Tag Archives: tour

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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2015 Hagerty Maple Mille – Day One Preview

Our inaugural Hagerty Maple Mille began in Barrie Ontario this morning. An intrepid group of adventurers set out to explore some of the best roads Ontario had to offer, and we did our best to deliver! If you’ve only ever gone to Muskoka cottage country via Hwy 11 or 400, you’ve missed some of the best roads the region has for the motoring enthusiast. Some of our group was familiar with our choice north, but after toying around on some of Muskoka’s more famous routes and views we introduced them to an Out-and-Back road that few were aware existed, and fewer still had driven.

The twists and turns were on par with Muskoka’s best, and light elevation changes added to the enjoyment. Eventually we popped out into a sunny parking lot, lake side view and the perfect opportunity to switch cars and try something different for the way back.

I went from driving a bone-stock, restored, 1979 Super Beetle into a 1965 modified Mustang. The clutch pedal was like moving a mountain in comparison to the beetle, but once I turned the key it all made sense. An afternoon romping on a 302 V8, pushing out horsepower rounded to the ‘nearest hundred’ is not to be missed! Each session on the accelerator pedal was finished with a “I might have to get one of these” statements. I wasn’t the only one getting to try a new vehicle out…it seemed that drivers and co-driver’s alike had all found new rides to finish the afternoon off with!

When we finally arrived at the hotel for the night, the group gathered together to compare driving notes, favourite roads and discuss the Coach-Bus-Fire which shut down the highway and almost spoiled our fun.

Preview photos provided by Ralph Saulnier Photography:

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2015 Hagerty Fall Classic – Day 3 Preview

Great Roads. Great Cars. Great People. These are the reasons we started Classic Car Adventures, and the thing that keeps us coming back again and again for more. Today’s Fall Classic wrapped up both our event, and our slogan in such a neat package. We traveled from The Dalles to Yakima, snaked beside rivers, over mountain ranges, and worked the steering wheels to exhaustion. At the end of our day, we found great friends (who had “hard-lucked” out of the event) waiting to greet us at the finish.

Post finishing lunch, we consulted maps and realized the fastest way home wasn’t the best. Even though the event was over, groups of people drove together on the twistiest roads they could find heading for home…

A quick preview of today from Andrew Snucins Photography:

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2015 Hagerty Fall Classic – Day Two

Day two on the Hagerty Fall Classic was filled with phenomenal roads and scenery. Warwick, the route-master for this year’s event, truly out did himself with the day’s selection. We began on flowing touring roads through farmlands, and then wound our way up and down various desert canyons. More than a few times today, the road appeared appeared before us like a section of rope tossed out onto the countryside, free to twist and curve wherever it liked.

The day was full of surprises, but perhaps the most unexpected was the town of Shaniko. In the early 1900’s the town was the “Wool Capitol of the World”, producing 14 million pounds a year. While creating the route book, however, it was clearly a ghost town. Imagine our surprise to arrive on Saturday afternoon to the Shaniko Classic Car show, and the streets full of classic cars and car nuts! Many of the group stopped for lunch and a viewing of the show, with at least one car pulling in and parking right in the show!

Our final surprise for the day was Warwick’s Mini. Entering into the final stretch, the front driveshaft decided upon an unscheduled disassembly and spread it’s pieces out upon the pavement. Hagerty roadside assistance took care of towing the Mini to the hotel, and our entrants sprang into action for a solution. The local parts supplier, craigslist, Oregon shops and the Oregon chapter of the mini club were all contacted by various entrants to the event. With parts sourced, a vehicle was loaned and Warwick was off to collect them. The evening ended with a parking lot repair party, some of the group actually working with Warwick on repairing the Mini, and the rest of enjoying a round of cold beverages and mechanic heckling.

A quick preview of today from Andrew Snucins Photography:

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2015 Hagerty Fall Classic – Day One Photos

Day one of the Hagerty Fall Classic is in the books, and wow am I exhausted!

We started the day at “Club Auto Tacoma”, located in the LeMay Classic Car Museum. Hagerty Collector Car Insurance hosted us for a morning registration with pastries, coffee and priceless collector cars. It was tough to decide whether to walk through the cars inside, or check out the entrants cars outside! Soon the driver’s meeting began, however, and all the attention was on the roads ahead.

…and wow, those roads.

On a typical CCA event we try and change up the road style during the day. You’ll experience tight twisties, flowing touring roads and back-woods B-highways. Today, though, once we left Tacoma the steering wheels never stopped moving. Driver’s were ecstatic with the constant left-right-left-hairpin into left-right-left-right. and so forth. We looked for the twistiest roads Washington had to offer, and boy did we find them!

