final day, it was bitter sweet. We had one more day of fantastic roads to enjoy with each other, but it was the last day. Great friends would be saying goodbye before dinner. A couple of our guests, or their cars rather, decided that they should do that earlier!

The Mercedes of Barb and Edwin had developed a mysterious feeling in the steering coming into Hope the night before. A worn tie-rod end was discovered…not unsafe, but the wise move was to head home directly instead of joining the route. Paul’s Saab 96, which earlier had one valve badly out of adjustment, had now reached “horribly out of adjustment”. Paul and Tony would limp it home, discovering once they got home that the push rod decided to leave the rocker assembly entirely, and simply enjoy the ride inside the valve cover. Not one to miss a party, they bee-lined it north to meet the group at the finish.

The rest of us headed off after the driver’s meeting for a west-coast favourite. We travelled up Highway one, into Lytton for a coffee and then over to Lillooet for the traditional gas stop at Lightfoot Gas. Ten years ago, when we started running classic car events, the staff at Lightfoot were always shocked to see a group of classic cars depending upon the pumps. Now, they laugh and say hello to folks who have become regular faces throughout each motoring season.

Departing Lightfoot gas for Pemberton, one must traverse the “Duffey Lake Road”. Years ago this was a gravel gem, but paving in the 90’s has created a brilliant mountain road. We climbed from Lillooet, with gorgeous views of Seton Lake, and then over the divide between BC’s interior desert and the coastal rainforests. As you pass Duffey Lake, towering peaks fill your windshield ahead, and after passing alpine meadow after meadow, it’s into the descent. Harrowing for anyone driving an RV or loaded vehicle, the descent into Mount Currie is a driving enthusiasts dream. The speed limit is 60km, and if you like both your brakes and staying on the pavement, you’d be wise to heed the signs!

As we rolled into the finish at the Black Squirrel Restaurant, it was nothing but smiles. The Duffey, even with a light touch or rain, is far too good to not beam when you’re done. We told exaggerated stories of our tarmac and gravel adventures to one and other, discussed the ideal car we should purchase for next year’s event, and simply enjoyed our final meal together…but before we could depart, there must be some awards!

Taking home the Hard Luck Award was certainly Paul and Tony in the Saab 96. The cylinder head (at minimum) is coming out of the engine bay for some serious overhaul, and from experience we know that only leads to more items needing serious work.

The McGyver award, generally reserved for the best fix, was given to John Hinde for the astounding method he used to ensure his Intermeccanica could finish not only day one, but the entire event. “Astounding?”, you might ask? Well, yes. You see, when it seemed as though a fix might be hopeless, or certainly not forthcoming in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere. John knew just how to encourage the team of friends trying to solve the problem. “I bet there is cold beer at the restaurant tonight,” he’d mention, “I’m definitely going to have to buy some rounds.” Ah yes, nothing like a little encouragement to get the fix happening! Lying half under a car in a puddle of oil, sun beating down on my legs, that cold beer was sounding like very good motivation indeed!

The Spirit of the Rush award is reserved for the person or persons who best shows what it is we’re trying to do here at Classic Car Adventures. Traditionally, on the Rush to Gold Bridge, we prepare a stunning award from a 12” genuine gold-panning pan. This year’s award was carefully packed into the Mini, and made it all the way to our first road-side stop where we did a wheel bearing adjustment. A couple of days later I asked Mark “hey, have you seen the Spirit Award?” We couldn’t recall when we had last seen it, but a review of my phone’s photos told the tale. Mark, you see, had placed the award on the roof to get to the tools. That is where the award was last seen…neither of us put it back into the mini’s trunk.

