CC5C: Enter the Dragon

Benvenuti amici!

Cream City 500 Club is more than a group of Milwaukee/Madison/Oshkosh-based FIAT loving, beer drinking and cream-colored brick laying loonies. We are actively involved in supporting the greater (national, international) community of Italian city car drivers. We support one another in our FIAT life and attend national as well as local events. One national event on the radar of many CC5C Famiglia members is the Brett Melancon founded & led FIAT on the Dragon (FotD). For those unfamiliar with this massive event, you can read more about it here and keep up with FotD related news here.

The Mighty Mouse Militia is Growing

This year, a number of CC5Cers joined the swelling Mighty Mouse Militia roster on this curve carving trek. Duane Hand reports his very personal experience in this entry. The photos used for this entry are courtesy of Brett, David, Duane, Edwin and yours truly. 

Duane & Mary Ann Hand w/Luigi (sans stripes)

It's 4:00 AM, Thursday, April 9th, 2015, and I'm wide awake. The plan is to get an early start anyway but I'm too excited to sleep. At 4:30 I wake my wife, Mary Ann, so that we can make the final preparations for our trip.  With the usual morning rituals completed, we begin the process of packing the final items in the suitcase and loading everything into the back of the car... double checking along the way to be sure nothing is being left behind.

We're all loaded up by 5:15, so we slide into our 2012 giallo FIAT 500 Sport (Luigi) and set the navigation on my phone for our destination, 650 miles southeast of home. The phone tells us this trip will take us 10 hours to complete. Wasting no time, we set out on our journey -- we want to start out early, in order to avoid Chicago rush hour traffic. And also in order to arrive at our destination early enough to unwind before going to bed for the night.

Luigi (with stripes) Summer 2014

We sail through Chicago with no traffic delays and feel like we are truly on our way. With the Windy City in our rear view mirror, we decide to stop in Indiana to have breakfast. We did not take the time for that at home, partly because it was just too early but also, because we needed to get a jump on Chicago traffic. We settle for fast food because we're anxious to reach our destination at a decent hour.

The next leg of the journey is fairly uneventful, with just short stops for restroom breaks, fuel, or to change drivers. We get our rest but not so for Luigi. That's okay because I like to think he's doing what he was made for and is enjoying his first ever extended road trip.

We've been at this for a while, now, and the hunger had returned. We just entered Kentucky a short while ago and agree to stop for some lunch... fast food again. We've been driving through rain, quite hard at times, for most of the trip. One of the wiper blades has been making a loud, annoying clunking sound on each cycle, so it's off to an auto parts store, while we're off the highway, for a replacement. With the wipers blissfully silent again we resume our trip.

It's almost 4:00 PM, local time, and we've just crossed over into Tennessee. Finally, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're less than 2 hours from our destination.

We leave the freeway and make our way on the final leg of the trip. One more stop for fuel to make sure we're ready for tomorrow. Just before 6:00 PM we arrive at the Talley Ho Inn in Townsend, TN. We get checked in, go for dinner and settle in for the night. Big day tomorrow.

I spy Mirabella (James' A500). Can you?

Gigante meets up with (Doc)Ron's lil' beastie

Chris' bianco A500 with Jolly Club livery

850 Sport Coupe: Old is still New in Italian

Vintage X1/9: Among a host of Nuova 500s

FIATs rival nature's beauty in this gorgeous shot

Friday morning I'm up early again. You see, today, I'm participating in FIAT on the Dragon and the excitement is building. A few years ago, we were vacationing in the same part of Tennessee. We were going somewhere (Where? I don't remember.) and the GPS led us into North Carolina. It eventually deposited us on the Cherohala Skyway. We thought, "this sounds scenic", and it was! There were numerous spots to pull off with spectacular views of the mountains and valleys. The Skyway suddenly turned into the Tail of the Dragon.  None of us knew what this was, at the time. But the GPS said this was the way to go... So, what the heck, let's go! I was driving an SUV with four passengers. I was having the time of my life, but not so for my family. The many, sharp turns were making them feel ill. Being the driver, I didn't feel the same effects as they were. I was persuaded to take it a bit slower. It seemed like this road was never going to end -- turn, after turn, after turn.

Once we made it safely back to our cabin, I looked up the Tail of the Dragon and discovered it is an 11 mile stretch of mountain road, in North Carolina and Tennessee. In that 11 miles the pavement makes 318 turns, many of them very sharp.

After I became the proud owner of a FIAT 500 Sport, it dawned on me that it would probably be fun to drive 'the Dragon' in this spirited little car. I discovered that FIAT Club America's Brett Melancon organizes an event each year called FIAT on the Dragon and that's why I came here.

Greg's tuned 500L (Jolly Club livery)

Duane-Cam POV...

In hot pursuit!

Hard right at your 12!

Drivers and FIATs (over 100 of them) gather, in the rain, on a field at the Inn, for final instructions before we make our way to 'the Dragon'. I am alone in Luigi because Mary Ann has no desire to experience this again. We leave in small groups and head to the Foothills Parkway. This Parkway is good practice for what lies ahead. It has quite a few turns on it, though not as severe. This gets you used to what is coming up.

