The drive primer.

01  ·  Format

Gather. Brief. Roll. Lunch. Optional afternoon leg.

Most drives start with a 30-minute gather - coffee, route sheets, a drivers brief covering road conditions and stops. We roll out in groups of four to six cars, spaced enough to keep traffic happy. Lunch is the midpoint of every drive. Some drives include an afternoon leg back; others end at lunch.

02  ·  Pace and safety

We drive the speed limit, more or less.

A chapter drive is not a race. We drive at the posted speed limit, give or take a few miles per hour where the road and the conditions agree. We follow at appropriate distances. If you want to push, that is what Driver Education weekends are for - several PCA chapters run them at Pacific Raceways and PIR. Group drives are for getting somewhere together, not for setting times.

03  ·  What to bring

Full tank. Snacks. Layers. A charged phone.

Top off your tank before the gather - we do not always pass another station. Pack snacks and water. Layers help in the PNW where the weather has opinions. Bring the route sheet and a charged phone. If you have a co-driver, bring them - they will read the route to you and you will both have a better time.

04  ·  Communication

Group chat or radio, depending on the drive.

Some drives use a group text thread, some use FRS or GMRS radios on a designated channel, some run on hand signals and trust. The drivers brief at the gather will tell you which is in play. If we are using radios, the chapter has loaners.

05  ·  If you are new

Ride at the back. Pair with a board member. Ask everything.

On your first drive, take the tail position in your group. There is zero pressure to keep pace - the lead car will modulate. If you let any board member know you are new, they will pair you up with someone experienced. Ask every question. Most of us learned this by asking the same questions the year we joined.