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By Dave Pratt THE VIEW FROM THE TOP OF MOUNT WACHUSETT WAS TERRIFIC on Friday, October 26th. Unfortunately, the AONE Wachusett Region Road Tour ran on Saturday, October 27th. When we arrived at the summit for the start of our event, it was quite fogged in, as the photos below will attest. And it was all downhill from there. But only in the sense of driving down the mountain! For we had a great turnout of 15 cars (14 various Alfas and an MGB) for this year’s mid-Massachusetts road tour. We also had some warming and satisfying coffee, donuts, and muffins waiting for us, thanks to the Dursos and Donovans, our event organizers. After we enjoyed the view (errr, that is, used the loo), Deb Donovan called us together for a drivers’ meeting, gave us the rundown on where we were headed, and handed out route sheets in case we got lost or separated. Then it was back to our cars and we were off! It’s my shameful duty to report that, at this point, all of the Spider tops were up, whilst the MGB’s was down. (However, having owned a 60s MGB back in the 70s, I know at least part of the reason why, namely that they’re such a bloody pain in the arse to erect!) Our caravan, led by Dan & Deb with Gene& Judy as tailgunners, scooted down the curvy mountain access road … and then came to an unceremonious halt at the bottom. After a few minutes, Tom Freiberger and the Dursos rejoined us. Turns out that Tom’s Spider had been experiencing problems with an injector and it refused to start when we left the top. But he got it going and we were soon under way again. Our organizers put a lot of work into this year’s Wachusett run (if you can call driving Alfas around searching out nice country roads and then finding a neat place for lunch “work”). And it paid off! Everyone agreed that the itinerary they put together was a real joy in every regard. We saw lots of farms, fields, and forests, and we drove a nice mix of winding roads interspersed with a few straight stretches to air things out. At one point, Dan & Deb led us through an abrupt U-turn, which gave us all a chance to see each other’s cars traveling in the opposite direction. This has become a popular maneuver among our tour leaders recently! Only a cynic would dare suggest that they actually missed a turn. At the drivers’ meeting, Deb had warned us that we’d be pausing at a certain spot along the way for a special photo op. When we saw the red covered bridge ahead of us about half way through the trip, we knew we’d found it. We all pulled over while Deb and Judy went to the other end of the bridge with cameras and took photos of every car as it came out the other side. Deb said she was angling for a spot on next year’s AONE wall calendar; her problem will be that she’ll have so many contenders! A short while later, we pulled off the road in the quaint town center of Hardwick. Here, we got to stretch our legs, chew the fat, and for some of us chew on a slice of (reportedly good) pizza from Lazy Mary's Pizzeria, where many also partook of the restroom facilities. Alas, it turned out to be a one-holer, which made our stop in Hardwick take a little longer than expected. Then we were flying down the road again … for a few miles. Can you guess who the culprit was? Yup, Tom’s infected injected Spider. But, just as before, Tom (and Gene & Judy) showed up in our rear view mirrors after a bit and we continued on our merry way. After another hour or so of country sports car driving at its best, with abundant sights and sounds (and exhaust fumes), we suddenly came upon civilization in the form of Sturbridge, MA. This, though, was our destination, since our tour directors had chosen Admiral T.J. O’Brien’s Restaurant & Pub as the place we’d have lunch. And a fine choice it was, since the food was very good, prices quite reasonable, and (importantly to this writer) the beer list extensive. And it was a half mile from I-84 and the Mass Pike, affording everyone an easy avenue toward home, from whatever direction they came. The party broke up around 3 pm, and off toward home we all went.
Our thanks again go to Team Durso & Donovan for organizing another
great Wachusett run!
2012 AONE Wachusett Region
Gene & Judy Durso – Pagoda Giallo ’74 Spider
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(Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view, and then
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