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  • April G8 Meet

    Posted on April 25th, 2009 tcorzett No comments

    Having only seen a few G8s on the road, I’ve really been looking forward to meeting a few other owners. The route for the drive was one that I’d made several times before, so I had a feeling that I would be leading (the GPS shouting out directions probably doesn’t hurt either).

    The group meeting place was set for the McDonald’s parking lot just off the freeway in Castro Valley. Unfortunately, the lot was closed-off for construction. I didn’t see any other G8s around (I was 30min early), so just posted-up in the neighboring parking lot and kept an eye-out for other G8s.

    Three other G8’s (MGM, Liquid Red, and Maverick Silver) eventually gathered for the cruise. Most of us were relatively stock, but the Liquid Red had a supercharger and Pedder’s Track II mods (and maybe more). The In-Dash GPS, Back-up Camera, and Smoker’s Package did get some nice attention.

    At noon we headed out for the cruise…

    Part 1: Group Drive

    Total Distance: 24.5 miles
    Driving Time: 1 hours 2 min


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    As expected, I was the leader (yikes!)… we headed out in our convoy. After a short wait (we sent someone back to double-check there was no one in the McDonald’s parking lot) the four of us set-off for Redwood Rd.

    My biggest concern about leading was the speed… what is too fast or too slow? Well, for the most part I think it went well.

    The first delima was a slow car that wouldn’t move over to let us by (this will be come a reoccurring theme). Rather than trying to force our way by, we decided to pull over… which happened to result in a good location for some photos.

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    After some photos, we got back on the road. There was some nice clear road and we were able to stretch the legs of the G8s a little. I didn’t expect it, but there were very few bicycles on Redwood Rd.

    Unfortunately, there was another slow car in the way. This time (and the first time in all my drives) I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. After several miles of going 20mph in a 25mph zone, I saw my chance and crossed-over the double-yellow line and passed the slow car. This is where having radios came in really handy… I was able to radio back to the other cars telling them that the road ahead was free from oncoming traffic.

    After the slow car, things were very nice for a while. Once into the Berkeley hills the roads became a little more crowded with cars and bicycles. It didn’t make for the most ‘spirited’ driving, but the roads are fun and the views are nice.

    Towards the end of Grizzly Peak Rd. the group pulled-off to take a few more photos.

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    At this point, it was time to get to lunch as people were getting hungry. One of the group members needed to take-off, so… then there were three. We headed off towards CA-24, but I made a wrong turn. So, after going West on CA-24… then back East… we eventually made it to Orinda for lunch.

    We ate lunch at the Europa Hofbrau Deli & Pub. The food was good, but the conversation was better. Good to discus things like oil changes and gas mileage. The comment also came up about modified suspensions… the last car in the pack noticed that the Track II equipped car had much less body roll. They also noticed that it didn’t bottom-out like I did (D’oh!) going over a big dip… really makes me want to do the Xa coilover Street II upgrade! After eating we all headed-off our separate ways.

    It was really great to meet everyone… I can’t wait for the next cruise!

    Part 2: Solo

    After lunch, rather than just driving home on the freeway, I wanted to take some back roads. Nothing that I’ve not driven on before, but it was much better than the alternative.

    Total Distance: 87.2 miles
    Driving Time: 3 hours 23 min


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    The drive home was uneventful, but quite enjoyable. The hills are starting to turn brown, but the flowers are starting to bloom. It’s nice to see something other than just brown… not that it doesn’t have it’s own beauty.

    When I was driving through the Altamont Pass I decided to stop again and grab a few photos with the windmills in the background.

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    All-in-all it was a really great day of driving!

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