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By Peter Walker It is hard to believe that the AONE Indian Summer Sortie has now been running for 15 years. Yes, the inaugural run was in 2002! The idea behind the Sortie is to be able to enjoy our Alfas (or "lesser" cars) in the kind of driving for which they are ideally suited: smooth-surfaced, curvy, traffic-free country roads (preferably with interesting views). The first Sorties were run in late October or early November, hence the "Indian Summer" part of the event's name. But starting in 2012, the Sortie began to alternate with the Wachusett Run, one being in mid-September, the other in early October. This year the Sortie filled the mid-September date. Calling the 2016 iteration an "Indian Summer Sortie" may have been misleading since autumn could hardly be said to have begun—the leaves were all still green, and the temperature in Boston the day before reached 90 Fahrenheit. Nevertheless the largest turnout ever of cars and people for the Sortie showed up this year. Alfas appeared, representing every decade (except the 1990s) in which the cars were officially imported into the US, from Roger Carlson's lovely and impressive 1959 Touring Spider 2000 to Gene Durso's head-turning 2016 4C Spider. The great majority of the thirteen Alfas that participated, though, were from the 1970s, from the "Georges"—George Chris's silver 1971 Spider and Giorgio Kradjian's beautifully finished Berlina of the same year—to Steve and Nancy Perry's nicely restored, bright red 1978 Spider. Another highlight was the two blue GTVs: Phil Bostwick's 1972 and Robert Kirzinger's 1973 models. A few Alfisti, though, were unable to bring a vehicle bearing the cross and serpent, and yet the cars they did bring were interesting enough to deserve better than our usual term of "lesser cars" for non-Alfas: Fred Frey's terrific Fiat Dino Spider (with four-legged, back-seat passenger, Fred and Beverly's Tibetan Terrier, Nico), Rob Rizzo's Fiat 500 Abarth, and Jay and Suzanne Woodruff's Ford Fiesta ST. (These cars, in fact, can probably run rings on a track around any of the participating pre-21st century Alfas.) As usual, the event began in the morning at South Deerfield's Fillin' Station, a classic diner just off exit 24 of I-91. Some participants arrived in plenty of time to fill themselves up with a hearty breakfast; others arrived later and filled only their cars' gas tanks. By 10:45 all sixteen cars had arrived, and a few minutes later event organizer Peter Walker held the drivers' meeting. At 11 AM we promptly took off on our run into the Berkshire hills, beginning as usual by driving up route 116, from South Deerfield to South Ashfield. This road is perhaps the finest sports car road in all of Massachusetts, both a challenge and a joy. However, mid-way to South Ashfield, as our peloton was transiting the small town of Conway, the heavens suddenly opened up, having chosen that very moment to bring some much-needed rain to this parched area of southwestern New England. It is said that the passenger compartment of an open convertible, if the car maintains a speed above 40 MPH, will remain dry. Unfortunately, maintaining such a speed in the middle of a village with a posted 25 MPH speed limit and some sharp turns was not an option. Our convoy raced for the nearest safe place to pull over and all the Spider drivers jumped out and raised their tops (while the closed-car drivers enjoyed the spectacle of our distress). Unfortunately everyone was too busy trying to stay dry to think to photograph or video our dampened top-raisers in action, but the drivers of 105/115 Spiders had the easiest time of it. Roger Carlson, Fred Frey, and Gene Durso were still erecting their tops when all the other Spider drivers were tucked away in their by then (largely) dry and (mostly) snugly-covered cockpits. Our hats, hair, and clothing may have been dampened by this unexpected heavy shower, but our spirits were not, and we pressed on regardless, until we came to the second leg of the tour route: a back road from South Ashfield to Williamsburg. The beginning of this road had just been resurfaced the cheap way: a layer of tar and oil with another layer of loose gravel, which the subsequent traffic was to pound into a hard road surface. An intimidating sign that wasn't there when our organizer reconnoitered the route two weeks prior said: "Road Work, Oily Surface." That plus the rain that was still falling threatened to put a real damper (and not a Koni or Bilstein one) on this next part of the drive. Fortunately the re-paving went on for only a mile or two. At the same time, the rain stopped and our group was able to enjoy the next part of the drive. From Williamsburg, we drove up route 9 (yes, the same route 9 that goes into Boston) to Goshen, then along route 112 to Ashfield, and then up some unnumbered roads to our one stop on the planned route: Side Hill Farm in Hawley. This farm produces top-quality dairy products (and meat), including raw milk. Some of our group went for the delicious yoghurt, while a few others may have slipped around the back of the barn for a different kind of (non-automotive) pit stop. But the point of this stop had been to enjoy the view, which on a clearer day includes southern New Hampshire's highest peak: Mount Monadnock. But the rainstorm left an overcast sky that obscured the mountain, and we were unable to realize our organizer's dream of a terrific photo op. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the farm and the beauty of the rural surroundings. We also enjoyed the looks of disbelief and amazement on the face of the farm coop member operating the farm store that day: sixteen Italian (or mostly Italian) cars suddenly filling the parking lot is apparently not business as usual at Side Hill Farm. At the farm we realized that, while we had been on the roads for an hour and twenty minutes, we had not yet covered even half the planned distance for the tour. We held a quick discussion and agreed to lop off from the planned itinerary a loop of twenty miles, bringing the total from 110 to 90 miles, thus leaving 45, rather than 65, to go. Back behind our wheels and off we went, enjoying some more unnumbered back roads before finding ourselves on route 143, route 112, and (again) route 9, but this time in Cummington, Worthington, and Chesterfield. For the final stretch we turned off route 9 onto a back road from Goshen to Ashfield that took us through a saw mill, after which we turned east on a different stretch of route 116 and headed toward our lunch stop: the nearby Ashfield Lake House. The Lake House, where we arrived at 1:30, is a bar and restaurant that overlooks Ashfield Lake. The parking lot was largely empty, and we were able to line up our cars overlooking the lake. And here is where the earlier rain shower proved a blessing: no one had taken the terrace tables overlooking the lake. So all thirty of us were able to enjoy lunch alfresco, with the lake a few feet below us. We were thirty because, upon our arrival, two late-model BMWs arrived (a 2011 328i wagon and a 2007 Z4 M Coupe), and our lunch party grew by three: Marie-Eve Walker (mother of the organizer; she lives two miles away) and John Della Torre and his companion Tami (who had driven up from Connecticut to join our group at lunch). After a pleasant meal (including appropriate libations), our intrepid tourers scattered to the points of the compass, including a small convoy (Frank LaSala, Roger Carlson, and John Della Torre) who were planning to follow scenic routes back to Connecticut. The fifteenth Sortie was a wrap, and some of the participants are already anticipating the next running. Participating Alfas (in order of cars' ages) "Lesser" cars
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(Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view, and then
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See the original event announcement
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