Three's (not) a Crowd

Short and sweet.

In the interests of keeping the pursuit of fun driving alive, I propose an 'intro' curvy road drive to some friends and they agree to take me up on it. I'll introduce them to you. Let's call them A and L. Heh.

Each have been out on the track before, over the years, A starting with a Honda Civic and moving to an Audi S3 and a BMW Z4 3.0, often times together with me as I wrung out my S2000. A started young, like me - pretty sure we were at Mont Tremblant doing track sessions around the same time, long before we knew each other. L has been dragged into the fold, and enjoyed some track sessions with us now too, enjoying the S3 to its fullest - and beyond!

A is the only person I had let (gleefully) drive the S2000 on the track ever, and so when the time came for that car to move along to a well-deserving home, to make space for 'Red', there really was no other choice that made sense - in 2023 A lovingly took ownership of the little red Honda rocket.

Many a weekend afternoon has been spent washing and waxing, keeping what is now a brilliant  (pun-intended) 23-year-old car looking practically brand new, and it's extra-special knowing how much that sports car continues to be appreciated. With a new round of fresh fluids, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires in great shape, it is time to do a little fun driving. Ponytail under ballcap, and sunscreen in place, she is set. A I mean. Well, and the S2000 too. Looking back in the rearview, the familiar Honda front-end tucked up behind me, I position the Boxster in the lead, ready to have some morning fun. I am soon to learn about the perils of long hair in a convertible (apparently it 'whips'!! How could I know???)

At the same time as the S2000 transitioned to her new home, L was investing himself in restoring a fantastic 1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 Spyder - learning all the ins and outs of some now-ancient tech. Like really learning. Dropping the transmission. Changing suspension bits. Replumbing. Fresh spark plug leads. And most of all, tuning and re-tuning....and re-tuning the twin-Weber carbs! The car had sat for some 40 years, but now, with all that care and attention lavished up on her - she is ready. With things running pretty sweetly (that motor has a GREAT little 4-cylinder snarl and bark), the blacktop calls. L swings himself in and takes up the tail-end-charlie position.

With the weather looking good, and a window of time to allow us a little bit of fun in our individual mounts, we are now ready to seize the opportunity! Here's how it lines up:

• red sports car - check
• manual transmission - check
• convertible roof (down!) - check
• sunscreen - check
• curvy route mapped out - check
• tanks of gas ready for burning (almost)

I take our little (eye-catching) cavalcade through the straight streets towards the closest bit of nice road I've managed to find. Luckily, on a nice day, before the sun gets too high and hot, a convertible can make most routes enjoyable as you motor along, seeing (and smelling!) the sights. I stay off the dull highway route close to home, and take us northwestwards. There's a little stretch of great sinuous road along the old route from Ottawa proper to the tiny (but fast-growing) hamlet of Carp. While the new route into the town is arrow-straight (and full of heavy truck traffic), Old Carp Road is a bit of a hidden delight. It winds its way through the wooded area close to Kanata and offers up just enough of a little taste of what these cars love to do - enough hopefully, to entice my 'carmrades' into future drives.

As we make our way out there, I feel the 'flow' of the road start to take over me as I practice downshifting cleanly, accelerating smoothly out of the corners, and keeping my eyes up ahead for any wildlife (the road is quite narrow). In places it's a little reminiscent of a European road, with the trees almost forming a tunnel to drive through. Locked in my mirrors is the S2000, never far behind, and I can see the smile growing on A's face as she starts to relax and enjoy the car and the curves. Tucked in just behind, I occasionally catch a glimpse of the Alfa, and apparently there is a little bit of tire-squealing going on back there. Not surprising given the skinny little tires on that old classic! Bravo L!

Three red convertibles make a splash, and we have some nice waves and gazes from people, and even a polite driver who lets the three of us pass through a four-way stop so as not to interfere with our motorcade. At some point a giant black Dodge Ram truck gets between us (luckily not in the curvy bits). It is so massive it completely blocks my view of the two roadsters behind, and A ducks and darts to see around and make sure I'm not going to lose them. No chance of that though (I'm a good leader) and eventually the behemoth is gone and we are free to continue the red chain.

The hour stretches to a little longer as we wheel in to grab some gas and turn our way back towards home. No question, the team wants to tackle the return route along Old Carp Road again (they are hooked!) and so I lead them back along it in the opposite direction. Just to keep things interesting, I take us through a neighborhood of massive homes tucked in the forest, where we all look enviously at the finely manicured properties and three and four-car garages!

The run back into Ottawa is pleasant, with a stop for a snack and a drink before turning the noses back to home where the engines can cool and we can wash the dust and bugs off after a lovely morning out. The heat of the day is upon us now, and we fold the convertible tops up and park the red beauties, promising to take them out to play again sometime soon.

Thanks friends!

~ Lukes