For this year’s Spirit of the Rush award, we thought it appropriate to honour a gentleman who’s often working on the CCA team, and thus isn’t really eligible for an award. On the Rush to Gold Bridge, however, he takes a full vacation from his restoration shop, a full vacation from his usual role as sweep on our events, and this year invited his son to join him. His love for classics is infectious, and his knowledge across makes and models almost unbelievable. One minute his tuning weber carburetors, the next he’s fixing a Porsche headlight, and moments later identifying why a door doesn’t quite fit right. “If we just tweak it here…” and suddenly it fits better than new. And so, this year, we presented Robert Maynard with the Spirit of the Rush award…hastily remade with a roadside Pie Plate and a spare decal. Hmmm…maybe we should take that McGyver award back?

With the awards presented, there was just one final task before our departure. All weekend our guests had been trying on my Roue Watch, asking about the various styles, and imagining what one might look like on their own wrists. In Colorado, we drew a single car number and presented the two watches to driver and co-driver. For the Rush to Gold Bridge, we decided to draw individual names, and see where they might end up. Jim McLagan and Paul Westwick were both excited to head home sporting new watches on their wrist!

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2018 Rush to Gold Bridge – Day Two

On each of our classic car adventures, it’s not uncommon to see cars being worked on in the parking lot. Most cars get a quick check over at the end of the day to confirm things are alright, and others get a little deeper into their tool box. Our Spring events seem to have more parking lot fettling than our fall events, but the Rush to Gold Bridge sure tries to upset the scales!

When John & Marci’s Intermeccania arrived to our Friday night hotel, I was expecting that they would need a quick inspection of our roadside oil pan repair. Instead, they required a full front end inspection to see how much damage hitting a deer at 70kph had done! I guess bad luck comes in multiples, and John might be looking over his shoulder the rest of the weekend. Fortunately, with the exception of some scratches and new fur accents, the car was relatively unscathed.

Paul and Tony were burning the midnight oil adjusting the valves on the Saab 96, it seems that while most were within .005” from the factory specs, one valve was almost 0.25” out of spec. Hmmm…that is going to need some careful attention this weekend! Helen and Chase discovered their front wheel bearing was a little loose…about 8 full turns of the adjusting nut loose, but fortunately that was caught right before leaving on Saturday Morning.

Perhaps the most fun, however, was the Lancia Beta. After filling up with fuel Robert returned to the hotel to discover it didn’t want to run, and certainly wanted to backfire out the exhaust sounding like a 30-6 hunting rifle! Usually a CCA event books out the entire hotel, and morning tuning sessions aren’t a problem…but this time we were all rather apologetic while the Lancia (and a failed condensor) were sorted out.

With everyone finally running, it was off to the town of Hedley via a favourite of ours, Old Hedley Road. Despite the 60 km/h speed limit, the fresh pavement and twisting curves make for a wonderful driving experience, and the perfect start to a day of motoring.

In the town of Hedley, the gravel route turned off onto Hedley-Nickel Plate road, and immediately started a steep switch back climb up the mountain. Given the challenges of yesterday’s gravel road, I was surprised to find out that, once again, every car on the event had chosen to do the gravel route. We were rewarded with a freshly graded climb, and stunning views of the switch back route once you arrive at the top.

Originally a pack-mule route, the road has seen little changes on the climb over the decades, but remains surprisingly smooth given the grade. The road eventually pops out a the Nickel Plate Gold mine, before becoming a gravel highway to the top of Apex Mountain. Along the way you pass historic cemeteries and the foundations from ghost towns, if you know where to look.

Apex Mountain is one of B.C.’s hidden skiing gems, and the route book suggested exploring the site to check out the ski hills. In the summer you can drive all the way to the top, where some guests found historic fire equipment. With exploration and views complete, we began the paved ascent down into the Valley, where we hit another CCA favourite paved road. Green Mountain road has all the twists and turns to entertain, and is sufficiently off the beaten path to give you the impression you’re the only one who’s driven it this week. As we got closer to B.C.’s wine country, the group split. Half of us took the gravel to Keremeos, while the other half went to explore some winery’s in Oliver. Eventually, after an afternoon of travels, we met up at our overnight location of Hope B.C.

