<![CDATA[  - Blog]]>Wed, 08 May 2024 19:08:08 -0400Weebly<![CDATA["The Great Race" takes you back in time]]>Fri, 06 Jul 2018 15:59:37 GMThttp://metrocommunication.net/blog/the-great-race-takes-you-back-in-timeGreatRace By EMM
For Immediate Publication, as of 6/29/2018
Suggested Headline "The Great Race Takes You Back in Time"

The quest to explore, to compete, and rally in vintage cars is in full swing this weekend with car buffs participating in The Hemmings Motor News Great Race 2018, from Buffalo, NY to Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and ending in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  

The first Great Race dates back to 1983, when racers started from Knott’s Berry Farm, near Los Angeles, CA and ended at the Indianapolis 500, where the rally participants were given a motorcycle escort into the famous motor speedway for a victory lap, according to a Great Race history account.  At that time, participants paid a $5,000 entry fee and there was a $250,000 purse.   The '83 race was started by car buffs Tom McRae, Curtis Graf, and Norman "Bubba" Miller.

After 1983, The Great Race changed its requirement that teams only use pre-World War 2 vehicles. Now the rally is open to all 1972 and older collectible roadsters, coupes, sedans, and trucks, even vehicles that appear to be right out of a Mad Max movie set.  Cars this year include everything from a Jenson Interceptor, to a Hudson Pikes Peak Climber to a Datsun 240Z; from Ford Speedsters and Roadsters, to Mustangs, to VW Beetles, to the Plymouth "Blues Mobile," to a Hudson Green Hornet, to a Jaguar E Type OTS, and a Porsche 356sc.

Rally teams, many outfitted in goggles, scarves, and vintage attire, get the full experience of open-air motoring in some of the most rural and scenic parts of America and Canada.  The winner of this year's event will likely end under a minute off a perfect time, similar to last year's Great Race winning time. This year's Grand Champion wins $50,000 and total purse for the event is $150,000.

Next year's 2019 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty starts at Riverside, CA, June 22, and finishes at Tacoma, WA, June 30, according to race promoters.  Last year's Great Race was from Jacksonville, FL to Traverse City, MI. 
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The objective: keep your car running and moving through the check points of the 2500-mile journey. An "Ace" means you finished the leg in less than a tick of a second-hand clock. Only analog watches are allowed.  
Those without aces still get bragging rights as reported this week in the Great Race News: www.greatrace.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/180626_TLB_0579.jpg
"As we headed down the mountain, we spotted a couple of our racers against the rocks.  It was in the gravel portion of the road, at approximately 4,500 feet of elevation. Carl Schneider and Jack Juratovic lost the brakes in their Buick station wagon, sending them on a wild ride. Luckily, Scott Henderson was right in front of the Buick, and he sacrificed his beautifully restored 1964-1/2 Mustang to bring the Buick boys to a halt. Everyone was all right, but the two cars had some cosmetic damage. Scott and Mallory finished the day’s route with some excellent scores, but the real accomplishment was helping out a fellow racer who was in a scary situation. Both the Buick and the Mustang will be able to continue competition!"

This year's race started Saturday, June 23, in Buffalo, NY and finished Sunday, July 1, 2018, Canada Day, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  The route is chosen for its scenery and diversity of terrain and roadway.  The race is capped at 150 vehicles, with each vehicle carrying two to four team members. The route goes through places like the Adirondacks, Doubleday Field, Cooperstown, NY, the Green Mountains, the White Mountains, and up the Maine coast to Bar Harbor, to Riverfront Park, Moncton, New Brunswick, and then onto Halifax.

[Box Graphic Option] [Great Race 2018 Itinerary]
SATURDAY, JUNE 23RD (START) - Pierce Arrow Museum Buffalo, NY
SATURDAY, JUNE 23RD (OVERNIGHT) - Main Street Fairport, NY
SUNDAY, JUNE 24TH (LUNCH) - Northeast Classic Car Museum Norwich, NY
SUNDAY, JUNE 24TH (PIT STOP) - Doubleday Field Cooperstown, NY
SUNDAY, JUNE 24TH (OVERNIGHT) - River Street Downtown Troy, NY

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MONDAY, JUNE 25TH (LUNCH) - Hemmings Motor News Bennington, VT
MONDAY, JUNE 25TH (OVERNIGHT) - Church Street Marketplace Burlington, VT
TUESDAY, JUNE 26TH (LUNCH) - Mt. Washington Auto Road Mt. Washington, NH
TUESDAY, JUNE 26TH (OVERNIGHT) - Water Street Downtown Gardiner, ME
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27TH (LUNCH) - Owls Head Transportation Museum Owls Head, ME
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27TH (OVERNIGHT) - Front Street Waterfront Bangor, ME
THURSDAY, JUNE 28TH (LUNCH) - Seal Cove Auto Museum Seal Cove, ME
THURSDAY, JUNE 28TH (OVERNIGHT) - Town Pier Bar Harbor, ME
FRIDAY, JUNE 29TH (LUNCH) - Rothesay Common Rothesay, NB
FRIDAY, JUNE 29TH (OVERNIGHT) - Riverfront Park Moncton, NB
SATURDAY, JUNE 30TH (LUNCH) - Library/Farmers Market Truro, NS
SATURDAY, JUNE 30TH (OVERNIGHT) - Alderney Landing Dartmouth, NS
SUNDAY, JULY 1ST (FINISH) - Waterfront Warehouse Halifax, NS