At one point, the leader of my group pulls off at one of the spots on the side of the road and we all follow. I'm thinking, "What a beautiful view of the Smokey Mountains from here. But I can't take my eyes off of the caravan of FIATs whizzing past us". It's very cool to be in such a caravan, but it's impressive to be on the side of the road watching and hearing them go by.

We're approaching 'the Dragon' and, again, we pull off. This time it is for a tree that has fallen over half of the road. I get the feeling that this is not an uncommon occurrence. Soon, we're back on the road again.

Finally, I see a road sign -- Sharp Turns Next 11 Miles. This is it, we're here!

No turning back now -- Fun is on the way!

Gigante leads an aggressive group...

Mark & Co. join the fun in his tuned 500T

At first, it's not too bad, but it quickly evolves into a very challenging roadway.  Some of the turns are quite mild and easy to handle. But it seems that most of the time, as  I come out of one turn, I am immediately thrown into another. I am trying to be conscious of the center line and not cross it because, on occasion, I encounter a vehicle coming the other way, right in the middle of a curve. I notice that there are very few spots on this road that have guardrails. Indeed, I take a couple of curves that are sharper than I expected and the adrenaline starts pumping and I'm thinking, "I'm going to be driving down the side of the mountain without a road."

Finally, I see Welcome to North Carolina and I know I'm almost done. A short while later, I arrive at Deals Gap -- which is the other end of the Tail of the Dragon. I pull into the parking lot and I just sit there allowing the tension to slowly release. Luigi doesn't seem to need to do this. Going into this, I wasn't sure how well this little car was going to perform going up such a challenging roadway. Now that I've done it, I'm very impressed. Despite the steep grade, at points, the wet pavement, and the challenging turns, this little 500 performed very well. This has been so much more fun than in a larger SUV.  Also, being without passengers, I was able to go faster which made it more fun and, at the same time, scarier!

Luigi with new window dressings!

After shopping (I needed a window decal to proclaim our achievement) and some, well needed decompression time, I turn around to do it again... downhill. The rest of the group is going on to do the Cherohala Skyway before turning around, but I came here to do 'the Dragon', and now that I have lived the dream, I just want to go back. The return trip is a totally different experience.  Going downhill is a lot different because I'm relying more on gravity and less on the accelerator. Also, I feel a bit more relaxed because I don't have the constant feeling that I may be holding back the group (behind me).

There are more drives and FIAT activities this weekend. But we choose not to participate in most of them, because this is our vacation time and we have plans of/drives to do on our own. This is beautiful country and we want to take the time to appreciate it.

This has been an amazing experience, which I encourage all FIATisti to participate in. Whether you want to do something different or you want to see how far you can push your car, and yourself, you can NOT be disappointed.

The end… Or is this just the beginning?

Luigi on the Dragon (with CC5C grille badge)

Special THANK YOU to Duane for taking the time to write this entry and GRAZIE MILLE to Mary Ann for being a good sport and life partner to our reporter. We look forward to seeing you soon...

Vivere.Amare.Guidare.
For Brett Melancon & the Mighty Mouse Militia

Ciao!

@

FIAT on the Dragon

Benvenuti amici!

As is evident to anyone even remotely familiar with this blog, CC5C thrives on a Famiglia First set of principles. In the nine months since launching, our local club has grown exponentially and non-local support and/or membership in said club has grown at an even faster rate. 

The largest group we've seen at a gathering included 20 cars… which is a small fraction of our blog & Facebook presence. But we are not the only new independent FIAT enthusiast group enjoying success. In fact, there are many. One particular group is led by someone we are happy to count among CC5C friends. We've featured his event/s in a few different ways on this blog, thanks to James Wilson & Edwin Barron. Brett Melancon is an aficionado in the truest sense of the word, the editor/publisher of RICAMBI magazine & founder/organizer of FIAT on the Dragon.

Today, we are very pleased to feature the man, himself, for a short e-conversation. Brett is a difficult guy to catch… whether or not he's behind the wheel of a FIAT.

CC5C: Hello, Brett. How're you? If your schedule is anything like mine, you're probably exhausted. HaHa! All joking aside, though, how're you, man. I know you just wrapped the second annual 'Spring Thaw' event, FIAT on the Dragon.

Brett: I am good, thanks for asking.  I must say that after the event concluded, I had a serious case of withdrawals from the fun.  I am a road trip junkie and love to drive.  I get my enjoyment from the journey almost as much as the destination.  This is probably what led me to start the FIAT on the Dragon as a DRIVING event.  As you pointed out, the Spring 2014 Event was our second Spring event.  We also did a Fall Run but it was more informal.  I started tagging the Fall runs as FIAT on the Dragon-Unplugged.

There is nothing quite as rewarding as putting on an event and having people travel from all over, thousands of miles even, to attend.  It makes it all worthwhile and keeps me excited for the next event.  I have set my goal at an ambitious 100 FIAT cars for 2015!

