PNW Oppo Cruise - Success!

"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling) 05/20/2018 at 00:45 • Filed to: PNW Oppo Cruise Spring 2018

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Just a quick early follow up. It all went well, with 10 cars and 2 motorcycles participating (11 cars arrived, 10 of them went on the cruise). There were a total of 16 of us there. Look at everything represented, not a single duplicate.

One more car and both motorcycles arrived shortly before we left, so I didn’t get them in a picture. I also failed miserably at taking pictures, but I did remember to turn on/off studystudystudy’s GoPro after we got it plugged in, so we should have some fun videos and time lapses from some cars on the cruise.

We also noticed that most of our cars are in boring non-colors. On the other hand, we also figured that if we could somehow combine some aspects of all of them together, it would be the most concentrated Oppo/Jalop car ever.

We were all pleasantly surprised by lunch and had a lot of fun out there. The weather held up aside from a section of rain on the way back down and the heavy rain for the return trip.

It was great seeing everyone!

Oh yes, in case anyone missed Zoidberg’s post, apparently some cars like being driven in a spirited manner:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I wonder which gasoline vehicles with at least 2 tandem seats actually attained the highest and lowest fuel economy today.

The only mishap was when Tristan and NKato missed the first stop. I’m contemplating a better way to get everyone instructions on the day of the cruise (maybe a paper map with miles between points and turns). Unlike last time, nobody had cell service or data service (or both) for the cruise, contrary to the service maps. Then the group waved, but we were missed. The general consensus was that it’d probably be obvious after a handful of miles without seeing us that they overshot. I didn’t notice the construction zone on the highway during planning, otherwise I could have used it as a location indicator. That construction zone split the group into at least three pieces.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 01:06

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I just got home! Thanks again for organizing! You did a fantastic job

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/20/2018 at 01:22

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I’m glad to hear you two made it home safely.

Thank you, and thank you for coming! 

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 02:06

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Not pictured: there was a guy who never posts that brought his B R O W N E550 coupe.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 05/20/2018 at 02:07

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[kinja]

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 02:13

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I took zero photos of the cars because I figured everyone else was, so I’m piggybacking on this post to share more photos of the sights, since it’s not really necessary for me to make another Oppo meet post:

Mt St. Helens is an incredible place. If any of you ever have the opportunity, you should definitely see it in your lifetime. Great camping too.

fintail > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 02:27

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Here are a few random clips (most have original audio, but Youtube is becoming very picky about even the slightest copyright):

I’m pretty sure that’s a Veyron, dude:

Arriving at Loowit:

Most of the group:

Futile waving:

RPM esq. > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 03:26

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Sorry I missed it and thanks for organizing it! I’ll see you all at the next one, I hope.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 05/20/2018 at 04:40

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The thing that shocked me the most was that it was a hardtop. Hardtop!

ihm96 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 05/20/2018 at 05:10

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Those are such sleepers. I’ve gotten to drive w212 e550s a good bit and they really are a perfect luxury coupe.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 05/20/2018 at 05:25

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I agree that it is definitely worth the visit.

For me, the most striking thing is the contrast between the lush vegetation on the trip up and the blast zone where it becomes totally alien. It has been almost 40 years since it blew and the blast zone still has this very ominous foreboding feeling. Pictures barely scratch the surface of the experience.

It’s a great road, too. Surprisingly quite smooth and well maintained considering the remoteness of the area and the fact it only goes to one place.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 10:04

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Looks like a fun time! Motivation to try and get people together for a SE Oppo meet! Also I’m sure others will post pictures lol.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 10:09

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Very cool! Sounds like a helluva drive! :D

NKato > fintail 05/20/2018 at 11:13

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“Futile waving”? Wouldn’t it have been more effective to park an easily recognizable car at the entrance of the lot with hazards on?

fintail > NKato 05/20/2018 at 12:11

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Probably, or have more of a phone number exchange, a detailed itinerary with mileage between stopping points, etc. Lesson learned.

NKato > fintail 05/20/2018 at 12:26

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Yep. That was probably the only mistake for the entire cruise, which is fine by me. I wasn’t really that hungry to begin with. :p

fintail > NKato 05/20/2018 at 13:26

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Next time it’ll be smoother, Eric seems good at this.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > fintail 05/20/2018 at 13:37

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I’m in vidyas!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 05/20/2018 at 13:38

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He’s never on here. But he’s a friend of mine in the real world (which is almost as good as oppo).

