we had to have a little faith in the weather man this year, since he promised that the heavy rain and wild winds of Saturday, October 25th, would be clearing out on Sunday. In fact, those approaching Deerfield, MA, from the east did get a little wet on the way out, but there was nothing but bright sunshine when we arrived. Ya gotta have faith!

Our turnout was slightly off from prior years — the early morning precipitation may have scared some people off (or perhaps some people thought that Daylight Savings Time ended that weekend and showed up an hour late). In any event, eight Alfas gathered at our usual rendezvous, The Fillin’ Station, just off I-91. The participants this year included event organizer Peter Walker & Meg Anderson (‘77 Spider), Rich Rumelt (‘79 Spider), John Paradiso (‘92 Spider), Fraser Stables (‘73 GTV), Joe Fenstermaker (Lesser Car but rode with Fraser), Mark Ziburis (‘92 Spider and new stents), Mike Donnelly (‘74GTV), Steve & Diana Thomas (‘69 roundtail Spider), and Dave & Vi Pratt (‘61 Giulietta Spider).

Some of us grabbed a little breakfast at the Fillin’ Station diner (a real truck stop, complete with showers), topped off our tanks at the Fillin’ Station fillin’ station, and then we huddled for a quick drivers meeting before heading out. Although it’s easy to keep eight cars together on the empty roads of western Mass, Peter handed out route directions and maps just in case. The temperature had warmed enough such that all of the Spiders’ tops went down. And then we were off!

As soon as we left Deerfield and headed west on Route 116, we knew what we were in for. Route 116 immediately becomes a winding, twisting, well-paved road with lots of elevation changes, running through some New England countryside that’s as beautiful as it gets. This is sports car driving as good as it gets!

What’s more, Route 116 was just the beginning. Our tourmaster had added a few more diversions to our route of prior years (including more time up across the border into Vermont) so that the total length of the journey was over 100 miles. Peter picks a perfect pace (and nary a pickled pepper) — he’s intimate with the roads in the region and knows when it’s safe to fire up the boiler. The result is a tour lasting nearly three hours of mostly spirited driving, peppered (ah, there’s the pepper) with occasional slower stretches where we could simply enjoy the scenery. This year, there was more of our fabled fall foliage left on the trees than we’ve seen on previous Sorties, which added to the allure.

About two thirds of the way through, we stopped at a beautiful, tranquil grove alongside a river that’s become a regular favorite Sortie respite over the years. (It’s where our cover photo was taken.) The quiet, gurgling water provided a counterpoint to our raucous, high-revving engines. The stopover at the grove also provided trees, behind which some of us disappeared briefly.

Then it was off for the rest of the tour and more kinetic shenanigans, ultimately ending up at the Charlemont Inn for lunch and to wind down. Everyone’s spirits were high, no doubt due to the exhilarating driving we’d been doing over the past few hours. The talk was lively, lunch was tasty, and the waitress gave your editor a new nickname — Meanypants.

Then, of course, it was time to split up and head home, so we said our goodbyes in the parking lot and motored off in various directions. Thanks once again go to Peter Walker for leading another great Indian Summer Sortie! Join us sometime!

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