Happy New Year and yes, planning is going on

[slomove]

Best wishes for a good new year to all.

Tour planning is still proceeding, although at a moderate pace (still 1 1/2 year to go :)

I got some encouraging feedback from several people on the tour outline, most notably from John Christensen, who lives in the area. He is investigating some of the proposed roads and made already suggestions for improvement.

25 people on the "interested" list so far. Keep it coming.....

The next few months I will look for a suitable travel agency to book the hotels. So far I am leaning to using Groople.com who's business is group travel where they make the reservations and negotiate the group rates but the participants pay themselves at the hotel. Advantage is that the money collection business goes away. Not sure about deposits, though. Anyway they will get going only 12 months before the scheduled travel.

Next update in a 2 or 3 months or whenever something comes up.

Cheers, Gert

[Davemk1]

Please add my name to the "very interested" list. If there would be any folks driving from anywhere east you'll come right by my place so it might be fun to caravan out to the start.

Dave
Bozeman MT

[slomove]

Hi Dave, thanks for your interest. I will add you to the mailing list.

Can I use the e-mail and phone from your web site?

I am not sure how everybody will get to the start location but I suspect most people from really far away will have their car transported and even for the folks from Texas who may or may not drive it will be a little off route to go via Bozeman.

Gert

P.S.: You make some pretty cool bikes (not that I am a bicycle racer who could really appreciate the details). I would have expected you braze your own super-light Seven chassis :)

[Davemk1]

Hey Slo,

Yes please use that info.

I've thought long and hard about making my own 7 type car. I'm too busy with the bike biz to take time away to do it though.

I'm really looking forward to getting my Birkin!

Dave

[Roll a 7]

Dr. Gert,
I want to cast my vote for a September 2007 trip. The Pac NW weather is notoriously 7 unfriendly in July and the traffic from the holiday is likely to further degrade the driving experience with tourists, campers etc. I'd also like to visit Seattle if we are driving past.

This is NOT a mutiny!! Brad

[moosetestbestanden]

Dr. Gert,
I want to cast my vote for a September 2007 trip.

September 2007 is scheduled for ceremonies celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Lotus 7. Evidently a rather large event is being planned somewhere in the south of England at that time. I believe mid-month is what they're talking about over in the Club.

It' is very extremely highly likely that I'll be in England to join them.

While I won't be participating in this tour I find timing it for September would be unfortunate, from the perspective of anybody else out there who may want to do both.

[JohnCh]

The problem with July in the PNW is traffic. Border crossings are nasty, destinations like the Olympic Peninsula and Mt Ranier can look like theme parks, and most of the winding roads are packed with RVs and SUVs. It can also get rather warm in mid July, yet tends to rain leading up the 4th of July (the gods way of screwing with fireworks displays). The advantages to an early September trip are threefold: generally better weather (think sunny and mid 70's), much less traffic, and better hotel prices.

Given that we know who has already expressed interest in PNW 2007, it might be worth taking a survey to see if September is even an option for this group. If people are considering going to England for the 50th anniversary, then we should figure out how to minimize the negatives of a July trip. This means doing our best to avoid border crossings, ferry rides, & major destination points Fri-Sun, and if we need to go through a metropolitan area, then shoot for mid-day during the work week.

No matter when we go, this is sure to be a great trip.