I’ve spent my whole life living within a 25-mile radius. I love to drive, explore, and go on road trips.  As a result, I’ve been on just about every main road and back road in my area.  The challenge for John Collins and I was stringing those roads together for an enjoyable drive with minimal traffic lights and stop signs. This 75-mile coffee run had only two traffic lights, one at the start and one near the end, and only a few stop signs. The August weather was beautiful and, considering it was summer with vacations and other plans, we still had 40 or so cars and 70 people in attendance.

There is something about a coffee run that is hard to describe. It’s the feeling you get when driving in a line of Porsches, top-down, or windows open, looking in your rear-view mirror or straight ahead, and seeing that line of beautiful cars, lights on, snaking their way through the curves, listening to the sound of the exhaust bark as they shift gears or accelerate from a stop.  I’m not sure if it’s the pride of ownership or the feeling of belonging to the club – maybe it’s both.

Our coffee run took us up and around the Quabbin Reservoir starting at the southern entrance, continuing up the west side, and then working our way around and down the east side on some twisty roads. For those not familiar, Quabbin Reservoir was formed in the 1930s by relocating and razing the towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott, building a dam, and flooding the region.  It is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, and supplies drinking water to the greater Boston area, as well as some local towns.  The reservoir and surrounding watershed forest are operated and managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation and is a lovely place to visit

Twenty miles into the run, we entered Quabbin park, with the permission of the DCR, and weaved our way around some of the park’s scenic carriage roads to one of the highest vantage points overlooking the more than twenty-mile-long reservoir. We took a short break to enjoy the view and then continued our trip.

Going up the west side, we drove through protected watershed forest. Traveling down the east side, we went through some small towns and rural farmland. It always amazes me how many pedestrians stop what they’re doing to watch us go by, some waving, and some even taking photos and videos.  We also receive, and return, a great number of “thumbs up” from fellow motorists.

Our coffee run concluded at Palmer Motorsports Park with the opportunity to enter the track property after signing a waiver. This is a private track that doesn’t allow visitors, but John and another frequent coffee run participant, Gregg Lewis, are members. Thankfully, they have some pull, and the rest of the CVR members present that day were able to use the track facilities. The track is amazing. It’s very technical and is listed by Road & Track and Thrillist as one of the top 10 tracks to drive in the country. It has 509 feet of elevation change and the steepest vertical grade of any racecourse in North America.

Palmer Motorsports offered our group the opportunity to drive on the track, parade lap style. Our group was led by Al Sandy, the track’s Director of Public Relations, and a 15-year PCA/CVR member. Al was driving one of his four Porsches, a 2004 996 GT3 – one of only 23 in North America, in Midnight Blue.  

Al held a drivers’ safety meeting, explaining that our track experience would be done, single file, emergency flashers on, no passing, and that drivers could exit anytime they wanted at the pit entrance.  We started with a couple of slow laps to see the track and the view, and then slowly increased our speed until we got to a comfortable, spirited level.  I drove the first two laps talking to my passenger the whole time.  As we increased our speed, both hands were required, as was more concentration.

It amazed me how much fun it was while driving at typical highway speed.  Our “lap timer” recorded 23 minutes on the track and we received lots of smiles and thanks from those exiting the track afterward. Thank you again to Al Sandy and Palmer Motorsports Park for a wonderful experience.

After our track time, we continued to the Oakholm Brewery for a nice lunch and craft beer – a wonderful end to a perfect day.