Participants include:#42, Kyle Smith and Brett Lirones, in the Peerless Green Dragon .www.greatrace.com/news/great-race-2018-day-2.html
#1, Howard Sharp, Doug Sharp, in the Hudson Pikes Peak Climber. www.greatrace.com/news/great-race-2018-day-1.html
There are "Timing Checkpoints" where participants must meet rigid speed consistency requirements, while making sure they do not stop or slow to 5 MPH or less.  "Observation Checkpoints" are compliance, safety, and food break checkpoints, where drivers and co-pilots get coffee, lobster and other local foods.  Cell Phones can only be used for emergencies and use of a cell or digital clock is prohibited, as are any maps, GPS devices, laptops, tablets, charts, tables, pace notes. 
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Race rules prohibit  competitors from using tachometers and odometers or they are blocked and speedometers are calibrated to .001 of a mile.  To get in the money, teams must be proficient communicators, good at directions, and must think two or three steps ahead in each leg of the journey, according to race guidelines.  On highways, the average speeds are 50 MPH. Teams must drive at or below posted speeds at all times. 

"This is a test of human mental agility and endurance as well as classic car endurance, rather than programming capability," according to Great Race News.  Participants must endure 220 to 250 instructions per day and 4-7 checkpoints each of the nine days of the race.
Instructions are given to drivers an hour before their designated start times.  The instructions include turns, speed changes, and reference points that need to be observed, such as a sign or landmark.  Anyone  interested in entering a rally must follow written instructions, such as the following from past year races: "End Transit at the referenced sign", or "Leave this point at 8:55:00 plus your assigned start position in minutes", or "Begin average speed of 30 miles per hour," or "Take exactly 20 minutes to complete the transit."

Teams rack up penalty scores based on each second of their leg time that differs from the perfect time computed for that leg.  Older vehicles are handicapped with a factor based on the vehicle year.  The handicapping makes "older vehicles more competitive with the mechanically improved vehicles of newer years," the rule book says.
Because the race route is held secret, spectator viewing and support vehicles are excluded from the route.  However spectator viewing and support crews are allowed at checkpoint locations.
Registration now may get you on a "wait-list only" for The Great Race 2019, but it may get you a spot for the 2020 event, according to GreatRace.com.

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Ed Metro is a professional driving instructor and a writer in Acton, MA. (edmetro1@gmail.com)
]]><![CDATA[Benches at Walden Pond]]>Wed, 05 Jul 2017 15:17:59 GMThttp://metrocommunication.net/blog/benches-at-walden-pondHave a Seat and Get to the Bottom of Walden's Timbers
By Edward M. Metro
 
What's that gnarly old wood between Walden Pond and the Visitor Center?  Take a break before crossing the busy roadway and learn about live oak and the origin of these ancient timbers.
 
The benches are made from live oak that was left over in the Charlestown Navy Yard from the mid-19th century. The wood was buried in the early 20th century, forgotten about, and re-discovered in June 2010 when contractors were excavating for the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in the Charlestown, Massachusetts Navy Yard.
 
Look closely at the tight, braided grain of the Live Oak tree, and you can imagine how this strong wood has survived so many years.  The timbers, now at Walden Pond, were brought to the navy yard for projects after the USS Constitution had left.  The Walden Pond timbers were not purposely cut for the USS Constitution, nor were they removed from the historic ship.  The re-purposed benches at Walden are from the same era as the ship. 
 
Could the wood have been used for Constitution for repairs?  Yes, if Constitution had been in Boston in the mid-19th century, but she left Boston in the 1840s and didn't return until 1897.
 
Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut received most of the live and white oak that was dug up at the Charlestown Navy Yard in June 2010.  The museum had a few of the white oak pieces age-tested through dendrochronology because live oak is too dense and the grain is too tight to measure a tree's rings.  The white oak samples were harvested in Ohio in the 1860's.  Many of the timber benches here at Walden were most likely saplings during the American Revolution. To learn  more about live oak, read, "Live Oaking: Southern Timber for Tall Ships" by Virginia Steele Wood.
 
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(Photo and story by Ed Metro)
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]]><![CDATA[Write a News Release, Email Blast, Landing Page, Direct Response Appeal....]]>Wed, 28 Jun 2017 04:00:00 GMThttp://metrocommunication.net/blog/write-a-news-release-email-blast-landing-page-direct-response-appealMany times I am asked, "How do I get the biggest bang out of my marketing budget?"

The answer is quite simple. First, form objectives, a goal (like help build revenue by 10% by 2019) and figure out what you have to spend.  

You need to take inventory of your proprietary email and phone lists.  Then put together a plan to engage and build relations.  

Do you need to update your lists?  Do you want to expand your reach and acquire new lists?  How can you get more people inquiring about your offerings?  What percent of inquiries should convert to sales?

​Now you are into the hard work of building a successful and effective campaign.  

Like anything, the more you have done this, the easier it gets.  Many times, organizations already have the makings of a good campaign: graphics, copy, good lists, sales and call center staff.  It may be as simple as pulling together the resources needed to act quickly. 
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