FOR ANY AND ALL who have joined one of our UCR driving tours, you already have a good idea of the ritual of this form of collective enthusiasm. For the readers who participated in this event, detailing the sequence of the route is not really informative, and for any and all others you might well find this little anecdotal account nicely entertaining.
Why do I make this assertion? Well, when you are within the confines of your own garage admiring the shine and form of your very own Porsche, or driving along in your pride and joy, there is an engulfing satisfaction of the uniqueness, isn’t there? You may modify one of the US marines rifle referenced quotations that will go, “There are many Porsches. There are many like it, but this one is mine.” So, when you join your first tour, the first phase of the experience is all drivers congregating at the meeting place. Here you are one special Porsche driver among several dozen. Perhaps humbling at the outset. As our slogan says: “It’s not just the cars, it’s the people.” You connect with varied and interesting folks at a tour event — guaranteed.
On this or any event, paying attention to the pre-flight outline is important. For some not doing so, the impression may be of having a stop for some “launch time,” which sounds great, but for the fact the mention is actually about “lunch time.”
A bit about the rate of travel, an outline of a tour notes that the drive will be done at the posted speed limits. Let me tell you, this is technically correct but may be enjoyably spotted with some exceptions. Specifically, there may be some interruptions in the flow due to interceding traffic, traffic signals, and unanticipated happenstances. At any time you may become a bit separated from the caravan resulting a big distance from the car you have been tailing. Quite naturally, there is a need to catch up which may require a lively spurt of acceleration or “sport mode.”
There are, no doubt, interesting anecdotes that can be attributed by every driver. There is not sufficient copy space for those of each car. One that is noteworthy is from Michael Pohlmann, the event host, “When we pulled up to Canadian Forces Base Borden we were stopped by a guard. I have driven through there many times previously and there was never a guard. Even on the previous two test runs for the driving tour, no issues. So, Murphy’s law, I had to show ID and then when I told the guard there are another 24 Porsches behind me, his jaw dropped and he asked, “How many?!’ I thought we were doomed but I got us in and through.”
As you preview the pics of the Porsches that attended, you may note the majority are two-door models. There is no need to assume our tour events should not include any four-door models. This writer has a Cayenne and a 911, and take my word there is equal thrill whichever you are careening through the curves with. </>
Story and Photos by Marc Etherington