CC5C: Man, that reads like a blast. One hundred FIATs for 2015?! That is ambitious. But it seems you're on target and the goal isn't outlandish… by any definition (not for someone with your ambition). Right, then. Please explain, for those unaware, what RICAMBI & FIAT On The Dragon are... a bit of history... and what part you play in these activities.

Brett: Well, RICAMBI is a full color, 32 page club magazine published by FIAT Club America (formerly FLU).  I have been doing this magazine since the late 90s and am currently working on the 60th issue!  That is quite a milestone for me, as you might imagine.  I work hard to maintain a balance of new and vintage FIAT material.  Since the magazine is 100% reader written, that can be a challenge at times.  Thankfully, FCA has lots of excited folks who love to share stories about how they enjoy their FIATs.  As long as the stories keep coming, I will keep doing the magazine.

I have been involved in and attending FIAT events since 1994 when I joined FCA (then FLU).  My first event was the FIAT FreakOut In Poughkeepsie, New York and I was hooked.  I have not missed a FIAT FreakOut since then.  In 1998, I co-chaired the show as we hosted it at the then little known Fontana Village Resort near the Tail of the Dragon.  At that time, Fontana had never done a car event as large as ours.  Our first year at Fontana brought in a record number or over 150 cars and we repeated it in 1999.  It became clear even then that people would travel to visit and drive this part of the country in their FIAT.  At this time, the Dragon was relatively unknown by anyone who didn’t ride a motorcycle.  We helped to change that.

As the years rolled by, I assisted with many other FFO events and kept thinking that someone should organize a driving event near the Tail of the Dragon.  When FIAT returned to the USA, I knew then that this was my chance to do something cool with FIAT and the Dragon.  FIAT on the Dragon was born as a Spring 2012 event and we proudly modeled our basic structure after the MINI on the Dragon event that has become so popular with MINI drivers.

Now that we've held our second successful Spring event with about 50 FIAT cars, we know we are onto something special.  The real surprise for participants is the Devil’s Triangle.  Most return home with memories of that road as being even more fun and challenging than the Dragon.  Maybe we should have called FIAT on the Triangle?

Or next big Spring event is going to be April 10-12 2015 and plan to be there with your FIAT.  As I said earlier, my goal is an ambitious 100 FIAT cars.  'FIAT USA, are you listening?'  We love the cars and we love to drive, watch us do it.

CC5C: Thanks for the rundown… and energy. 'Excellent work you're doing... and it definitely reads as exhausting as it is fun. The missus & I intend to attend your 'Unplugged' run this year. We're also talking about making your Spring event a regular stop for us. So thanks for the invite!

If you don't mind, I'd like to really focus my questions on FOTD. I think RICAMBI, the only dedicated US-published FIAT magazine of which I'm aware, sells itself.

The big question which keeps springing to mind, for me, is how you were able to organize people around the event. It seems as though it has become some sort of Mecca for North American drivers of new FIATs. So, how'd you do it?

Brett: Thanks Amado!  I look forward to meeting you both and sharing some great roads together on the Fall run.  The Fall run has the potential to be the most scenic thing you will do all year.  I try to time this so that it coincides with the peak Fall colors.

FotD… Well, this has always been an event waiting on the right time [for me].  For years, this is something I have wanted to do.  The re-introduction of FIAT to North America was the fuel that I needed to get this fire started.  Our first Spring event had more attendees than I had planned and I knew then that I was onto something big.  The 20-30 cars we had over the weekend on that first event was all the proof I needed to keep moving on this idea.  I will never forget how great it was to hear the laughter and comments from everyone about how much fun they were having when we made our stop on the Devil’s Triangle.  People could not say enough good things about the experience.  

My background is in marketing and graphic design, so, I have a natural desire to look at situations in a creative manner.  This event is a result of years of thinking about it and considering ways to share experiences in a FIAT with other people.  FIAT USA spends lots of money trying to do what I have done on a shoestring.  To date, I have not made a dime on this event and that is okay.  My goal is to provide an experience that does not break the bank.  

One thing to remember is that this is a Driving Event.  We may add a show element to it someday but, for now, don’t come if you don’t like to drive because that is what we do.  It is not unusual for is to do over 500 miles over the weekend in addition to the distance driven getting there.  I guarantee that those 500 miles are some of the most fun ever in a FIAT.

Looking forward, my goal is to build this event so it is bigger than me.  I want to build some kind of structure that will carry things on, even if I am not able to do it all.  Bringing Tom and Donna Broberg onboard to help out this year was key to this plan.  They are my home base heroes and manage the hotel side of things with the onsite meals.  They have done other events for upwards of 500 people and bring lots of talent to the table.

CC5C: "Bigger than me." I dig that. This is the ultimate goal for CC5C. If it only works when the founder is involved, nothing was really founded. The idea of these kinds of things ought to be future-forward & self-propulsion. I applaud you on that… I know it isn't easy.

I'm sure there is lots of work waiting for your attention. Thanks so much for taking time out of a busy schedule to share your vision… your passion... with us. The CC5C wishes you and all FIATisti involved with FIAT On The Dragon the very best, Brett. We'll see you sooner than later, my friend.

Brett: Thanks Amado!

Vivere.Amare.Guidare.

Ciao!

@