For
now we are enjoying the brown –
bring on the green.
It took almost no time at all before the ponds and
lakes that surround our Windsor, Colorado, home melted away revealing splashes
of blue in an otherwise still brown surroundings. The green of spring may be
still a few weeks away but already it is beginning to look like it’s
tantalizingly close to happening.
There have been numerous snow-days, but by all accounts
from those who regularly ski these mountains, it hasn’t been one of those
massively over-the-top snowy seasons. Having written this, there is no doubt
that sunny skies are back in vogue along Colorado Rockies’ front ranges. And
about time, too!
I
fancy, it is springtime in the Rockies
The flowers with their colors are aflame
And though I long to be back in the Rockies
I'll wait until the springtime comes again
We are entering that April – May period when snowfalls in the past have come in late and heavy. Margo thinks that she saw just the tiniest glimpse of green on our trees but I think that is more of a case of expectation than a serious outburst of color. She even took this picture of the branches in front of the nearby Flat Irons Mall while shopping last Sunday, so she may have a point.
I
see green, I see green, I see GREEN!
With the coming of spring there is a return to weekend
drives up the many canyons, taken depending upon your desire for flat-out
driving. Over the years we have enjoyed many trips to alpine villages and have driven
in various vehicles. Some road trips have proven to be more pleasurable than
others, but irrespective of the particular vehicle chosen there is no escaping
just how many beautiful and indeed breathtaking vistas you can come across on a
simply drive along a two lane highway.
There is no doubt that the driving public has been
acting with a degree of caution. The recent climb in gas prices has led to many
simply opting out of driving. While the global pandemic has certainly
contributed to a change in work habits, take away the option of cheap gas and
the hermit-like practices are gaining even more adherents. With the rest of the
world somewhat bemused by this reaction having lived with higher prices for gas
for many years, nevertheless it takes very little upward movement in the price
of gas to leave these canyon roads free of traffic.
The local CostCo gas station where it is normal to see
long lines formed at each pump was deserted the last time we stopped for gas
and that had to be a clue that the abnormal we have associated with the global
pandemic can now be applied to other aspects of our lives. Well, here in
Colorado where so much oil and gas is on hand, it still comes as a surprise
that authorities are loath to turn on the taps and return to that time when the
US was a net exporter of energy. Sigh!
Hey,
are we the only ones needing to fill up?
It wouldn’t be a normal spring time for the Holen-Buckle
family if there wasn’t some movement on the vehicle front. In our last post we
wrote of how we had made the decision to buy out the lease of our Jaguar F Type
with the view of keeping this coupe for some time. It wasn’t an easy decision
to make as we first went back and forth as to whether we should keep the BMW M4
Competition instead, but as the lease end date loomed we elected to let M4 go.
Nice car but not quite enough to keep us engaged and
that is becoming an issue with BMW and its promotion of cars as the ultimate
driving machines. No, they are not such vehicles any more as they have tended
to favor a numbing luxury mode over any spirited performance capabilities.
There may be arguments made for the smaller M2 as there might be with the
mighty M8 but then again, even here they represent compromise. And so, last
year we parted ways with the M4 Competition.
It
would seem after conversing,
the BMW decided to leave us.
However, now we are facing yet another dilemma. And
once again, it involves a BMW. In this case it is all about the BMW i8 Roadster
that in a couple of months’ time will see its lease expire. Should we buy
outright? Trade for something else? Sell on the open market given how used car
prices have gone stratospheric? There are times where Margo and I recall the
missed opportunity to buy a friend’s Porsche 911 out of lease – can you
believe, for just $40,000? Now the price for a good used 911 has climbed beyond
all sense or reason.
Shortly[MH1] we will be taking the i8 Roadster on a road trip to southern California and it will be a test after a fashion. Being a hybrid it is absolutely miserly on gas helped, no doubt, given that the heartbeat of this car is its 1.5 liter turbocharged three cylinder engine. Margo and I have ridden motorcycles with bigger engines but none, mind you, that produce 240 hp from such a small displacement. Coupled with the electric motor it does produce a spirited ride if not quite supercar like, but for us it’s primarily a work of art. When the sun is out and with the roof retracted, there is nothing better suited to the open road.
