If we're going to do a convoy of some kind, then we will need to start putting together a list of people and where they're driving from in order to get it coordinated very well. We also have to take into consideration how long people want to stay behind the wheel at one time.

At the last homecoming, Tracey and I drove straight through both directions and IIRC it was about 15 hours each way. That's a lot of driving and we were flying along at 95-100 the whole way. I know a lot of people will not want to go that fast. It really should be a 17-18 hour drive from Denver which should be done with one stop along the way somewhere.

Scott, do you remember where you stopped and what your drive times were. I think that your times would be the most realistic for a from Denver time frame.

From LA to Denver for Mania 3 (we stopped in Vegas on the way out) it took us a little over 13 hours, but again we were moving. Typically it should be a 15-16 hour drive.

I guess what we should do is post where you are driving from, what routes would would plan on taking and what cities you think you would be stopping in along the way and from all that, we might just make something work.

From Denver, I would be taking I-76 to I-80 to I-94. Mapquest lists the total distance at 1270 miles which at an average of 75 MPH is 17 hours or at 70 MPH is 18 hours. I would be willing to stop anywhere or drive straight through. If we stopped, I think Chicago would probably be a good stopping point at 1000 miles leaving about a 4 hour hour drive for Sunday.

Next....

Bruno,

Bruno, since you've traveled (or should I say "flown") both directions for MANIA's would you like to coordinate the caravan for us?


Brian, Ryan and I will be driving from the west. I though we could meet up with those coming from AZ somewhere and then continue to meet up with you and Tracy, and Scott and whoever else.

Don't know which route, Brian will probably have a idea on that.

Boy, this sounds like it's gonna be one great caravan...to Dearborn - watch out Lincoln!


Debbie
(aka Mama Kahuna)

Well, the southern California folks could drive into Arizona and meet up in either Phoenix via I-10 (from LA) or I-8 (from SD), or Flagstaff (I-40). For a scenic route through Arizona, we could go north out of Flagstaff on Rte 89 and then pick up Rte 160 north and east up through the 4-corners area. This stretch is known as the "Painted Desert". From there, we could go through Durango and up the "Million Dollar Freeway" through both Silverton and Ouray continuing north to Grand Junction and I-70. This is far from being a "direct" route, but it can't be beat for scenery and twisty mountain roads. IIRC, it was about a 11-hour (730 miles) drive from Denver to Flagstaff on this route.

I'm flexible, and I know others will have suggestions as well, so fire away.

Bruno,

Will you and Tracey be bringing the new addition to the family?

Makes me wish I lived out west, so I could join in too... sounds like a blast.

As it is, I'll have to settle for picking it up here in Ann Arbor (my place is less than a mile from 94).

*sigh*

I've driven lots of places and spent lots of continuous time behind the wheel. Commercial truck driving will do that for you.

The driving styles of the folks heading to Detroit are likely to be wildly different. I'm going to want to get up really, really early and hit one or two twisty bits during the day, interspersed with mostly high-speed Interstate driving -- how else are you going to get from Phoenix to Detroit in 2.5 days? Without regard to the comfort of the LS, I've ridden a Honda 160 525 miles in a day and routinely drove 15-20 hours per day in my truck -- sixteen hours is about the top for me these days.

However, if someone comes up with a concept that would allow me to join some sort of caravan mid-day or late Sunday to parade into wherever, sign me up.

You guys are driving me crazy.
Sounds like a real kick! :bigsmile:
I could probably acrue some vac time to join the party.
Radar Detectors to the max it sounds like here.

My best time from Detroit to LA = 52 hours (And 3 days to recover!)

Bruno...

Being as I would be coming from the east coast....

Chicago is about 12-13hrs from NJ @ 70mph. I believe Chicago is about 16 hours from Miami as well (don't quote me). Meeting in Chicago would be a good place to meet as everyone would make the final leg up I-94. In fact, unless you live in Wisconsin, or a Dakota, you'd probably make your way through Chicago. This seems to be a good meeting point for everyone involved! :hmm:

Then we can have a free-for-all up I-94. Whoever gets there last, pays for everyone else's speeding ticket!! :bigsmile:

Just thinking from the philanthopical side as well, if there were enough club members who would participate in this, we could figure a way to raise money for a charity by this event! Not only would it feel good, but it would also raise publicity and interest by the media.

The Arizona Republc Newspaper (with the largest Phoenix metro area circulation) has a local Auto Club announcement column in the Sunday edition. I think they need a 3-week advance notice/lead time to get the information in the paper before the event takes place.

We have plenty of time to get media coverage, and I'll investigate whether any local Lincoln Mercury dealerships would like to sponsor or donate money to a LLSOC charity of choice.

