Connected
by Internet,
met
via interstates
By
Jeffrey Fazio
Special Sections Writer
Imagine
taking a seven-day road trip that covers nine states and exceeds 2,000
miles. Averaging more than five hours of driving and passing through a
bit more than one state each day does not leave a lot of time for
stopping to smell the roses and sight-seeing. So what’s the point?
Imagine
that the point is a love of driving and a curiosity to meet up with a
dozen strangers only "known" through the Internet who share
a love for the same sports car.
Recently
I made this trip. As an active member of the Toyota MR2 online message
board, I decided to embark on a journey to meet some of the people
behind the screen names — see the faces behind messages. Some of the
people I ventured to meet I have been talking to for years online,
some a few months and others just a few weeks.
The
journey started here in Reading and my first destination was
Louisville, Ky. to finally meet Terry Heick, known as
"BlitzMR2" on the board.
I
have been talking with Terry for over a year online through the board
and instant messaging. He is an automotive writer and his wit often
gives the whole online forum a reason to smile. We have grown to be
good friends, so it was a pleasure to get to actually shake his hand.
The
ride to his home in Louisville consisted of driving through a rain
storm while crossing Pennsylvania, which led into a snow storm while
crossing Ohio and a small portion of West Virginia. Although this
wasn’t ideal driving, it was satisfying just to be on the open road.
Once
I was settled in Louisville, Terry and I spent some time admiring each
other’s cars. Then he took me for a ride to see the sights in the
city and we went for a short ride through a portion of Indiana that
borders Louisville.
I
spent two days in Kentucky and took the opportunity to also meet Bill
"$nocash$" Roberts. Bill makes custom exhaust manifolds that
he offers through the board. I had been talking to him over the net
about his parts, so this was an opportune moment to make his
acquaintance and to see him at work fabricating the pieces.
After
my weekend in Louisville, my adventure took me across Kentucky and
through the mountains of West Virginia. Regretfully, most of my drive
through West Virginia was under cover of darkness so I was denied the
view of the beautiful mountains that I could sense around the curved
roads I was carving through.
Part
way through West Virginia, I spent the night. I awoke the next morning
to ideal weather and a few hours of driving in the mountains on twisty
roads that literally descended into the clouds. Who says you can’t
enjoy an early Monday morning?
As
my day continued onward I entered Virginia, where I intended to meet
several more board members.
My
first stop was in Charlottesville, Va. where I enjoyed lunch with
William "Bill Strong" Strong Jr. It was enjoyable to meet
Bill since he is the owner and administrator of our online board,
which hosts well over 5,000 people internationally.
I
have no intention of meeting all 5,000 members (at least I don’t
think I do). It was interesting to hear his ideas on expanding our
forum and to hear his local tales of driving.
After
lunch with Bill, it was a short burst of driving to stop in Richmond,
Va. for just a moment to meet Mike "8LEGS" Turner and his
wife Janet "BtrHalfOf8Legs."
Since
it was in the middle of a Monday workday for them and I had
obligations to be in Virginia Beach by nightfall, the visit was very
abbreviated. They are a very interesting couple that share the love of
their cars and are both very active on our online board.
As
my Monday adventures came to a close, I found myself safe and sound at
my brother’s home in Virginia Beach. While my brother was at work
the following day, I headed over to the home of one of our most
infamous board members: Bryan "NoShoes" Moore.
Bryan
tunes and races cars and has done work on board members’ cars all
over the country from Arizona to Florida and as far north as New
Jersey. His personal car has demonstrated his tuning abilities by
recording the fourth-fastest 1/4-mile time of all of the
members of our board — 11.8 seconds and above 115 mph.
His
zeal to demonstrate the power of his car regardless of location has
only added to his notoriety in our online community. Needless to say,
I took the opportunity to take a ride in his car — let’s just say
his reputation is well earned.
I
started early the following morning to get a jump start on an 81/2-hour
ride from Virginia Beach to New York City, which took me through
Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
John
F. Kennedy International Airport was my destination. I was picking up
Kathryn "mr2Chiksta" Henley, a board member from Temecula,
Calif. (an hour north of San Diego).
After
reading some of my posts on the board, Katie initiated an online
exchange with me about modifying her car. We had been corresponding
for just over three months and she decided to fly out to meet me and
visit the East Coast.
Since
Katie and I both race with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), we
took one of my cars out to participate in a local SoloII autocross
event that was hosted by the Blue Mountain Region of the SCCA at Maple
Grove Raceway in Brecknock Township.
Prior
to this race I invited other board members to join us at this event.
The power of the Internet and our online forum showed itself when we
had five other drivers show up from three different states.
A
caravan of board members came from New York and New Jersey to race in
this event. Included in the convoy were Daniel "Rarh"
Brundige, Mike "mike325ci" Choi, Sin "qQFoB" Leung
and Jim "redblues" Ong. A local board member, Travis
"SweetT83" Himes, also came out to race. After the race we
all went for pizza to wrap up our day.
Over
the course of my trip I was able to meet 12 of the more than 5,000
members of our online board. Although this was a small portion of our
group, it was large enough to sense the diversity of the fine people
that are brought together by the love of one automobile.
Although
it is a love of the same car that brought us together, in the end it
is the quality of people I met and the seeds of new friendships that
were sewn that made my trip worthwhile.
There
are a lot of really wonderful people out there. Sometimes you just
have to take a little drive to find them.
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