Part 1
It was a perfect Pantera day. Another glorious fall day. Sunny and cool. And perfect for a run in the country. After spending most of yesterday in the cat, I was up early and raring to go do it again. Carmen called to wake me but and surprised that was up and ready. Carmen and Gaetano had already stopped for coffee and were headed my way. I was off to get gas and would meet them on the highway as we made out way out of town, into the crisp beauty of the changing tress and blue skies.
I fueled up, added some 15/50 Mobil1 and hustled down the on-ramp to join them on the expressway. I wound up thru the gears, the Cleveland Symphony rising behind my ears and in just a few minutes came up behind the lowest, hottest looking red Pantera I’ve seen, since the last time I saw Gaetano’s ’74. It sits so perfectly on those 18” wheels and is a sight to behold. Especially while moving – quickly.
Gaetano, Carmen and I traded places back and forth as we blasted thru slower traffic, revs up around 5k and stupid grins stuck to our faces. A great start to a great day. We passed thru sleepy Sunday traffic, roared over the bridge heading south, then a few miles down the road we pulled off the expressway onto a service road to wait for Michel.
It didn’t take long for Michel to arrive. We chit chatted for a few minutes, then anxious to get back in the saddle, we got back onto the highway and hung around the 130 mph for most of the ride, Incredible. I was wondering how come we were all so fast this morning. Usually Just a few of us are so hardcore. I guess it was the fact there were no wives and we all needed to get rid of the stress of falling portfolios and sickening stock values. With little room for any attention other than the road and traffic around us, all else was irrelevant and quickly left behind.
Eventually, we got off the highway, now deep in the Eastern Townships, surrounded by fantastic red and orange trees and bright blue skies. We found Gaetan (no relation to Gaetano) in his red rocket waiting for us at a gas station where we grabbed a fast coffee and more fuel before heading back into the mountains. This was Gaetan’s part of the woods, so he led the way through some twisty roads. We buried the throttle every chance we got.
The noise and color of a Pantera as it passes you at around 6000 RPM is really something special. We made sure that each of us enjoyed this experience countless times. Eyewitnesses in minivans hung out of their windows shooting pics of us and deftly getting out of the way. What fun!
But as traffic slowed each time we hit the small farm towns, we cruised comfortably and soaked up the awesome scenery.
It was a perfect Pantera day.
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