Discussion: Targa Colorado 2011 ?

[TRE Cup]

Okay, so we had a wonderful time doing Targa California a week ago, and Grady calls me today and puts the bug in my ear about how wonderful Colorado roads are, great people, great places to visit.... hmmmmm

I like the idea a lot- here are some thoughts for us :- get the cars on some transports to get them up there. We fly in and play for about a week, then fly home. Transports bring the cars back
Besides experiencing some incredible roads and landscape, we can visit various collections, interesting places, culinary establishments, and even do a track day ?
Follow the same entry format as TaCa- free, pre 75 and older, all makes. Get some sponsors to help with expenses, goodies to hand out.
Could make for a great motor head vacation

I'm listening............

[naparsei]

Dave,
I am in. I'll bring Strawberry Fields...

Northern NM has some great roads too.

The ride to Gateway (CO) (in either direction) is beautiful and the roads are great. There's a car museum there.

I've been itchin' to drive up to Durango, Silverton, Ouray, etc. anyway.


A

[Bill Simmeth]

Sure sounds like fun, but then so does TaCa, to this East Coast Longhood Wannabe. Dave, just to be clear, are you considering this in addition to or in lieu of Targa California in 2011?

[Eade Hopkinson]

Grady is right, I started driving Porsche cars in1974 in Colorado, and lived there for most of the next 25 years. The only challenge I see, is the weather can be very bad at anytime, to include snow on the 4th of July. So, the only variable that could really screw up a great event would be the weather, a chance we may just have to take. However, it would seem you would want to do this event maybe the middle to end of May, and not on Memorial Day Weekend, as the roads are very busy then. Also, because they use so much sand on the roads, it takes a few spring rains to wash the roads clean from the winter sandings. There are many great places to stay, beautiful scenery, and many great food stops.
Transportation could be pretty expensive. I have had 2 cars shipped from Denver, and I waited for a truck coming through for the best price, and it was still $1,100 one way It would seem even if we hired a full truck, it could still cost at least $1,500 round trip per car. Not cheap for a week of driving.
Just a few thoughts.

[Kjell]

I would of course drive to and fro. Another great time would be during the early fall with the aspens etc. Also it wouldn't conflict with your time organizing
the Targa Califorinia. Heck, I'd even do it in my 911, if it's back on the road by then.

[t6dpilot]

Great idea Dave! I have been all over the state and CO has some fantastic driving roads, albeit at high altitude. I am not sure that the roads will be as uncrowded (i.e. police) as I have seen you serve up in CA. Weather will definitely be a factor and I would recommend late June through possibly early September. I have access to most of the CO Grand route books if you want some help putting together the drives. Chris can also give you excellent local knowledge also.

This could be a great event to bring together guys from the left coast and us Midwesterners. It's a "hop, skip, and a jump" for the Southwest clan too. And don't worry about expensive transportation - just drive 'em out and back.

[boba]

There are great drives thruout and "fall aspens" would be a good time for the colors and weather wise.

It would be a day out and back for the west coast guys. It would be the same for us in the SW. So, no need to ship unless you just need to for the schedule.

These photos are from my drive to Treffen end of April '09.

[Type911]

Hi Dave,

You and I discussed this briefly about a year ago...thanks for the reminder!

Targa Colorado is a great idea! Colorado has some fantastic roads and scenery. If you want to avoid the weather & crowds, mid to late September is best. That time of year day temps are 70-80 deg F, night time 30-40 deg.
Aspen trees peak at different times in September based on elevation and moisture, most of the time you can count on 3rd week in Sept.
Fall is good too for those of you....Ahem ... brave enough to drive your car out from the left coast across the Mohave,or from destinations out east.

I was planning on hosting another early 911 Tour de Colorado this fall, but will hold off until I see how a Targa Colorado develops...

[Frank Barrett]

Folks:

My old friend Grady is right, and I just happen to be the guy who writes the route instructions for the Colorado Grand, so I could probably get approval for you to use some of their work, especially if a charity is involved (the Grand generates about $200,000 a year for small Colorado charities).

Depending on how long you want the route to be, you might start in Durango (which has airline service) then do a one-day loop west to Dolores, north to Telluride, then to Ridgway, Ouray, Silverton, and back to Durango over the Million-Dollar Highway (one the world's most spectacular Porsche-driving roads). Telluride could also be a good base for this run; the spectacular new Capella Hotel would be a hit with significant others. PCA's Alpine Mountain Region is planning a tour on this route in August, but I think it's filled up already.

The Gateway Auto Museum (further north) is worth a stop, even though it's all American cars. The road along the Dolores River from Telluride is another great one, with terrific rock formations. Another great Porsche road is Colorado 92, from Sapinero to Hotchkiss, along the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

If you want to add a day, you could go east from Durango to Pagosa Springs, Creede, Lake City, Gunnison, then overnight in Crested Butte. Up north, there are great roads between Steamboat Springs and Estes Park (Rocky Mountain National Park, Cache le Poudre River).

Route choices are almost unlimited, but given the roads and the need for photo and lunch stops, plan on no more than about 300 miles a day. Police here are no better or worse than anywhere else; they don't tolerate reckless driving. I'd encourage Californians to drive here. Back in the Old Daze, we all drove our early 911s all over the country to Parades, etc.

If you have any questions, I'll be glad to offer advice, but I'm deeply involved in routes for three tours this year (including the Grand), so time is short. Incidentally, the Grand accepts pre-1960 sports cars and is held the second week in September; for more, see www.coloradogrand.org. There are usually a few Speedsters and Spyders in the field.

[TRE Cup]

Yeah,
Chris was the first to contact me about this before, and we will need all the help colorado and left coast volunteers to make this happen. Fall sounds great- as we have TaCa 2011 in the spring. (sooo... we call this TaCo ? ) Great suggestions from all.

Here is a brief outline on how it could be structured (Flexible on dates and locations to be determined of course!)
Day 1- arrival, meet and greet- welcome dinner
Day 2- driver meeting, morning drive to location X ( a private or public car collection, airplane collection , or interesting shop) lunch stop someplace unique, then afternoon drive to new hotel. Dinner open, parking lot get together
Day 3- driver meeting, drive to location Y, lunch stop, afternoon drive to new hotel
Day 4- drive to track, lapping- beginner and advanced groups, classroom for novices. Lunch at track, drive to hotel dinner open/ parking lot get together
Day 5- driver meet, drive to Location Z, lunch, afternoon run- arrive early new hotel. Group dinner/ final goodbyes

Thoughts on places, hotels, track set up (Grady already offered to help with track day) ?

Gonna be fun !