1999 JCNA International Festival - The Trip to Colorado

South Florida Jaguar Club

1999 JCNA International Jaguar Festival
Colorado Springs, sept 27 - Oct

The Trip to Colorado
by Pascal Gademer

from September 27 to October first, JCNA organized the first International Jaguar Festival in the beautifull setting of Colorado Springs. Our club was represented by its President Russel Glace, members Karl Schaefer, Richard Irving and Pascal Gademer who drove his silver 72 E-type 2+2 (which took
first in its driven category, 4th in the Rally and an automatic first in both slaloms as the only entry in class ). In this first article, Pascal describes the trip to Colorado Springs.

It all started as a one of those "what if" crazy thoughts when I first heard about the first International Jaguar Festival that JCNA was putting together in Colorado Springs. I thought about it but said to myself... it's too far away... I can't take a whole week off... etc... etc..

Then after a few days, the thought of driving my 72 E-type ( a 2+2 ) a little over 4500 miles in a week, up the 14 110' Pikes Peak and on scenic Colorado roads became very appealing and the not so reasonable side of me took over. After all, since I bought the car at the end of march, I had spend a good amount of money and effort to make it reliable and I was confident that It could make the trip with a minimum of problems.

By the time I decided to go, around july, the Broadmoor hotel where the social side of the festival was held was booked up. anyway, while certainly luxurious and beautifull, it is a huge resort and I prefer the smaller personalized bed and breakfast; thru the internet, I booked a very nice place in Manitou springs, 10 minutes from the Broadmoor. My wife refused to drive so I booked her a flight... and then a second one when our 5 year old daughter started crying that she didn't want to stay in Miami.

Then I faced a family conspiracy ( my wife, my parents, etc ... ) about driving to Colorado alone... I suddenly had become crazy and irresponsible in their eyes... "think about your children... your business... " so to appease everyone, at the september club dinner, I asked if anyone wanted to come along for the ride. Long time club member Richard Irving did and saturday, september 24th we were leaving south florida heading north.

The trip as mapped by the MapBlast internet site had us heading up thru Atlanta, Nashville, St Louis and Kansas city for a distance of 2030 miles. Richard was the navigator armed with a AAA trip ticket book. Luckily, weather remained nice all along, as soon as we left Palm Beach behind the rained stopped and we got clear skies all the way.

The trip up turned out to be uneventfull. Because of my schedule, it had to be no more than a 2 days trip ( saturday and sunday ) with the monday just in case... so no sightseeing, no lenghty food stops. Just drive and stop for gas.... a lot of gas considering how thirsty a V12 can be when you drive it the way it's supposed to be driven...

One of hightlight of the trip was the third pit stop, in Perry Georgia. Out of all the exit and gas station we could have chosen, we ended up running into a black Series 2 E-type OTS. Owner Chris Rogers turned out to be on theJag-Lovers mailing list... what a coincidence... what a small world !

Also in Georgia, we passed a caravan of test cars, prototypes with camouflage so you can't really make out the lines... about 5 or 6 of them plus support vehicles, from sub compact to SUV, no badges but Japanese crews on board.... Probably coming soon to a Hon-yota-san dealership near you !

By the afternoon we were going thru Atlanta, leaving behind the non stop display of billboards that line I 75 thru Georgia... It's amazing how many signs they have there, you can't even read them all.... from food to gas to outlet malls to clean toilets to .... strip clubs.... i wonder how many accidents occured because of a driver reading these billboards....

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encounter of an E-type in Perry, Ga

After Atlanta, I75 became a little more interesting with rolling hills and curves, and then Nashville. Nice skyline at night. Since we were making good time, with nice weather and a 75 mph average including fuel stops, we decided to press on as late as possible. After the only traffic jam of the trip, crossing St Louis around midnight, we decided to stop for the night. That was 1150 miles, in about 16 hours. Not bad so far.

Next morning, back on the road around 8am, for the second part of the trip, the long westerly stretch of I 70. It also turned out to be uneventfull except that the road surface was rough and a lot of construction along the way, with single lane runs at 60 mph stuck behind trucks.

Lunch stop took place in the middle of nowhere, that's Russel Kansas, hometown of Bob Dole as the sign on I70 said... we where a long way from south Florida to say the least... but the burger was pretty good !

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lunch stop in the middle of nowhere ( sorry, Mr Dole ):
Russell, Kansas

Then into Colorado and off I70 for the last leg, about 60 miles of 2 lane road into Colorado Springs. Last pit stop at the exit, at a gas station from where 5 or 6 street rods were just leaving.... the cashier tried to bribe me into letting her take my E-type for a drive against free gas... my negative answer didn't suprise her since the drivers of the rods had also turned her down...

As we leave the gas station the road looked interesting, with tight turns.... Richard suggests I put my drink down, grab the shifter and get ready to drive on a road the E-type was designed to run on. As I get ready to enjoy it... the road suddenly turns into long straight streches... no turns, no fun... but at least Pikes Peak can be seen ahead, rising tall above the high plains... there is hope.

4 pm, we pull in Colorado Springs... and as we start looking for the La Quinta that Richard had booked... he doesn't have the address... Got to stop for directions... I've never done that before.... thanks Richard !

At first Colorado springs is disapointing, that side of town is like any other place... fast foods, car dealerships, shopping centers and construction. But then the other side, from the Broadmoor on, is much nicer, and the old main street leading into Manitou springs has that look typical of the west and the Rockies... it was worth the 2000 miles.... 5 PM and I pull in the Blue Skies Bed n Breakfast where I am not disapointed, the place is just georgeous !

So that was 2030 miles in 2 days, without any mechanical problems at all, at an average of close to 75 mph including pit stops. No, i didn't even get a
speeding ticket, but don't ask me how fast we drove !

Next day, monday, things get started at the Festival and my wife is flying in with our 5 year old daughter.

Side notes
... monday morning, my office gets a call from American Express... I return the call to be connected to their security department, as their computers have flagged my account number for possible fraudulent use because of the high number of gas station charges in a very short amount of time... After the usual ID check questions and they are reassured that indeed all that gas purchased every 230 miles or so halfway across the country was for my personal use !

... I was suprised to see very few nice cars along the way, we are spoiled in south florida... I didn't see more than 3 Jaguars, no Porsches, no Ferraris, and the number of Mercedes, BMW, Corvettes, etc... could be counted on my fingers... but,... non stop SUVs, minivans, Cadillacs and Lincolns... all usually in the left lane, with the cruise control set exactly at the speed limit.... most of them ignoring polite requests (left side turn signal ) to please get out of the way... We did run into a cuple of hot rods along the way... always nice to see on the road...

... a few drivers along the way probably were surprised to see that, yes the V12 badge on an E type means business and the four tail pipes are not there just for good looks... Somewhere in Tennesse, we came behind some kind of mid size car loaded with trim accessories and a license plate that said "PASS YOU" or something very close to that... it was funny passing him after we got stuck behind a slower car, I could tell he had it floored to try to out accelerate us... I didn't even had push the engine or downshift to 4th to cruise by.... childish but fun !

... an E-type doesn't look like a car that would be very confortable on long trips.... BUT, it was unbelievable how after 27 hours in 2 days, I wan't
even tired, no muscle or aches of any kinds, no stiff legs, nothing ! The seats are very comfortable and provide great support.

... on highway trips, the 5 speed box is amazing... 2500 rpm in 5th gives about 80 mph, and the car could cruise all day around 3000, effortlessly.
This is not just a show car... it's meant to run !

to be continued...

Pascal Gademer

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An E-type with Florida plate... in the SNOW !