johntesi's Road Trip: 6,000(ish) miles of the USA with a tent and a Porsche

[johntesi]

Howdy Pelicans,

I’ve already communicated with many of ya’ll on Bring a Trailer or via my personal website/email. I wanted to officially start a thread on the forums to announce the plans for my road trip which starts in five days(!).

On June 25th, I was t-boned by a car while leading my cycling team’s Saturday morning ride. I collapsed twice after the accident, and the second time I was certain I wasn’t waking up. That experience and all of the continued issues recovering from a head and neck injury led me to rejigger my priorities and bucket list a little, which leads us to everything that’s happening below…

I bought a 1984 Carrera on Bring a Trailer last month, and the details of that can be found in my Bring a Trailer Success Story. Continued updates and reflections on the trip as a whole can be found on my personal website, www.johntesi.com



Now that I have the car at home, I’m hurriedly preparing for the next round, a 6,000(ish) mile, loosely planned road trip from Austin, Texas to the Carolinas, northward along the Appalachian Mountains, and across the border a time or two as I go over and around the Great Lakes before heading home through the Badlands.

Here is a very cursory overview of my potential route:



The only stops that I know I’m making as of now are: Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas for a weekend of fly fishing. Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Tail of the Dragon/Deal’s Gap, Asheville, Charlotte.
Everything beyond that is more of an idea—I find the fewer concrete plans, the better on trips like this. That being said, this road trip is all about embracing the unknown, taking things one day at a time, and, above all, meeting people and seeing old friends. If you are reading this and want to grab coffee or a beer, host me in your home or let me pitch a tent in your backyard, or otherwise join for some part of the ride, that’s the beauty of the forums and the main reason I’m posting here!


Here are a few particulars of my trip:

I’m packing light, the main items accompanying me are the following:
Tent
Sleeping bag
Bicycle
Travel guitar
4 weight fly rod
Backpack (camera, laptop, notebook, etc.)
Duffel bag
Basic tools (+ DME and spare belt)

Some rules and goals:
Avoid interstates at all costs
Navigate by paper maps and word-of-mouth. Get lost.
Don’t eat more than two consecutive meals alone, regardless of whether I know anybody where I am or not
Camp, Couchsurf, make friends, AirBnB – try to avoid the easy isolation of hotels and motels
Seek out new coffee shops, breweries, backroads, rivers, iconic Porsche people/places, bike rides, things to write about
Write something worth reading. Both automotive journalism and some concerted efforts on a book that’s bigger than ‘just cars.’



The beauty of doing this in an air-cooled Porsche cannot be overstated. It brings back much of the simplicity and connection to the environment that I cherished from my cross-country bike-packing trip, but I can cover a lot more ground and reconnect with my automotive passions in a profound way. The quirky layout makes for some fun constraints on what and how I can bring with me. The unpredictability of running a 32 year old car on backroads for weeks on end is exactly what I want.

And, above all, after putting nearly 3,000 miles on the car so far, I’ve found it to be the perfect companion. It whispers things like, “There’s a donut shop 200 miles away that you want to try? We can do that!” and then gets there and back on a single tank of gas. It is equally willing to blitz local farm roads at a frenetic pace and to cruise at the limit on windy byways, simply proving a better way to travel than any dang alternative. I’m hooked beyond hooked on the Porsche mystique. After driving my local shop owner’s ’86, I have a Wevo short shifter and Dansk heat exchangers + 2-1 muffler being installed so I can approach his car’s level of responsiveness. I figure I’ll get a better ROI on a few big mods if I do them before hitting so many of the great driving roads across America. That’s what I tell myself at least..



I’m infinitely excited and the right level of nervous about what’s to come, and I look forward to sharing my journey with ya’ll (and hopefully meeting several new people and Porsches along the way) here and on my website. If you like to drive, swap stories, ride bikes, fly fish, or eat/drink/be merry, I have a feeling we’ll get along great. I’ll be using this thread to update on my whereabouts and progress, with a particular focus on the car itself. My website will contain more general musings, and hopefully some automotive publication will want to pick up some of my greatest hits along the way.

Cheers!
John

[bourgeois911]

Sounds awesome. I need to figure out how to find the time for something like this.

[faverymi]

Fantastic!!!

Come to Boston. Stay with us.

Food, tools, maps, advice, beer. Anything you need.

PM and I'll give you my cell phone.

CHEERS

[faverymi]

[MichiganMike]

Totally envious of this! Sub'd!

Wish I could meet you for a coffee, but looks like California isnt in THIS trip....yet!

Can't wait to follow you on your journey of new found life (and thanks to Pelican for allowing these connections!)

[johntesi]

Originally Posted by faverymi

Fantastic!!!

Come to Boston. Stay with us.

Food, tools, maps, advice, beer. Anything you need.

PM and I'll give you my cell phone.

CHEERS

I'm in! PMing you shortly.