293 Wallace was our dinner host for the evening, intending to be a culinary surprise for our guests from the Organizer. The tables were turned, however, as the guests conspired to host an impromptu birthday celebration for the organizer! The Rush to Gold Bridge, you see, was originally “Dave’s Birthday Touring Adventure”. Long before it became an official CCA event, the idea was to simply get out on my birthday weekend and enjoy a car challenge with friends. Over the course of a few years, the idea for the event morphed into what has become the Rush to Gold Bridge. With the addition of “Happy Birthday”, and two birthday cakes, our planned four course meal became a five course meal featuring an extra dessert course for the entire group!

Eventually we retired to bed, stomachs full and minds full of anticipation for our final day of driving, and more favourite roads to end the event.

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Hagerty Silver Summit – Day Two

When we awoke in Telluride, it was to clear skies and incredible views. Towering peaks of granite, lightly snow topped, rising up beyond our condos to blue skies. Below, an eclectic selection of classic cars awaiting more twisty roads. My Instagram started pinging updates at about 7am, a number of entrants were posting photos of their morning coffee along with a classic car and the mountain view. Collectively we all had the same message; “a wonderful thing to wake up to”.

With the driver’s meeting over, we began our descent from Telluride into a route which would take us from rugged rocky mountains with towering pine trees, through desert scrubland and into red rock canyons carved by years of water and river movements. While travelled just 366 miles over the day, it was like changing worlds completely. The Canyons surrounding Moab seemingly having zero connection to the peaks of Telluride..

Our group explored Hole N” the Wall, a famous 50’s road-side stop that still holds all the charm and leaves the impression of stepping back in time. Some toured Arches National park, taking in the wonder of massive stone arches formed by wind and water erosion. Some enjoyed Colorado National Monument, a twisting road with breath-taking views of stone spires, coke ovens and other geological formations. We had shared the same roads, but enjoyed different experiences throughout the day.

Dinner tonight was a gathering of friends, a chance to share stories of the day, and to show off plaid purchases in the past year. Apparently we now have an unofficial “Plaid Party” on Saturday nights! Dave’s love of flannel and plaid is clearly rubbing off of the Colorado natives. As dinner wound to a close, tools were borrowed and parts were sourced, and the party continued outside in the parking lot. A Datsun was getting some cooling fan work, a beetle was needing a hand brake adjustment, another Datsun was getting some cosmetic adjustments. A 914 hosted the “roof top bar”, and friendships (new and old) were celebrated.

As we drove today, through incredible views and changing scenery, I was struck by how different the areas were, our cars were, and our different walks of life. I enjoyed the Rally Bug as Erik Bergman, Jacob Fielding, and Ross Nellums all took a turn at driving it. Each had a slightly different take on the car, but collectively could agree why I love it so much. As we drove along, discussing work, cars and life…I one again enjoyed that events like these are so much more than the cars, the roads, or the scenery. The thing that makes the Hagerty Silver Summit so special is the people.

Enthusiasts gathered for one single reason; to enjoy classic car motoring on fantastic roads. Does it get any better than this?

(Special thanks to Andrew Snucins and Dan Evans for another day of absolutely incredible photography.)

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2018 Hagerty Spring Thaw – Day Two and Three

Saturday morning arrived early, very early, for everyone involved. Entrants were offered two options for the morning; attend the 8:15am driver’s meeting, or check-in with the organizers at the 11am ferry crossing. And so, as I headed towards the lobby for coffee at 8am, I wasn’t expecting to meet with more than a handful of guests. I was shocked to discover, the lobby couldn’t hold the crowd.

Spring Thaw entrants sure are a hearty bunch! If a six hour highway closure couldn’t break their spirits, an early morning and little sleep was nothing more than an opportunity for more jokes and laughter. The sun was shining, the mountains views were incredible, and we had twisty roads ahead of us.

