WCA hangover thread

[Mark K]

[quote="bolus"]
Caroline, can I internet stalk you?  You and Jul have to be the coolest women on the planet but Jul is married 
[/quote]
Yep, Jul definately qualifies as cool, she lets me bake my car parts in her oven!

[Wmcmanus]

I've been scanning the various WCA threads, and this one seems to be designed (more so than the others) as the place to say thanks.  So, thanks Pete!  You're a swell guy and really know how to organize a fun event.  You did a fantastic job, down to every last detail, and thankfully you didn't sweat the ones that didn't matter.  When it was vino time it was vino time.  Tomorrow can always wait.

As much as I enjoyed the track days themselves, the real pleasure was in getting to know some of the assorted characters from this fine forum.  Since I had to miss AtomFest, this was the first time I got to meet Ken (Driver, aka Hitchhiker and Man of Many Suggestions, most of which were good), Randy (Mr. AtomFest and a true gentleman), Pete (CalScot), David (the self-dubbed Spaz, always a good laugh), Shinoo (who looked puzzled when I asked him what his real name was... "Shinoo, of course"), Adam (DarthChicken and his son Jason who had a great time with Ian), Jim Sharp and his crazy crew, the list goes on.

Just overall great fun with bunch of friendly, generous and kind spirited folks from all walks of life with one common passion.  It was just as I had expected it would be in many ways, but a lot more fun in other ways. 

Thanks also to Mark from TMI for hosting the evening event at the auto museum, thanks to Tom and his guys for their support, thanks Ray for your involvement.  I really think the Atom brand will be picking up some speed (bad pun, I know) in the North American market with TMI's leadership and the support, service and aftermarket parts availability from some of the other interested parties. 

...

As for my off road adventure in the motorhome...

I'm still in Idaho Falls at Powerhouse Coach where my rig was manufactured.  The guys here have checked it out for structural damage and have given the green light for me to continue my tour to Alaska.  But I'm hesitant, given all that I've heard about the roads up there.  I've decided, instead, to postpone the Alaska trip until next summer and have the repairs done right away.  The heavy duty truck body shop that they use is just around the corner and they have time to get started right away.  Lots of little things add up quickly to about $12k of damage, inside and out.  We're still waiting on the insurance adjuster before getting started.

I'm just happy to be alive.  The track marks from my motorhome's right rear wheels were more than hip high along the dirt embankment that I rode for a while just after blasting through a 3 feet deep ditch!  We're it not for my seatbelt and air ride seat, I would have been throw out of the driver's compartment.  Were it not for the weight and heavy duty suspension of my Volvo 610 chassis, the entire motorhome could have easily rolled. 

I'm just happy that this happened before the track days.  I think it made me a safer and more conservative driver there.  I can always learn to drive faster at future events... and thankfully, my Atom survived the off road excursion without a scratch!

[Mr.Woolery]

[quote="Caroline"]
Damn you sussed me out, the lederhosen and anchovys were weirding me out and frightening my backpack!
[/quote]

You ain't anywhere NEAR weirded out as you will be when you find me hiding behind your couch. 

[NormLarson]

Dave, I was weirded out just to see that you had the mask and helmet in your avatar ...

[benyeats]

[quote="Wmcmanus"]

I'm still in Idaho Falls at Powerhouse Coach where my rig was manufactured.  The guys here have checked it out for structural damage and have given the green light for me to continue my tour to Alaska.  But I'm hesitant, given all that I've heard about the roads up there.


[/quote]

We did a motor home tour of Alaska two years ago, roads were not so bad until you went North of Fairbanks when they were unsurfaced, we were allowed to take our hired motor home up as far as the Arctic circle but no further due to the roads not being good enough, most rental agencies did not even allow that.

The unsurfaced roads we did go on were not actually too bad but depends how remote you want to go I suppose.

Alaska is an amazing place to visit with stunning scenery, sort of like Scotland but bigger

Ben

[Mark K]

Hi Spanky!

Jul and I are still bummed we missed the WCA, bad timing for us, it was the last week of the kids school.  Sounds like everyone had a great drive and even greater time getting to know each other which was the best part of Atomfest.  Hopefully we can make the next event.

[shinoo]

[quote="cactus bob"]
Who drank all of my 1977 factory bottled Ardbeg after the track day?[/quote]
That would be Nick or Feisty or Mark or Peter or Me or everyone.....Bob, that was the best scotch I've ever had.  Thank you for sharing. 

[cactus bob]

My pleasure on the Scotch. Luckily I had a few drams on Wednesday with Shinoo and Nick before everybody got into it on Thursday.  Great event. Thanks to all especially Peter for all the logistical work, and for fronting the cash. Hope everybody paid up!! I think I'm square, but please advise if I'm not.

[fishkiller]

Pete , you did an outstanding job in making this event come together.
Hats off to you.
Well done.
If I can ever help out in the next event, just let me know, I'll be there.
Thank you for stepping up to the plate, and making this happen for all of us.

For those that brought all the tri-tip, thank you, I appriciate you willingness and thoughtfullness in feeding us all.
A well done event by by all.
I'll be there next year or next month.

Mark