There
is nothing like a roadtrip in a supercar.
Talking yet again about cars, something that you will
find us doing at this time of year as we look to the future and ponder what
comes next, there is one more sign that indeed the sun is shining and spring is
upon us once again. Indy Car racing is back on the menu, so as to speak! As
competition resumes it’s an occasion for all drivers to start out with a clean
sheet. As the first weekend race started on the streets of St Petersburg,
Florida, one commentator went so far as to observe that with the fall of the
race starters green flag, all drivers were level on points, that being zero.
That is all but the driver who landed the pole position
and began their campaign with a positive one point to their name. With two
events now firmly behind them, the real shock has been the breakout season the
Kiwi former Aussie SuperCar racer is having with a win and a second from his
first two starts. As for our friends Brian and Jan Kenny’s grandson, Colton
Herta, then he did so-so at St Petersburg with a fourth place (and yes, he was
the reigning race winner, a carryover from 2021 running of that race) and
suffered from a dreadful pit stop in Texas while competing for the lead.
2021
winner of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Hopefully this doesn’t turn out to be a sign for what
will happen during the season but with a fourth and a twelfth place finish he
now lies tied at seventh in the championship. Did I mention that the next Indy
Car race is on the streets of Long Beach, California, and he is currently the
reigning champ from that event. A good finish on that course will see him jump
up the rankings as those ahead of him, between second and seventh, are only
separated by less than twenty points and winners can count on fifty plus points
per weekend.
With a contract signed for this year and next, a new
contract with McLaren F1 signed for Colton to test in F1 and yes, another 24
Hours at Daytona win alongside his name and yet one more Rolex watch on his
wrist, 2022 could very well prove to be the break out year for Colton and this
is something to look forward to and when you consider that for 2023 F1 will be
racing on road courses in Austin Texas and Miami Florida (new for 2022) as well
as the just announced street course in Las Vegas (new for 2023) it seems like for
the opportunity to watch Colton in F1 at some future date we wouldn’t have to
leave the country.
These
are my meatballs –
I made them so I get to eat them, right?
“In the spring a young man's
fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” Perhaps, but more
accurately here in the US, “In spring, a young man's
fancy lightly turns to thoughts of baseball.” But maybe,
not this year, as it is college basketball that has the country caught up in
the excitement over the potential for Duke University to win the NCAAB
championship. For those unfamiliar with what’s happening then much of the
excitement over basketball, and the possibility of a Duke win, centers on their
venerable coach, Mike Krzyzewski, retiring with that one last championship. No
college coach has won more games and as the coach of the US Olympic basketball
team, with three gold medals!
For Margo and me this has been more of a side show
rather than the main event although I have to say, Margo did join me in
watching the game between Duke and the University of North Carolina that didn’t
go the way the fans wanted. However, with our thoughts turning to spring closer
to home it meant dining outside for the first time in 2022. Rugged up as the
evening temperatures dropped noticeably there certainly wasn’t anything wrong
with the home cooked spaghetti and meatballs that Margo served. Since that time
outside we have entertained others of late but as yet, we have not taken the
covers off the grill and when we do that, expect a story focused on that
official commencement of spring proper.
On a final note even as the decision has been made to
keep the Jaguar F Type and the arrival of our Jaguar F Pace is only a matter of
weeks away, what about the Corvette C8 Z06 we have ordered? Well the news on
that front is that it will likely come in the late summer of 2026, believe it
or not. However, Margo and I are taking it in our stride as we are in no real
hurry but then again, if we elect not to buy the i8 Roadster, would we be better
off waiting for that Z06 with a Porsche in the garage? Happiness comes in many
forms with the coming of spring, so who can say. And yet, maybe not!
…
and a Corvette is the very essence of Spring Time!
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