Originally Posted by MichiganMike

Totally envious of this! Sub'd!

Wish I could meet you for a coffee, but looks like California isnt in THIS trip....yet!

Can't wait to follow you on your journey of new found life (and thanks to Pelican for allowing these connections!)

Darn, I bought the car in California! The first photo is from Emerald Bay in Laguna Beach! I should have posted up here before picking it up, but I will be back!

[matthewb0051]

If you get to DC shoot me a PM. We have a great Cars Coffee in my neighborhood and one I'm wanting to get to in Annapolis.

If you are in my area around on Sept 17 there is a good swap meet at Ski Roundtop, just north of Gettysburg. Link attached.

Vintage German Swap Meet for Porsche and Volkswagen

[ClickClickBoom]

Originally Posted by johntesi

On June 25th, I was t-boned by a car while leading my cycling team’s Saturday morning ride. I collapsed twice after the accident, and the second time I was certain I wasn’t waking up. That experience and all of the continued issues recovering from a head and neck injury led me to rejigger my priorities and bucket list a little, which leads us to everything that’s happening below…

Cheers!
John

John,
You now have what some of us call your "alive day". Got mine a long time ago in the line of duty. Week in the hospital with a leaky brain......
Nothing was ever the same, I thank the guy who sucker punched me when I wasn't looking almost every day, wired huh? No fear of anything, and a freedom that most don't understand, your getting it, do what you want, and enjoy it.
Happy "alive day"
Eric

http://www.aliveday.com

[will hung]

Subscribed. I'm very jealous. If you were doing this in the spring, I'd probably accompany you. Looks like you aren't, but if you pass near Pittsburgh, get a hold of me.

[Techno Duck]

Looking forward to following your experiences! I read the first leg on BAT, great story.

I am getting my car ready for some extended road trips also, as is i would need to carry a case of oil with me due to shot valve guides.. engine rebuild happening in a few weeks .

[will hung]

Originally Posted by garment

^^ This

Cars and coffee refered to may be at Katie's in Great Falls VA, not far from DC. I'm a frequent attendee and there's a ton of Porsche participants. See last week's photo. I know the guys would like to hear your story. But...it's an early event! Main lot gets filled by 6:30A on Saturday. Would like to see you there.

Picture looks like its from Australia.

[cheekybird]

If you make it to Ohio you have a place to stay here as well. Plenty of wine (micro brews), green grass, garage space, Porsches and tools here in Columbus! Safe travels and stop on by for a few days! CheeRS!

[ski wagen]

Awesome! You'll need to bring that fly rod and car through the western states next year.

[garment]

Originally Posted by matthewb0051

If you get to DC shoot me a PM. We have a great Cars Coffee in my neighborhood and one I'm wanting to get to in Annapolis.

If you are in my area around on Sept 17 there is a good swap meet at Ski Roundtop, just north of Gettysburg. Link attached.

Vintage German Swap Meet for Porsche and Volkswagen

^^ This

Cars and coffee referred to may be at Katie's in Great Falls VA, not far from DC. I'm a frequent attendee and there's a ton of Porsche participants. See last week's photo. I know the guys would like to hear your story. But...it's an early event! Main lot gets filled by 6:30A on Saturday. Would like to see you there and hear about your adventure firsthand!

[matthewb0051]

If you alter your route slightly you can go across Northern NY to Watertown NY. There is a very small ferry from Cape Vincent to Wolfe Island Canada then a large ferry on to Kingston Ontario. Very cool drive and area. Check first b/c t he ferry will close for winter at some point.

There is a lot of War of 1812 stuff in that area as well.

Like I said, its a small boat:

[cwinters01]

Congratulations John; your trip, and how you have planned it, sounds incredible! I look forward to reading about your adventure as it unfolds.
Christian

[No Sweat]

If you can make it the Citrus Porsche Club PCA (Central Fl) is doing a Tour of the Mountains the weekend of Sept 22, 23 and 24 we are doing a bunch of back-roads. We are staying in Hendersonville, NC as a home-base. Let me know if you are game !! I'm driving my 1987 Carrera Targa up along with 25 other Porsche's.

Also if you are near Winston Salem, NC I found this cool looking gas station online. Trying to see if I can make a detour would make a cool photo shoot for your trip !!

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11631

[jimtweet]

If in New Jersey, I got a room for ya! And a boat to fish on

[RarlyL8]

Hey John schedule a pit-stop in Huntsville on your way through to Nashville. You can get a photo op with a Saturn 5 Rocket and grab some southern BBQ while we service your 911!

[Puma]

Where are you planning to fish in the Ouachita's? I lived there and will happily tell you about the most incredible roads you'll ever drive. Western Arkansas is the best state for driving, largely uninhabited, last state to adopt right of way.

If it's in the cards, the Pig Trail on the way to Eureka Springs is a challenging road. Eureka is quite surprising as well, it'll change every notion you've ever had about Arkansas.