Dan Crouch Blog

Paul sent me an IM tonight with this link and it's too good a deal not to share. If you're in the Pacific Northwest and looking for a modern-classic Alfa Romeo, this could be your car:

1984 Alfa Romeo GTV6-Silver - $3500 (SW Portland)

quote from the Craigslist ad:

For sale is a very good condition GTV6 with 78k miles. I have owned it for about 10 years. Runs and drives great but has the usual fragile 2nd gear synchro. Tires are nearly new on period correct 15 inch OZ wheels. Windows work great, all gauges work as they should, as does all lights and signals. AC system is intact but missing the belt. Leather interior in good shape. Paint is shiny with minor defects here and there, no major dents or dings. Surface rust in spare tire well only. No leaks of any kind. I just had the timing belt, tensioner, water pump and all seals at the front of the engine replaced so I can drive it around for the summer. Always passes DEQ with ease. Sale includes original Campy wheels with tires.

Being a 1984 and 25 years old, this car qualifies for all kinds of 'classic' category events. It's been on my mind recently when thinking about shows, vintage racing, etc... For $3500, this looks like it'd be a great entry into that arena.

dc

Check out this fantastic lap ridden and narrated by Steve Hislop aboard an RC45 in 1994:

I love how he talks about that first section and how he normally hits 170mph through there on a flying lap! This is such a strong reminder that I need to visit this event in person sometime soon... I mean how much longer can such a bad ass and dangerous event continue to run like this?!

dc

source: Hell for Leather

By the way, have you been by Rare SportBikes For Sale recently? It's been great having a co-author and we've found some beauts this summer. Stop by and say hi!

The Monte Shelton Northwest Classic Rally is an event I've wanted to become more knowledgeable about for a long time. My wife and I were on the coast probably 6 or 7 years ago and saw a line of classic cars heading down 101 with the Monte Shelton number plates on the sides, and I knew that some day I'd like to participate.

This year we planned to be in Portland for the start of the event to take see what it was all about. I was pleased to find that while some of the cars were in fact very valuable and rare collector cars, there were also many other vintage cars of varying rarity and value. It truly looks like an event for well prepared cars and individuals with a passion for driving in the Pacific Northwest. The event also serves as benefit for the March of Dimes which I thought was a nice touch as well.

I've never done a TSD rally before, but it looked like there were plenty of first-timers at the event and the morning meeting promised no surprises. And for those not interested in competing, there was even an opportunity to simply follow the route for fun and join everyone at the checkpoints.

I look forward to getting an eligible classic sometime soon so I can participate too. In the meantime, here are the pics outside start/finish line in Downtown Portland:

My full gallery is here (348 pics!):

And I stumbled onto this YouTube picture gallery as well:

dc

This past Sunday was the first LaVelle Vineyards European car show hosted by Sports Car Shop. It was a fantastic afternoon affair on the slopping lawns surrounding the tasting room outside Elmira. Good company, great cars, and delicious wine made for an easy formula that attracted over 40 cars on display and lots of enthusiast onlookers.

Here are my pictures (snapshots really) from the show. Can't wait to go again next year!

dc

I've been meaning to attend the DesmoNorthwest BBQ for at least two years in a row and this year I had no excuse not to. Naturally I hit my buddy Paul up to join me; he can't say no to rides over 100 miles, let alone nearly 650 miles. In two days total! Yep, we decided to ride up and back on Saturday and Sunday.

But the leg up on Saturday was the real meat of the trip. We rode back roads from Corvallis to Edgefield in Troutdale for a late breakfast. We both had the bacon scramble with fresh baby red tomatoes and smothered in freshly grated Parmesan. Delicious!

From there we hit I-84 for a quick blast to Hood River, where we took the bridge across the Columbia to Washington, and headed North for Mt. St. Helens. Turns out this area is a meca for sportbike riders as we must have seen nearly 100 riders in this area. Most of the roads are fantastic and the vistas are even more amazing.

We continued on past Randle through the Mt. Rainier area, past Mt. Adams, through Enumclaw, and then on to Issaquah. All in all, I think we were on the freeway less than an hour and half all day. Here is our route:

Unfortunately when you're behind on your day long back roads trip, you don't stop for pictures. But luckily lots of other Flickr users have. Here is what you can expect from the area:

After riding some of the best, and some of the worst, that SW Washington had to offer, we were beat. Ten and a half hours later, we were hurting to say the least! Paul being the saint he is, and having water-tight hard bags on the VFR, went and got us some refreshments to unwind with after our journey:

The next day we cleaned up the bikes and headed for the BBQ. After supporting the Ducati website for nearly 2 years, I was able to connect names and faces. I already knew the club was full of great people and it was a really nice gathering of like minded enthusiasts. Here are some pics of the rides that showed up:

The worst part of the trip was definitely the last leg, from Issaquah to home via I-5. A record heat wave started that afternoon and we rode home in some seriously hot air on the blacktop for over 5 hours. It was like being blasted from all angles with heat guns no matter how fast or slow we managed. So we ended up stopping about every hour to rehydrate and recharge. Not much choice as we both had to be at work on time the next day.

All that said, I'm really glad we did this trip. Not only did I finally get to meet some great Ducatisti, I proved to myself I'm still capable of a big trip. I can't wait to go again!

dc