Departing Revelstoke, we headed south on highway 23 towards the Shelter-Bay / Galena Bay ferry. The road is sparsely populated, curves wonderfully above the banks of Upper Arrow Lake, and offers mountain views worthy of the trip alone. Ferry trips, with classic car friends, are a special experience. Rarely do we get the opportunity to hang out as a large group mid-day, and a short wait for the ferry and a cruise across the lake is the perfect opportunity. A little further south, and the town of Nakusp hosted us for lunch in multiple local eateries.

Following lunch, it was my favourite highway in all of British Columbia. The number 6 between Needles and Lumby may not have the elevation changes of the Duffy Lake Road, but it delivers a unique blend of lake side curves, canyon carving, and mountain switchbacks. From Lumby, it’s was onto Vernon, and then a CCA favourite of Barnhartvale Road into Kamloops.

Arriving at the Hotel 540, we were greeted by the doorman and whisked below to the Underground Parking, completely reserved for our entire group. A brief parking lot party was enjoyed before dinner, where we packed two nights of presentations into a single dinner. Our guests joining us for their fifth Spring Thaw were welcomed into “The Five Year Patch” club, and following that we honoured those who were earning their “Ten Year Patch”. Exclusive Ten-Year T-shirts were gifted to the group by Calye Lacefield and her company JBM Press, and then we moved onto the give-aways. Each year the guests on the Hagerty Spring Thaw are treated to a prize table of gifts donated by Dave Koszegi and the Dave Team Realty group, RWM & Co. and Eautomobilia.ca (Ted Wilkinson’s shop). Their table-spilling donations were added to by Brightsource.ca and P&R Trucking to make a truly memorable collection of goodies. We had Monaco F1 memorabilia, exclusive wine selections, a Jim Clark print, tools galore and a collection of collectable models worthy of the finest living room display.

As the party upstairs was winding down, the party in the parking garage was just getting started. In some corners, the focus was on repairs needed for the next day. A Jaguar was receiving new gaskets to stem an oil leak. Volunteers were sourced to de-bead a tire for a tube swap. In other corners, it was simply a time to share stories and admire the cars in attendance. Hotel staff joined the fun, asking questions and taking photos of the cars to send to friends. “You won’t believe what we have staying here tonight…a Delorean!”

We may have started the day on little sleep, but knowing we had just three days to spend together meant we’d be taking all the time we could to enjoy the time with our fellow car-nut friends.

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The final day of the Hagerty Spring Thaw would bring a favourite route for all involved. Kamloops to Pemberton and only mean one thing, we’d get to drive Marble Canyon and onto the Duffy Lake Road. The run began dry, and halfway through the Duffy Lake road became damp with a slight bit of rain…or almost snow-flakes…depending on the elevation. We travelled in packs, enjoying the final curves and twists in mixed groups of cars. Where else can you find a VW beetle mixing it up with a Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF, a Datsun 240, a Mini and a Ferrari Dino? Only on a Classic Car Adventure’s event, and the mixes were truly eclectic!

With the final descent into Pemberton complete, we headed to a local golf course for the final lunch and awards ceremony. Adam Trinder, and his rear-engined motorcycle-powered Mini were the unfortunate recipient of the “Hard-Luck Award”. A fun run over the Duffy was cancelled by a loss of drive, and Adam rode home to Vancouver on the back of a tow-truck. Scott Stanuil and Sterling Sobczak earned the McGyver award for their ingenious radiator fix on day-one. A rock pierced a serious hole in the radiator of their Datsun, but JB-Weld, aluminum tape, solder and vice-grips were all used in the repair that got them into town and a local radiator shop.

