Chairman's Transmission
From MGA!, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011, VOLUME 37 / NO. 1
Simple Ideas
It’s funny how something that starts out as a simple idea can sometimes lead to much more. For example, you might check the oil level in your MG one day, and notice that the master cylinder is beginning to leak brake fluid. So, you decide to replace the cylinder, but then see that leaking brake fluid has damaged the surrounding paint. So now, the heater shelf has to be repainted. But while you’re at it, you decide to replace that frayed wiring harness. Pretty soon you look around the garage and find that the MG is now completely disassembled and in the process of a full restoration!
Well, that’s sort of how the Rallye to Reno came to be. Dave McCann and I were at the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in 2009 and were discussing the newly announced location for GT 36, which of course, coincided with MG2011. As I like to drive to our GTs, I began to ponder what would be a good route to get there from Virginia. NAMGAR member Jim Cox was also there and suggested Route 50 as a possibility and that the Healey Club had done a run using that route. I initially dismissed the idea, since I can’t take much time off from work, and figured some old forgotten back road with lots of little towns to pass thru would be time prohibitive.
But during my next conference call with the other MG registers, it became obvious that in planning for MG2011/GT36, most council members felt that few people would travel all the way from the east coast. Well, that got me thinking about Route 50 again, and that maybe there WAS a way to encourage enthusiasts to attend, and in fact, DRIVE their MGs to Reno! Thus, the Rallye to Reno was born.
But at the time, I had no idea that it would generate so much interest and enthusiasm. Over two hundred enthusiasts from all around the world signed up for more information. Heck, it even peaked the interest of my then fourteen year old son Brian, who pointed out that he would be sixteen and able to co-drive on this trip across America… and he did!
So, Dave McCann, George Merryweather, Mike Jacobsen and an ever growing list of others helped to contract with hotels across the country, fill out permit applications, meet with town councils and park officials, and coordinate with multiple sponsors and suppliers. We compiled information for a tour book. We made nametags and ordered Rallye plates and signage. And we packaged it all up and mailed it directly to registrants. We even had flag stickers for each state visited!
So, the simple idea really did turn into something much more than a drive across America. But that was okay. It brought people together. And it brought people together who may never have gone to Reno, and certainly brought people together from different registers. Yes, the walls came down between registers. T owners and modern Midget owners, A, B and C owners were all in the Rallye together, and we were all one family. And while the Rallye to Reno originated as a NAMGAR event, in the end it was truly “an MG event.”
In the end, we had one hundred and forty-nine MGs of all models registered (some 250 people). We met in Ocean City on June 4th and drove across Route 50 to Reno for the convention, and some continued on to San Francisco afterwards. We had parties and receptions. We had tours and parades. We saw picturesque small towns and stunning open road backdrops. We ate at “mom and pop” restaurants and were greeted by friendly small-town folks who took a genuine interest in our Rallye and in us. We also had real-time tech sessions and the occasional tow truck. But throughout it all, I think the only human mishaps were sunburned noses and the odd farmer’s tan on one arm.
Stories and photos are posted on our website, Facebook, and on You Tube. This issue of MGA! includes a full recap of both the Rallye to Reno and GT-36 (MG2011). I thank everyone who contributed to and participated in both events. It was the cars that took us there, but we know it was indeed the people that made the trip so special, and the reason we already look forward to Getting Together in Dayton, Ohio next year for GT-37.
Oh, and that simple idea to travel across country to Reno on Route 50? It was still there. I just did it with my son and a few hundred of our best friends … making it truly the MG trip of a lifetime.
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Bruce Woodson
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