Highlights of the day included visiting the blast-zone of Mount St. Helens, the excellent weather and the adventurous route book. One thing we noticed today was how much fun we all had together as a group. Throughout the day it seemed like we enjoyed a section of road with every single car on the event. And when we’d stop for breaks, each car was telling us how they had driven with every other car on the event. It was fantastic! Whether glued to the back bumper of a 2002 in the switchbacks, getting passed by a ’36 Ford Business Coupe or being swarmed by a pack of Mexican Minis…the variety was endless.

Tomorrow we hit some of Oregon’s best touring and b-roads, but for now here’s a selection of images from Andrew Snucins Photography:

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2015 Silver Summit Photo Gallery

It seems like so long ago we were exploring the Colorado mountain roads with our new classic-car-friends, but good things take time! Between engagement photos, ceremonies, and cake cutting, our Photographer-Extraordinaire was busy editing the Hagerty Silver Summit gallery and has finally finished! Andrew Snucins has posted 121 images from our Hagerty Silver Summit Colorado Adventure. Click the thumbnails below to head over to the image gallery!

Hagerty Silver Summit – Day Three

I awoke for day three of the Hagerty Silver Summit at 4am. Something didn’t sound right. I could hear water flowing off the hotel, which meant the storm from the evening hadn’t moved on. Would we awake to rain…or snow?

A 6am look out my window, and I knew I had a challenging morning ahead of me. The snow was definitely sticking, though the roads appeared clear. The mountain pass we were planning to use out of Keystone was so snowy, chains were required. The back-up plan, through the Eisenhower tunnels, wasn’t going to work either. Road reports and cameras showed a slushy, icy, slippery mess. One entrant awoke to find his flights home from Denver had already been cancelled. The snow had certainly hit the fan!

Having explored all the roads in the area earlier this year, I knew there was one last option, but being a smaller route it wasn’t featured on our usual sources for road conditions. I’d have to go for a morning drive. Andrew Snucins was deployed in the role of organizer, relaying the message to entrants that the driver’s meeting would be delayed but I was working on an alternate route. I buzzed down the highway, exploring our last opportunity to get out of the resort…and wrote a new route book at the same time. While our entrants dined on breakfast, I typed up a quick and dirty set of route instructions.

I explained our new route in front of the windows of our hotel, as the snow fell behind me. We handed out route instructions and maps, and ensured that everyone understood the plan exactly before heading out. We were standing at 9,280 feet above sea level, and I was sending the group over Hoosier pass, an 11,000 foot mountain pass a little to our south. Despite the group being incredibly adventurous and easy going all weekend, it was understandable that some of them were a little concerned. I took on the role of sweep this morning, not because I wasn’t willing to lead the charge over the mountain (I had been up there once already), but because I wanted to ensure each and every one of our guests made it over without problems. We loaded up, added another layer of clothing, and set off down the road…

There is something magical about following a group of enthusiasts who are determined to make the best of any situation. Instead of simply blasting off onto the route, groups of friends (newly formed over the weekend) traveled together. At the top of Hoosier pass, snow falling but not sticking, a number of cars stopped for a group photo. Without it, no one in their respective clubs was going to believe the story!

A few miles down the road, on the other side of the mountains, the snow and rain stopped…and the sun came out. We enjoyed mile after mile of winding pavement, dark menacing clouds over the mountains to the left, and blue skies above us. Soon we rejoined the original route in the book, and cars were pulling over to remove windows and clothing layers. Central City, Blackhawk and Rollinsville rolled on by, and soon we were together as a group for one last time in Nederland.

Patricia Fredrick was awarded the Hard Luck Award, her T-Bird failing on day one. Kevin Lewis was awarded the MacGyver award for his ingenious repair for a broken exhaust hanger. Without any wire to hold it up, he used the lanyard from his name tag! Knowing it was going to melt, he recruited a few other entrants to ensure he had enough lanyard to make the finish. Fred Phillips was awarded our first ever “Spirit of the Summit” award. Not only was his enthusiasm throughout the weekend contagious, but he also roped four other friends into joining the Hagerty Silver Summit.

Honestly though, I wish I had created 46 Spirit of the Summit awards this year, one for each person on the event. The weather, at times, was more than anyone had bargained for. But each and every person smiled, shrugged it off and made the best of it. The roads were enjoyed to maximum, every entrant was watching out for each other and ensuring each and everyone one made it through the adversity. When we met at the end of each day, it was smiles and laughter and cries of “Adventure!”

Often at the end of an event the fatigue and desire to ‘get home’ clears out the finish pretty quickly. Not so with the Hagerty Silver Summit. Our friendships forged over the weekend became obvious as each guest was ensuring they said goodbye to each and every other participant. No one was to be missed, we had come too far together to simply drive off without a goodbye.

A year and a half ago I fell in love with Colorado because of the roads. I cannot wait until next year’s Hagerty Silver Summit. We’ll be planning great roads, anticipating your great cars. But the truth is, I’m coming back for the people. We have a new ‘Colorado Classic Car Family’, and can’t wait to add more members next year.

-Dave

A selection of Andrew Snucins Photography photos below:

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