The Hagerty Spirit of the Thaw award was renamed for 2018, honouring the memory of David Ellis, a five-time Spring Thaw entrant. The Spirit Award is saved for the entrant(s) who best demonstrate both the enthusiasm for classic car ownership, and a desire to share that enthusiasm with other people. This year, the list of people worthy of our finest award was long, but in the end there could be only one winner. Arriving upon the stricken motorcycle-powered mini, our honoured entrant could have simply waved and offered to call Hagerty Roadside Assistance. Instead, not one to leave a man behind, Morgan Hay opened his trunk and offered assistance in the best way he could. You might say say Morgan and Adam were tied together by a love of curves and mountain passes. You could say Morgan reached out, and pulled Adam from the brink of disaster…and a long wait for a tow truck. You should definitely wonder why they remained linked for the downhill section, vs simply coasting it out at a slightly different spacing! Regardless, Morgan would not leave Adam and Bob Trinder stranded behind!

And so, for his willingness to put his own Duffy drive aside and render the best assistance possible to a fellow entrant, Morgan Hay is the first recipient of the David Ellis Spirit of the Thaw Award.

With the event closed for another year, we begin to dream of the 2019 Hagerty Spring Thaw…but in the meantime, Andrew Snucins and Samantha Snucins have a wonderful preview of images below. We’ll post up a link to the full photo gallery as soon as they’ve had some sleep, and the editing is completed!

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2017 Sea to Sky Thanksgiving Run

This morning Vancouver classic car enthusiasts woke up to blue skies and sunshine, and thus a huge crowd of classic cars met up in North Vancouver for the annual Sea to Sky Thanksgiving Run. After a short parking-lot show and shine, while we waited for everyone to arrive, there was a quick driver’s meeting and we were off!

The group enjoys a drive North on the famous Sea to Sky highway, where twists and turns swap between hugging cliff edges on one side, and ocean views on the other. Along the way you may find yourself driving with a group of pre-war cars, early volkswagens, European sports cars, Italians, American Hot-Rods or an example from pretty much any enthusiast area of interest.

Our destination was the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish, where the group enjoys coffee, morning pastries and a chance to really check out each other’s vehicles. As per our tradition, donations for the Squamish food bank were collected. This year we raised just over $450 in cash donations, and enough food to take up the parking space of an entire Volkswagen in the garage!

We’ll post more photos as we have them, but here’s a selection from Dave and Warwick

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2017 Hagerty Maple Mille – Day Three

“How did you find these roads?”, I was asked at our finish. “We’ve lived here all our lives, and travel up here almost every weekend in the summer and we’ve never driven those roads…”

With the sun rising on Lake Simcoe, and the morning mist slowly burning off, a number of cars made use of the lakeside lawn for early morning photos. Not having the keys for the Mustang, I made my way to the breakfast room. Inside, groups of friends new and old were already seated and eating, and the effects of our late night gathering were clearly non-existent. You could feel the anticipation for another great day of motoring.

Departing Jackson’s Point, we headed counter-clockwise around the lake, on a route not usually used by most people. Typically when travelling the east side of Lake Simcoe, one endures the straights of highway 48, 12 and then 169 on the north side. A closer look at the map, however, and you’ll notice a shoreline ribbon of tarmac that follows almost the whole lake, with wonderful views to compliment your morning drive.

On the north end, we explored Cooper’s Falls, Housey Rapids, and then almost into Gravenhurst before turning south for a portion of CCA’s favourite Ontario road. With the afternoon beginning it was time to head towards our finish, at the Erindale Aerodrome.

The Aerodrome was packed with classic cars, all attending the Hagerty Family Funfest weekend. As our group of cars rolled into the show grounds, it was clear we were a little more dusty than the show cars already on the field! Having just finished roughly 1100km of driving over the past three days, however, we were welcomed with great interest from a number of the other attendees.

The Hagerty Maple Mille group retired to the Hanger for Lunch, a much needed cold beverage and a chance to share our final stories and goodbyes. Mike Kieley was awarded the Hagerty Spirit of the Maple Mille Award, for his efforts in ensuring Scott Gray would still make the event. When Scott’s 356 motor gave up the ghost in final testing, Mike wouldn’t accept Scott’s cancellation. “Take my ’74 Targa,” he insisted, “it would be a shame if you missed the event.”

