LET'S GOAD

GET OUT & DRIVE

WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY JEFF GALLOWAY

Back in 2015, I came across an article in Men's Health Magazine titled "The Most Important Thing You Can Do This Weekend Is Take a Long Drive by Yourself." After reading the article, I realized why my Sunday morning backroads drives in my 1999 Porsche Boxster manual were so important! These solo drives with no phone calls, work appointments, deadlines, rules, or just hitting the backroads with only a breakfast or lunch destination in mind was my therapy. The complete solitude of just driving, shifting the gears, listening to music, navigating the turns, managing the curves, and just being present was both meditative and energizing. Although I truly enjoyed the complete solitude of going solo, there was always the desire and interest to share this same experience with others, perhaps introducing more enthusiasts to the pure joy of just Get Out And Drive. As a result, the GOAD was born. Driver and car safety is priority #1. Routes are pre-driven several times before the event, the route is shared with other drivers using the CaliMoto App, 2-way radios are used, if necessary, we will have several lead drivers and groups, there is no passing other participants, and nobody gets left behind.

We are blessed with an incredible PCA team; the Lonestar Region Porsche Club of America provides events and activities for every type of car and driver, from beginner to veteran. Over the years, I have always enjoyed meeting other Porsche owners at the GTG events, Concurs, social events and destination drives, but I felt like our club was missing organized drives that could be done locally, maybe take 3 hours, typically 125 – 150 miles total and include a social component such as breakfast, lunch, and destination stops along the way. At first, the GOAD drives were just a small group of local Katy Porsche buddies, usually around 6-8 of us and would leave from the Starbucks at LaCenterra here in Katy. I personally took ownership of organizing the events, mapping out the routes (no highways), and pre-driving the routes to ensure safety and familiarization to make the drives professional in nature.

GOAD events ranged from routes to and from Newman's Bakery in Bellville for Breakfast, Coopers BBQ in College Station for Lunch, Chappell Hill Bakery for breakfast, Washington on the Brazos State Park, and San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site. After a short period of time and posting pictures and maps of our events on the LSRPCA FaceBook page, word spread quickly. Most comments included "how can I be invited to the next event," "please include me on your list," "I am new to town and have been looking for backroads routes," and "how did I miss this?" "I did not see this on the LSRPCA calendar." The interest and passion to just Get Out and Drive was awesome, and I knew it was time to finally attempt an "Open Invitation" on the LSRPCA website, but as my good friend Alberto said to me, "be careful what you wish for." The first Open Invite GOAD was back in June, with around 35 cars meeting in Fulshear at the Middle School, all makes and models, and an incredibly diverse group of drivers. From there, the true GOAD event took shape and grew. Our most recent event, on Monday, September 5th, Labor Day, was what I call the Chappell Hill Breakfast Run, and it had over 50 cars. For this event, we met at Buc-ee's on 290. We drove backroads through Whitehall, Navasota, the Texas Independence Trail through Washington, GTG stop at Washington on the Brazos, then through Whitman to Chappell Hill, where we had breakfast at the Chappell Hill Bakery & Deli, ultimately finishing back at Buc-ee's.

The 1999 Porsche Boxster is long gone, and now my 2014 Racing Yellow Cayman S leads the way, but the joy and passion have not changed. The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is so true and can be seen in so many of the pictures members take and share from our GOAD events. No phone calls, no work appointments, no deadlines, no rules, just old friends and new friends hitting the backroads to share in the camaraderie, joy, blessing, and peace of driving these beautiful cars. It's The Journey, Not The Destination. J

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Local contact: Angelica Brothers | 346-224-4987 | dbrothers@hagerty.com