I drove to Mania2 pretty conservatively, less than 10 over the limit on the average. I stopped near Davenport, in Iowa on the Mississippi, about 13-14 hours from home. Wish I'd gone further, I forgot about the Eastern Time Zone and got to Dearborn around 4 PM the second day.

I76/I80 is definitely the way to go; it cuts the corner to Chicago in a pretty straight line, and Omaha is really the only city with significant traffic along the way.

I'm showing my age here, or something: Blowing speed limits to smithereens is fun but not for long hours at a time. Driving reasonably fast, SoCal or Phoenix to Dearborn is a comfortable 3 days, with Denver just about halfway, Omaha another 8 hours, Des Moines another 2 or so.

Lest anyone think Denver is out of the way: If might be, but if you've never driven I70 across the Rockies, it's worth going out of the way for. Just ignore those 45mph speed limit signs in Glenwood Canyon; they're for Winnebagoes. (See "smithereens", above.) :bigsmile:

If Tracey comes, then so will Isabella, but I may be stag on this trip.


I guess I have now volunteered to coordinate this caravan across the US. Does everyone agree that Chicago is where we want to depart from on Sunday morning and that if we left Denver on Saturday morning, we could make it to Chicago that day?

Folks from Northern California, Salt Lake and maybe even Washington and Oregon will be taking 80 so we could either meet where I-76 comes into 80 or meet up in Omaha where we will be picking up some others. I would guess that they would be stopping in Cheyenne before continuing on.

Here's an idea - anytime my friends and I caravan somewhere, we always bring along some little Motorola Talkabouts (FRS) to keep in touch - saves cell phone minutes and lets everyone have a little fun to shorten the trip.

Bruno,
Here's a comment from a non-flyer -- on my recent trip, we left from Trinidad, CO around 6am (CT) and made it to Des Moines IA by 8pm (CT). By no means were we trying to push (i.e. short stops, high speeds). That route meant having to drive north about 2 hours to get to Denver and then on I76 to I80.

That, for the most part was driving about 80mph through CO and NE and 65-70 through IA. Des Moines is a little more than 300 miles from Chicago. Leaving from Denver instead of Trinidad and pushing a little harder definitely would mean the Chicago area is possible and then that would leave approximately 300 miles for the Sunday.

John

P.S. From Phoenix to Trinidad we took the interstates. Basically I40 to Albuquerque and then I25 to Santa Fe/Trinidad. Chris' route sounds much more scenic and more exciting as a drive. I was more concerned with losing hours due to time zones. Phoenix to Chicago was a 2.5 day drive basically (driving all day from early morning to approximately 8pm). Going west was great since we picked up an hour in the Mountain time zone and another hour in AZ (no daylight savings time adjustment ?).

Hey Chris,

Since you are sooo close to 94 and seem to want to do the caravan thing, buy a one-way ticket to Dallas and you can drive me to Detroit in my LS

I'll drop you off on the way back - I'll even drive!

I was able to drive an S Class MBZ from Chicago to California in 36 hours driving time. Easy driving from Denver to Nebraska. Definitely want to drive during the daytime from Las Vegas to Denver as that is a real pretty part ofthe trip. I think my average speed was 85+. If I remember right then it is six hours Chicago to Detroit, just make sure that you go through Chicago during non-rush hours. Sounds like a great drive!

FWIW, going to Mania 2 I hit Chicago around 10:30am CST, deliberately to avoid rush hour, and got to Dearborn around 4 EST, pretty much sticking to the speed limits due to traffic and unfamiliar country.

My home is halfway between Denver and Cheyenne, so if there's anyone coming from the west on I80 maybe I'll detour a little and join up there. I80 and I76 meet in western Nebraska near the town of Big Springs. There's a big truck stop there with a very good restaurant which we might keep in mind as a possible gathering point.

Just to throw out a couple ideas. . .

Today we had the Dallas Chapter Meet and that is a big topic of discussion. At least 4 cars from Dallas. Will Call the Lincoln Concierge for a Map of Distance to Dearborn and Driving Instructions.

We will need to hookup with everyone. Will need to coordinate a hookup time for major intersections. I.e. Denver Folks, Dallas Folks...

Etc.... Ray Chartrand might be riding with me...

Regards,
Victor

Coming from San Diego, I was planning on going the Denver route. I just can't get enough of I70! For us, I could probably make Grand Junction without too much trouble from the wife and daughter units. That would put us in Denver, what, by late morning? I figure we'll have to leave here Thursday to get to Wixom by Sunday. When were you, Bruno and Scott, planning on leaving and how many miles were you planning on doing per day? I can get 700 easy out of the wife unit.

I can hardly wait!!!

Mike, if you're willing to allow four days, it will be easy, and you don't need to push it all the way to Grand Junction the first day. It's around 1250 miles from Denver to Dearborn, about 16 hours if you keep it close to legal and stop for regular meals. A very easy day and a half that will get one into Dearborn around mid-afternoon the second day. The problem here is planning; it's not quite two days' drive from SoCal to Denver, and not quite two days from Denver to Dearborn.

