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The Best Road of the Year

December 28, 2008 by Gary Grant 2 Comments

Maybe call it a combination of roads rather than a single road. Perhaps even an entire region. When planning the route to Lime Rock Park from Ontario this summer, I wanted to cover ground as quickly as possible and then hit the twisties south of I90. The capture above gives some idea of the route we took, but it really only covers a bit of it.

As we left I90 to head south on 22, my co-piloto commented that he was surprised I was behaving on the windy road. 22 is a lovely road with potentially fast 3rd and 4th gear corners, yet I had no intention of attracting official attention especially given the rather full exhaust bellow the 2008 Mustang Bullitt exudes at full chat. Suddenly, I threw my passenger and the navi system for a loop when I hammered the brakes, dropped 2 gears and took a hard left onto a tiny sideroad. Now, I ran the car hard up and down through 2nd and 3rd as if I had Buford T Justice on my tail! The right seat asked how I knew I could fly here: Easy I said, they are all out on 22 looking for guys who want to go fast on the sweepers! For a good hour or so we blasted through wickedly tight, twisty roads so tiny they don’t show up on google maps, all the while listening to 10 million bucks worth of exhaust development sing through the hills. It seems to me that in that time we saw signs for 3 different States and more than a few towns. What a great place to explore. One day we’ll have to go back and go slow enough to actually see something!
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Default ThumbnailDude….yer feet are stank! Default ThumbnailRoad trippin’ in Frank

Dude….yer feet are stank!

July 11, 2008 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

we-made-it.jpg

This uttered by my co-piloto after we switched seats and I removed my sandals after becoming co-piloto.

Oh well, perhaps I should scrub down the summer footwear on occasion.

The drive was uneventful other than some fun roads once we left New York State. Wait a minute, who am I trying to kid? The designated co-piloto desided to run the really loud Bullitt Mustang to redline in the first three gears right in front of a NY State Trooper! Jackass!

Of course a few miles later the same cruiser appeared in our rear view mirror. Surprise!

Anyway, once we left the interstate, we found some incredible roads through three states. Once we hit Connecticut, I got back behind the wheel anticipating some twisties. I wasn’t to be denied. I’m not sure, but I think a windy rural road and 315 horsepower breathing through a more or less open exhaust do not equal 35 miles per hour. I can be pretty certain that our average speed for the last 20 miles was far in excess of that! Damn this car sounds and feels great.

Tomorrow, we’re headed a few miles down the road to Lime Rock where we hope to get tons of stories, not to mention some great photos. For now, it’s off to bed!

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Default ThumbnailRoad trippin’ in Frank

Road trippin’ in Frank

July 10, 2008 by Gary Grant 5 Comments

bumper-bullitt.jpg

Frank as in Detective Frank Bullitt. The Garage is heading south for Connecticut early tomorrow morning. Destination: Lime Rock Park to cover the American Le Mans Series event. If we make it the whole way with our licenses intact, it will be a miracle.

In fact, I had been behind the wheel a grand total of about 7 minutes this afternoon before I decided to attack an on ramp. Right under the watchful eye of the local constabulary. Fortunately, Oakville Ontario’s finest must have had more important things to do than question a fat old man about his driving habits and he left me alone. We will have to mind our p’s and q’s along the way, as while Frank may look stealthy he has a healthy bark that attracts attention at every stop light.

It’s just so much fun to open Frank up and hear his heart growl that I’m sure the side roads through the Catskills are going to be a hoot. As the weekend goes by, we’ll be blogging and posting tons of photos along the way. My co-pilot this time out is a former Mustang owner, who will likely put in a few comments here and there about the improvements Ford has made in the last 19 years since he bought his LX. We’re going to meet up with a few friends from the web over the weekend, so we should have a few surprises along the way.

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Prius at 80 mph

October 21, 2007 by Gary Grant 4 Comments

Recently, in the Carnival of Wheels, somebody made a comment about the incredible number of Prius’ on the road. I replied that we don’t see them here in the Toronto area. While in Connecticut, I see what they were talking about. These things are everywhere. The funny thing is that while traveling at 80 mph, I was passed by at least 4 of them.

A hybrid at over 80 miles per hour! Why bother you MORONS!

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Connecticut: What a weird place

October 19, 2007 by Gary Grant 8 Comments

While I’ve only been here a day, Connecticut is weird. Firstly, it has to be the whitest place in the world. That in itself is odd, when you consider how ethnically diverse the place is. It’s hard to describe the vibe here. The closest thing I can compare it to is that it feels like a bad Seinfeld episode.

This morning at breakfast, there was the couple in their late Forties. She was dressed straight out of the Preppy Handbook. That said, so was he, right down to the button down, blue blazer and grey flannels. At breakfast. There was no question as she bitched her way through breakfast that she wore the pants in the family, until he finally exploded with “how many times are you going to tell me that. I don’t care!” Then, at his wife’s bidding, he began to berate the front desk clerk about the fact that they had to pay for breakfast.

Then of course, there was the 40 something east coast dyke in one of those Polo golf dresses. You know the ones, it looks like Ralph Lauren lengthened the golf shirt into a dress. If I remember the Preppy Handbook correctly, women are supposed to stop wearing that dress when they are about 14.
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Default ThumbnailNote from the road: Maps? We don’t need no stinkin’ maps!

Note from the road: Maps? We don’t need no stinkin’ maps!

October 19, 2007 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

For the first couple of hours, that’s all I saw yesterday. The suddenly, as the Violent Femmes belted out Blister in the sun, the sun broke through and blinded me through the sunroof. It only stuck around for a an hour or so, and then was dreary for the rest of the 9 hour drive.
[Read more…]

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