And that, really, is the type of people we get to share our weekend with. Wonderful Car guys and gals who love classic cars, driving great roads, and getting to meet new and wonderful friends. We’re already planning the 2018 route for the Hagerty Maple Mille, mark your Calendars for September 21^st to 23^rd2018!

Photos of the day were provided by our talented photographer Ralph Saulnier

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Additional photos of the Maple Mille, by CCA’s Dave Hord

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2017 Hagerty Maple Mille – Day Two

A tradition at Classic Car Adventures is the parking lot party. At every event we do, it becomes a natural thing to enjoy stories with fellow enthusiasts at the end of a day of driving. Standing in the parking lot at 1am, with the party still in full swing, it was perhaps a little out of character…but with the day we had, and the location we were in, it seemed absolutely perfect.

Saturday morning in Gananoque began as any driving adventure does. There were classic cars being warmed up, trunks being packed, coffee and breakfast being searched out. Where yesterday’s roads were flowing and meandering, today’s would serve up the twisties. Our route began by heading north, towards cottage and lake country.

Within minutes of leaving our hotel, the pink and grey rocks of the Canadian Shield began to show itself in the rock cuts, river banks, and surrounding hills. Ancient glaciation stripped the shield of it’s soil, and cut its many lakes into the surface. In more recent times, the Canadian shield has proven challenging for road builders, who often choose to go around rather than through it’s many outcroppings. For drivers, this means many twists and turns, ups and downs, and wonderful motoring!

Following Phil’s Jaguar XK120 through the turns, with the red paint playing beautifully against the early changing leaves, you could see how suited the car was for today. We enjoyed an hour of touring with Phil and Linda, enjoying the curves and the lakeside scenery, before they pulled over and we reluctantly agreed to pass. I was a little sad to see such a wonderful car disappear in my rear view mirror, but then quickly realized who was now filling it!

The corner of my eye would catch the light blue or red in my rear view mirror, and I soon realized I was the 5.0L Mustang leading a gang of Porsche 356’s and 911’s! With cottaging season over, and our selected route through more remote locations, we could open up the throttle a little more than yesterday. Lakeside views were replaced by apexes and concentration, as the speed limits rarely dip for the twisty sections. The 5.0L barked at each use of the throttle, and I did my best to keep from slowing the Germans down.

We travelled north, and then south, and then north, and then south, and then…You get the picture. We zig-zagged on multiple highways and country roads as the route book took participants over the best the region had to offer.Gas stops and coffee stops were in tiny towns, with wonderful history. You would be filling up at a modern gas station, while gazing across the street at a general store or post office originally built in 1904.

Around mid day we pointed our cars west, and began to head through the Kawartha Highlands. With potential lunch spots sparce, the recommendation to pickup a picnic lunch was utilized by many. We saw folks stopped at lake side and river side parks, enjoying a period-correct lunch style not often used in today’s road trips.

The remainder of our route today took us through Bancroft, Kinmount and south-west to Beaverton. From there it was a quick dip to the southern shore of Lake Simcoe, where our group arrived at Jackson’s Point. Here we parked our cars lakeside, and began the post-drive parking lot party.

Perhaps it was our late arrival, or the beauty of our lakeside setting, but it seemed dinner time was suddenly upon us, before we could fully enjoy the socializing and winding down. Could it be that’s why the party continued after dinner?

Each of our rooms in the resort had a door that opened into our reserved parking area. As I made my way towards one of the many rooms I had been invited to for a “post dinner party”, I was expecting a small in-room gathering, and figured I’d make my way from one party to the next. Instead, I discovered the entire event was outside mingling in a big parking-lot social. Where we may have spent the day driving primarily in groups of Porsches, Mustangs or British cars…at night, the group becomes one of a single designation; great friends, new and old…

Today’s photos are once again provided by Ralph Saulnier

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