That's why I'm glad we've got a smart and capable guy like Bruno coordinating this caravan! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Don't forget about the 45mph speed limit signs in Glenwood Canyon on I70. Those are maximums for tourists driving motor homes. For those of us with proper motorcars, they are MINIMUM speeds. Be sure to point that out to your wife.

I'll have drolds (Artie) riding with me from Phoenix. I sent a Microsoft Streets and Trips plan to both Brian Gowing and Bruno outlining my plan from Phoenix to Denver . . . it's a one day drive, VERY SCENIC with lots of excellent 'LS' roads (definitely not the most 'direct' route possible). Mike, if you can make it to, say, Flagstaff, AZ on the first day, that would shorten the leg to Denver (your 2nd day of driving) and you could hook up with the Phoenix contingent (at least 2 cars, maybe three, or more?)

Chris,

Can you send me the Streets Deal that way we can see where we will hook up with the rest of the group.. Thanks..

Victor

Chris,

Flagstaff is only 500 miles. Looks like a 5 hour LS drive ! Well, with the wife-unit, it'll be more like 7 (the wife-unit is one of those .2G queasy types) . Sounds like a plan. We would arrive on the Thursday before the Sunday (I'm not sure of the dates and am too lazy right now to look them up ) when we want to get there.

Now I can wait even LS!!!

anyone from florida intend on participating?

Careful, Noah. Either you're going to get salt water all over your nice car joining an eastbound caravan from Florida, or you're going to find yourself in charge of co-ordinating the NorthWestbound convoy to Mania 4. :bigsmile:

Hey Bruno,

What is the Eastbound Caravan Schedule dates?

Thanks,

Jay

Jay,

We're leaving here on Thursday, the 24th, headed to Flagstaff. There, Chris and Artie (maybe others) are going to meet us and we'll head for Denver. Lori wants to stop sooner than the others, so we'll meet up Sunday with the rest of the group.

So when are you gonna be in Chicago?
Are you gonna stop in Chicago (if yes where?)?
:buttrock:

Bruno's the Man with the Plan, but just FYI, if we want to be at the hotel by late afternoon, say 4 or 5:00 EDT, we need to be getting out of Chicago by noon CDT.

I think we'll need to get in a little sooner because of the Welcome Reception usually starts around 4:00PM but the time's not set in stone yet - or at least Brian and I will need to.

Debbie
(aka Mrs. Kahuna)

Yup, Debbie's right; I posted that before I read the messages on the Mania 4 thread. When I drove to Mania 2, I hit Chicago around 10:30 am Central time, and got to the Dearborn Inn around 4 Eastern time. That was in weekday traffic, but pretty much held the speed limit thru Chicago. I had left that morning around 7 from a big truck stop about a half hour west of Davenport.

We're going to plan the Welcome Reception to start at 6 pm. Give everyone time to get in, catch their breath, then socialize.

Projected sleeping stops??

Flagstaff, Denver, Omaha, Chicago?

Or there could be a rendezvous in Denver from Nor Cal, Mid Cal and SoCal
Phoenix and all folks from the west? and the main caravan from Denver to MoTown??

I believe its quite a bit shorter for me to go from LA I-15 to I-70
At least 225 miles shorter to Denver... So...

Just a little more FWIW to aid in planning:

Definitely, Jay, if making time is your objective, Flagstaff is out of the way. Denver is an awkward distance from LA, so to speak. A very long one day drive, but really not a two day drive at all. Denver to Omaha is about 8 hrs, Omaha to Chicago, another 8. I'm talking driving time at or within 5 of the speed limits, and not figuring in stops for meals.

If I were driving from SoCal and making it a 4 day trip, I would want to get to eastern Utah (Green River, maybe) the first day, western to central Nebraska (say North Platte) the second, and near the Mississippi River (Davenport IA?) the third. Pretty full days of driving, but not a bad pace at all, especially in the LS.

This is not a plan or even a suggestion; just some experiences from someone who drove to the last 2 Manias from a point about halfway in between. Bruno & Tracey have done the same two trips, but they wear heavier shoes than me. :grin: I can hear them already: "FOUR days?!!?" :wwww:

Sorry, been pretty busy the last few days and am just now trying to catch up on posts. Man is this board a busy place.

FOUR DAYS??!! - Heck we could make it in a little over a day if we drove straight through. (12 hours LA to Denver, 15 hours Denver to Dearborn)

I will spend a little time this weekend putting some realistic times and dates together based on all sorts of different starting and stopping points.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for flying Air Bruno. We hope your trip will be a pleasant one. On the right side of the LS you'll notice that we're currently passing PhoenixDenverOmahaChicago.

