Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Never too early to plan a fun run...
I saw this video of a road called Old San Marcos Pass Rd near Solvang. Looks like a nice twisty.
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Linda

I totally agree with you Linda that we need to bring back the Fun run to the Solvang show. My kids even commented that they miss it. Bring back the Poker run! Nothing like a caravan of Roadsters too!

The cars are to be driven, not show queens!

I know for the past several years Bill Cole, Bill and Dave Neal and others would do a drive to the Santa Barbara pier for a pic and then back on Friday I believe. Should be some posts here. I think they went past Lake Cachuma over San Marcos Rd on the way into SB. This road on the video is actually N San Marcos Rd, looks like from Google, so it is the old Pass road bringing you down to Hwy 101. Looks nice, great views, but keep your eyes on the road!
Some will want to drive, others want to hang out at Solvang. But nice to explore a bit as there are some cool roads up there.
I was actually thinking of doing a blast up that way with maybe an overnight camp, maybe in Sept, while it is still warm. I think the trip Scott is doing around the US (Around the US in a Roadster thread) where he gets to camp with his Roadster sounds so fun.

Linda

We used to camp at Shasta in the late '80s and that was really fun. We would all gather around as Ross and others created something from the Roadster community food stash over the various cook stoves and fire pits... bunch of hippies, but I don't recall any fun brownies!

We ran that years ago. Its a great road. There are several others that come off it, Old Stage coach rd, Painted Cave road, all good. People complained however because the roads were too tight and technical. I think someone rear-ended someone else at one point as well.

Will

Here is the route

I have take this route on the way to and back from Solvang.

http://goo.gl/maps/Wq7sO

I like the stagecoach road more......LOL

SLOroadster wrote:We ran that years ago. Its a great road. There are several others that come off it, Old Stage coach rd, Painted Cave road, all good. People complained however because the roads were too tight and technical. I think someone rear-ended someone else at one point as well.

Will

Those were the days of Victor..... (fast) and I (no so fast)
Maybe it was more of the roughness of the roads........

I think it's a great idea! In 2001 I remember following Victor and Carion as they drove on some pretty wretched (but fun) roads in the area around Solvang. Victor got airborne.
I don't remember where we went but this was Solvang 2005
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I remember this run. You can see me at the 33 second mark, wearing a large white hat, in the red roadster. We ended up near an old railroad bridge. But before we reached the bridge, we had to go thru a road with a lot of water crossing it.

Over the last 6+ years, I go to Solvang via the San Marcos Pass, not highway 246, which gets you to Buelton. The pass is a really nice ride. On the way in last year, we passed a few roadsters, which were cruising the Pass.

We went up over the pass one year, great drive. If it's foggy, like it was that day, it can be a scary ride, sudden turns come up even suddener.

Sign me up for "suddener".
There are several great roads a bit (like 15 miles up 101) northward as well. Tepesquet Canyon road is epic, goes from 166 south to near los alamos.

On the "airborne run", we ended up at Fess Parker winery, I was riding with Victor, and yes, air was had. stopped at some elementary school along the way.

on the poker run (lou smaldino organized?) we ran thru Los Alamos, as I remember one "deal" was outside the local biker hangout establishment.

A couple of suggestions following the Shedd 2013 Fun Run experience:

1) Organize into two separate fun runs according to driver's dominate foot as suggested by David Neal.

A more spirited run for right-footed drivers
A spirited run for left-footed drivers

Promotion or relegation left to driver's discretion. Once!

2) Consider a manageable number of roadsters per "flight".

30+ cars ripping down country backroads are subject to the entropy and chaos influences of ambiguous instruction, route unfamiliarity, and multiple Bills. Disorder!
At no point could the trailing car see the lead car excepted when they reconnected at the designated mid run bakery stop.

3) A hardcopy map of the road with waypoints identified. Large fonts would be a bonus!

Good points Garth. The MG group I did a run with recently does it that way--splits the group. Some of those 58 MGs etc have a harder time keeping up!
If anyone has a route to submit on Google maps, like Phil did, then there could be some choices to be considered, all in one place. Maybe several different runs could take place at the same time even, who knows.

Linda