More Car Shows & First Road Trip!

Weekend car shows in CA are as common as sunshine in this fine state.  There are at least a couple of car events every weekend in SoCal without fail.  So naturally, it is our duty, as enthusiasts, to attend as many as we can.  One of the shows was local and the other required a 180 mile drive one-way.  This would be the first multi-hour trip in the Nomad and I recruited my ever intrepid wife, Stacy.  

Temecula Valley Motoring Enthusiast - 1st Sat of the Month.

The first show for the weekend was organized by the Temecula Valley Motoring Enthusiasts.  I've been in this club for 10+yrs and it has grown tremendously.  The interest in the Nomad was excellent.  I strapped my bike onto the roof rack for this show - the bike racks are not so obvious to many people.  Unfortunately I can't drive into my garage at home with the bike as it is too tall.

I was taking the trip north to Montecito with a stop at my cousins place in the Valley.  All road trips require taking extra stuff - the Nomad lacks places for these things.  I picked up some interior storage bags from a off-road specialist to sort that issue.  They had 4 interior bags that worked perfectly.  I will test fit them into an Atom to see if they would also work.

Stacy and I packed one of our drybags with our stuff for the trip and placed it on the floor in the passenger footwell.  She simply rested her legs on top of the bag - much like a chaise lounge.  I know the factory has some roof storage ideas that will make storing bags an easier proposition.

On Friday, I set all of the shocks to full hard.  I wanted to see what it would be like on a longer journey.  Amazingly, I like it better as the was more responsive without being too harsh on rough roads.  I think this may be the preferred setting for highway travels.  We added some seat pads that also made the ride very plush.  Stacy was very pleased with the ride comfort.

The wind noise and tire noise are too much for 1+ hr. trip, let alone one that would take 3-4hrs.  We opted for earplugs that filter out most of the background noise but still allowed us to talk(shout) at highway speeds.  The bikini top for the car will arrive soon and will be a must have for longer trips in the SoCal sun.  Sunglasses, hats, long sleeves and pants were an absolute requirement for the mid90s degF and intense UV that we were braving.

Bucket hats FTW!

The Pacific

The mountains

The Cars&Coffee event in Montecito was excellent.  There were some really amazing cars including two original gullwing Mercedes.  The event was not as big as some shows but the sheer quality of the cars was staggering.  The venue is also quite nice.  I highly recommend attending this show.

Cars & Coffee - Santa Barbara/Montecito

Carl the Contortionist

 Getting into the Nomad takes some practice and a certain technique.  You do need to be limber enough to drop into the side opening.  My friend, Carl, thought he could get one leg in and then his head/torso and then try to fold his other leg.  Well as you can see from the picture, you're gonna have to be a contortionist to make this technique work.  The rest of us will simply place both legs in first and drop in...

Fueling her up - almost $4/gal!  Of course this is Montecito...

Venture Beach

We made a couple of stops on the way home, including Ventura Beach.  The Nomad is really a car for many roads types: asphalt, broken asphalt, gravel, and dirt.  It is a rally car and not a desert racer/sand rail.  We'll continue to take her to different spots and test her out.  I have a local dry creek bed that I want to try out.

She's made for this terrain

This is a car that makes you feel alive.  You are connected to the elements when you take a trip in one.  You need to be ready to enjoy everything - including windshield washer spray from the car in front of you...as I've said before, this is as close to a motorcycle experience as you will get.  I think it is very much like an adventure bike - only with 4 wheels.  Will it be tiring on a longer trip?  Yes, it will be.  But don't most exhilarating experiences leave you that way?!