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 05/20/2018 at 13:44

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Decay buys too many beaters > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 14:00

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Thanks for arranging! Great roads and company. And the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Can’t believe I’ve lived here for 10 years and never taken the trek up, next time I go I need to bring a proper camera, my phone camera really did not do it justice.

As for fuel economy, AMGtech did 40 while I did 39.1.... with half the engine displacement :/
Basically, I should just light my bike on fire, so fuel inefficient.

Decay buys too many beaters > fintail 05/20/2018 at 14:03

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Who’s that motorcyclist in the front? Such sloppy cornering technique :p

Also, good lord, I just realized these videos have a speed indicator in the bottom left...

Decay buys too many beaters > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 05/20/2018 at 14:07

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Same, just scenery photos. My biggest take away was that I really need to go back with a proper camera. My phone does alright, but man I could probably spend a day just taking pictures of the area.

Tristan > fintail 05/20/2018 at 17:37

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I accept 100% of the responsibility for that... Had I actually looked at a map beforehand to see the location of the lunch stop, or just re-read the planned route before setting off, I wouldn’t have missed it. NKato was following me and probably made the mistake of assuming I knew what I was doing. I missed out on some good socialization, but I brought food for the kiddo (none for me though- I was starving by the end of the day!).

Tristan > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 17:43

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Thanks for arranging this, Eric! Sorry I goofed on the lunch stop- I’ll take an “F” in reading comprehension and situational awareness. That was the greatest distance the Studebaker has covered since (at least) 1986 (the year of the expired plates that came with the car). Thanks for providing me with an opportunity to venture outside of my zip code with it!

fintail > Decay buys too many beaters 05/20/2018 at 19:13

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To be fair, it’s hard to handle a Spree at those speeds ;)

Decay buys too many beaters > fintail 05/20/2018 at 19:32

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If only I could get my 50 up that fast, it would basically make me a god among the small displacement crowd!

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/20/2018 at 20:35

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Here’s a little clip of video from inside my car when we found each-other. Hopefully the quality improves as YouTube processes it.

fintail > Tristan 05/20/2018 at 20:45

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Seeing as you definitely worked hardest to get your ride to the event, all is forgiven :)

Tristan > fintail 05/20/2018 at 21:02

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My Suburban did all the hard work! :)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/20/2018 at 22:34

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Here’s you meeting a new friend! Not sure why the quality is so bad from the Gopro.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Tristan 05/20/2018 at 23:27

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You’re welcome. I really enjoy doing these, even though they’re outside my comfort zone.

I really felt bad. Two big failures on my part - I didn’t know the exact distance from the visitor center (it’s at roughly mile marker 19, which might have also been a good thing to mention) and I didn’t think about the fact that NKato didn’t hear the announcement (he offered to run as the rear car to help anyone that might have problems). There were things I could have done - someone could have stood out there, we could have parked a car in a prominent spot, etc. I underestimated the complexity because it was such a straightforward route in my mind, where simply staying on the highway will ultimately get you where you’re going. The last cruise was dramatically more complex.

Your willingness to take the Stude up that route was gutsy. I’m glad it all went well and that you had fun. I hope to see you at another one of our meets sometime. :-)

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/20/2018 at 23:36

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I remember that guy. I don’t know what was going on there, he had to have seen us and he just starts pulling out as I’m close enough that a stop might not have been possible. Very nearly a code brown moment. My cruise control was locked in at the speed limit, too.

The reflections were pretty harsh. Most video compression algorithms can’t encode that much activity effectively.

Tristan > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/21/2018 at 00:21

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I’ve been horrible about getting out and meeting people since moving here- between work, college, marriage and the youngster, I have zero social life. So, even if I missed the lunch stop, I’m just glad I got out for a change! I feel worse about Nkato following me the whole way up than I do about missing the lunch. I hope I can make it to the next one.

I’ve been driving the Stude around on short trips locally, so I just needed a push to take it further. This was the perfect opportunity, and I figured with all the Oppos around, surely someone would be willing to run me back to my tow vehicle if it went kaput. David Freiberger’s misadventures inspire me, too.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/21/2018 at 17:36

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You did a great job, I really do appreciate the work put in. It’s hard to predict all outcomes