Jan. 30: Stewball has made a decision. The next driving adventure will be the 2012 Trans-Am, New York to Alaska Challenge beginning May 7 and ending in Anchorage June 8. (Don’t worry Leslie, we will drop down from the stop at the VIR in Virgina for your graduation. The timing works our just fine.) This rally is sponsored by Peking to Paris Rally Association in Oxon, England.
So far we have learned there are 50 cars from a 1916 Lancia Theta to several as late as 1974. The cutoff is pre-1975. Our esteemed group includes Bentleys, Mercedes, Jaguar and even a 1965 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud! Can you imagine! And Stewball feels he fits in just fine.
As always, Stewball will have the least powerful engine at 53 horsepower but he’s convinced he’s up to the challenge and ready to take on these big guns. I just hope we are too. Our goal is not to embarrass ourselves or Stewball. The one advantage we have is daily driving on the right side of the road. (That’s right versus left, not right versus wrong!)
The participants come from all over the globe, England, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Denmark, Luxemburg, Germany and Ireland just to name a few. There are only three American teams besides us and only one that we know. It should be an interesting group to say the least.
While we have traveled the U.S. several times, this itinerary looks most interesting — including a trip to the top of Pike’s Peak. All on back roads with lots of gravel and dirt ones thrown in for an extra challenge. I will not have Stewball repainted before we go. I think the speeds assigned to these roads will be up to the challenge of China!
If you want to know more before we post again, you can go to their website: www.endurorally.com
See you on the road to Alaska!
Jan and Ed
Hm, I wonder how many of these car rally enthusiasts will want to buy The Long Road to Paris. Better save space in the car for a box of books!
