drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  564,980

It was time to put a few miles on the ol’ tennis shoes for a change.  Somehow I commit myself every year to running the Rock & Roll Half-Marathon in Phoenix every January – perhaps because mom twists my arm a little bit.  Mom was among a handful of other guests who have paid a visit to Arizona in recent weeks.  With all the hustle and bustle of the auctions and other events in town this time of year, my spare bedroom has a bit of a revolving door – and I love it.

Kicking off things in style, I went to an open house / reception at 180 Degrees Automotive, owned by an entrepreneur named Bogi who is at the forefront of an initiative to break down gender barriers and welcome more women into the automotive industry.  Bogi and her all-female team of skilled mechanics restored a custom Chevy pickup as part of a TV series, and the open house served to reveal the team’s next project:  An old Volvo.  I enjoyed checking out the scene and shaking a few hands.  Oh, and the signature cocktail at the event was called “Premium Unleaded.”

There were plenty of cool cars to see throughout the week, and the preview for the RM Auctions at the Biltmore Resort was especially jaw-dropping.  Parked outside the registration tent was a 2017 Ferrari “LaFerrari” valued at between six and eight million bucks.  I was afraid to even breathe on it.

I had a visit from Hagerty’s VP Jonathan Klinger and from our favorite fellow Honda collector, Peter Cunningham.  Bring a Trailer hosted an “alumni” event at The Stables in Scottsdale with a couple dozen cars that have been featured on the site in the past.  Buyers, sellers, and window shoppers all got to enjoy the morning with catered coffee from Old Town Scottsdale’s “FourTillFour.”  I got to park my 1990 Accord between a Bentley and a Porsche.  The Accord auction, incidentally, ended at $6,500 hammer price yesterday which was a solid performance.  I’m glad the car will go to someone who can appreciate it.  The car is moving to Dallas, Texas in mid-February.

The half-marathon itself was an experience in stamina, as I attempted to rally enough energy for a 13-mile jaunt without having run a single mile since last October.  I crawled past the finish line about 40 minutes after mom did, but at that point I wasn’t worried about finish times.  I just wanted my chocolate milk reward.

Here are a few more news bits:

Pic from Bogi’s event

Picking up mom in the SLX

And, a new plate for the SLX!

Jonathan from Hagerty

Jason, mom, Conor, and me, at the BaT event

Vigor + Accord – similar!

Souvenir mug

Hanging with none other than Peter Cunningham of RealTime Racing

House partayyy with catered Cafe Rio.

Mile 4 of the race.

Jason Cammisa taking a closer look at my SLX

Conor signing an exclusive piece of artwork with his 2004 TSX featured.

Taking the ILX to lunch, and following Jack’s RSX

Rehab Burger Therapy did not disappoint

Visiting my cousin on the west end of the valley – and a quick visit from my friend Michael (his ILX in the background)

Saying farewell to mom until next time!

After 3 years, I was finally able to get ahold of a “template” sticker for my 1992 Integra GS-R and have a reproduction made.

Thanks, Jason of Pawela’s Garage for helping me finally complete my sticker collection!

Best IG story ever.  We sure love the 3GTL, right Jake?

Off to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah tomorrow!  More on that soon!

This entry was posted on January 24, 2019 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Running. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.