:laughcont: :laughcont: :laughcont:

So I guess one of the big questions is:
When do you want to land in MoTown?
and...
Is Brian bringing the motorhome or the 350 HP Project Car?

Jay,

No to the motorhome - would take too long - and yes the the project car!

Do you like how I just bypassed the HP on the car???


Debbie
(aka Mrs. Kahuna)

It might be around 300 or so.

Anyhoo, if we brought LLSOC-ONE along we'd have to get started 2 weeks before y'all and be broke by the time we got there! Last time I filled Shamu up it cost me $140 for 75 gallons, and that was before gas prices went up as high as they are now.

Brian, if you're towing Primadona, how about decking her out in full racing trim? Magnetic numbers, LLSOC logo, whatever you've got. That would make an interesting feature of the caravan.

Oooooh, I like the sound of that! :idea3:

For some of us WI AND IL members what interchange/Area has been set up to meet the caravan? anything like this mentioned yet?
Ellenor

Jeremy,

Not yet though I suspect we might be meeting by Chicago. We are going to want to get all the caravans merging at one point to make our "grand" entrance.

Scott,

Great minds think alike! I was planning on doing just that :grin:

Patrick O'Neil from Southern California is going to be driving out in the caravan and is willing to share his 2003 ride with anyone who wants to ride along from SoCal or points along the way. If interested please email him at: irish8000@msn.com.

Okay, back to my original post on this topic.

I need to know where people are coming from exactly, what times people want to try and leave by and what kind of speeds we are all willing to travel so I can get some times down. I am guessing that averaging 70 (driving 80-85) would not be out of the question, including rest stops, gas stops, etc., but probably wouldn't allow stopping for lunch or dinner breaks for any sort of extended periods.

So far I have the following to arrive in Dearborn on Sunday:

Saturday
Denver to Davenport, IA - 12 hours 15 minutes (leave at 6 am, get there at 7:15 pm with time change)
From Denver, we hit the following cities:
Sterling in 2 hours
North Platte, NE (for someone coming from Northern CA that might stop in Cheyenne and wants to meet up) in 4 hours
Lincoln in 7 hours
Omaha in 8 hours
Des Moines in 10 hours (we could stop here and make the next day an 8 hour drive instead of 6)

Sunday
Davenport to Dearborn – 6 hours 1 minute (leave at 8 am, get there at 3 pm)
Joliet (Chicago) in 2 hours

Friday
LA to Denver - 14 hours 35 minutes (leave at 6 am, get there at 9:35 pm)

Thursday
LA to Phoenix - 5 hours 19 minutes (can't remember if AZ is on Pacific or Mountain Time)
LA To Flagstaff - 7 hours 22 minutes

Friday
Phoenix to Denver – 13 hours 12 minutes
Flagstaff to Denver – 11 hours 9 minutes (via Mapquest directions which goes through Gallup, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Colorado Springs - 780 miles)
Flagstaff to Denver via Chris’s Mountain route – Approx. 11 hours.

Thursday
San Francisco to Salt Lake City – 10 hours 30 minutes
Friday
Salt Lake City to Cheyenne – 6 hours 16 minutes
Saturday
Cheyenne to North Platte, NE – 3 hours 10 minutes

I have an Excel spreadsheet with miles and times put together based on different speed averages for all of the different legs if anyone is interested.

Thanks for the update Bruno, looks like you've got a good start on the logistics planning here.

It seems as though we really need to plan backward based upon a set arrival time of, say, 3 PM Sunday at Dearborn. The locations you specified look good to me as well as the route you proposed from Denver to Dearborn. The departure/arrival times, break (rest/fuel/food stops) policy and speeds look good to me too, though l'd like to hear what others have to say.

Where are all the east bound caravan participants starting from? Please chime in on this discussion so we can get a handle on where people can hook up and eventually come together to form the larger caravan.

I imagine there will be a few groupings of 2 to 4 cars leaving together from various points on the west coast that won't necessarily meet up until they get to Denver. As the newly annointed Western Region Chapter Director, I'd like all the western Chapter Directors to follow-up with your members planning to participate in the caravan to nail down your departure information as best you can.

Leave at 0600!!?? YIKES. That means I'll have to get up at 0500! I thought this was a vacation! :ooh2: :ooh2: :shocked: :shocked:

Also, we will need to make room reservations ASAP, before the summer rates kick in.

6 am was only a suggestion. We can wait till later and be in Davenport at more like 9 pm. We don't have to leave there until 8 to get into Dearborn at 3 pm so we can sleep in a little on Sunday.

Room reservations are definitely key. Once we get a count, we should immediately start making reservations.

I would be happy to do what I can on that end, but if some people have some contacts or ideas on hotels, let me know.

Bruno,

Where suould we aim to stay in Denver??