A photostory by Gene Durso and Kevin Murphy

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Seven Alfas and two Triumph TR6s braved the cold rain on October 22 for another of our perennial October runs through central Massachusetts, this time hosted by Gene and Judy Durso. Here the cars line up (in part) at the starting point in Leicester. None of the roadsters felt like going topless that morning (maybe it was the temp in the mid-forties).

We’re not kidding—this is your hardcore touring/rallying group! If our cars (TRs and Alfas) weren’t so vulnerable to the tin worm, they’d be here in the middle of February as long as a "run" was being held. Nonetheless, working heaters and windshield wipers seemed like a real plus that morning. Left to right: Judy Durso, Tracy Navaroli, Joe Salvucci, Kevin Murphy, Jim Murphy, Myron Barnett, and Jim Sullivan.

Scott Navaroli makes a new pal from Connecticut—Mark Ziburis, an AONE member and SCCA rallyist who drove all the way up just to join our run to the Mountain. I gotta admit, the guy really has the full Alfa wardrobe. Think maybe he won those red sneakers off a Ferrari driver?

New England Triumph Club members Greg Elevich and Bob Lang huddle behind two warmed-up Alfas. Bob is quite active in his racing TR6 that he campaigns in SCCA Solo II—in fact, he’s in the running for this year’s Stirling Moss Award. Thanks for joining us this morning, guys—better weather next year!

At one point, we had to pit for gas as at least one tank was low—the colorful cars livened up this gas station/convenience stop for a time, so most refueled on beverages as well.

NET’s Greg Elevich and AONE’s Kevin Murphy had agreed in advance to swap rides for at least part of the run just for the fun of it. Here, Joe Salvucci watches with an "Are you serious?" look on his face as Kevin and Greg trade keys and check out the cars.

So look where Kevin parks the blue TR6 at the pit stop—somebody must have been running low, and I don’t mean unleaded! The maroon TR6 next to it is Bob Lang’s "street" TR, who ran sweeper duty for us in case Kevin got himself into trouble on Greg’s TR. Aside from stalling it on a hill at a traffic light, he managed pretty well, as did Greg in the Spider.

Scott, Myron, and Jim get into a serious huddle over the menu at the Pizza Palace—our lunch stop. The food was hot (good on a day like this) and filling, which left us more forward-thinking types to consider how much room we should leave for our eventual destination.

After leaving the Pizza Palace for about 10 more miles of back roads and spirited driving, we arrived at the Mount Wachusett auto road and found to our pleasure that, due to the lateness of the season or the unfriendly weather, there was no one there to collect the $2 toll. So on we went, up the fast, occasionally bumpy switchbacks to the top of the mountain. When we got there we parked, more or less, in a cloud.

When the cloud lifted, we could see the cars and people again, but at the cost of a stiff wind. (Only moments before, Gene had said, "Hey—at least there’s no wind up here.") Heck, it’s the third week in October—I guess we should be thankful that the road is still open and there’s no snow, as we would have been driving in three inches of the stuff if we had waited exactly one week longer. And a week after that it would be 65°F! Good ol’ New England…

Our final destination was a sight for sore eyes (and dry throats!)—the Wachusett Mountain Brewery, just a couple of miles off the mountain. The Oktoberfest was in great demand, and short supply, so we (excuse the expression) loaded up on what was still available. We all enjoyed the usual thorough tour of the production facility (as well as samples of some of its produce) and then slowly gravitated back to the cars to wend our way home. Hard to believe that another Wachusett Run was over, but there is always next year to look forward to. After Kevin’s and Greg’s ride swap, there was some chatter about making that a focal point of the next run—so we need to see an equal number of TR’s and Alfas in ’06. This may become very popular! Thanks to everyone who attended, and especially to the Dursos for a great tour.