It was a beautiful Saturday for a drive -- a bit overcast which kept the heat at bay, but no real threat of rain.  That made for a phenomenal drive through some great roads in the area.  We had 14 participants with nine club members (some with spouses) in eight cars including 5 MG's, a '68 Volvo, and a 2015 Bentley GT3-R.  We gathered in Conroe at about 10am for the roughly 120 mile drive.  We started out heading west across Lake Conroe - with a beautiful view of the lake.  We then turned North on FM-149 through the Sam Houston National Forest.  This route is characterized by tree lined roads, sparse development, elevation changes, and plenty of sweeping curves.  We eventually reached Highway 30 where we turned west toward our lunch stop - the Yankee Tavern & Grill -- which is near Gibbons Creek Reservoir and a little past Roans Prairie (population 63 so you may not be familiar with it ).  After a leisurely lunch at Yankee Tavern & Grill, we started south on what is probably the most fun road around - FM-3090.  This stretch of road has fast sweeping turns, sharp turns requiring downshifts, and plenty of elevation changes.  It's one where, if you're talking too much and not paying attention, you can find yourself headed straight when the road makes a hard turn like Gordon Bard & I almost did (luckily I have good brakes and no MG's were negligently injured on the drive).  After FM-3090, we arrived at Highway 6 near Navasota where one car, Neil Humphries' 1971 MGB lost his clutch.  It wouldn't be an outing if we didn't have at least one car needing assistance & this drive proved to be especially true of that as a second car, Bill Bowers' 1974 MGB GT (V6 powered) had some odd noises from the hydraulic throwout bearing so he decided to take this opportunity to take a more direct route home for fear it might fail as well.  He made it home without incident we're happy to report!  The rest of us continued on our route but I alluded earlier to my tendency to chat with my co-pilot.  Gordon & I were busy catching up again talking and I missed a turn that, by the time we realized, had added about 10 miles to our total route.  We recovered & re-joined our planned route with only a slight detour.  The average round trip for the participants - excluding Scott & Trish Hardy who came from the Dripping Springs area -- was about 150 miles.  Scott & Trish clocked 530 miles!  The best way to ensure your car is prepared to make long drives is, well, to drive it.  You may have an issue along the way, but other members will come to your rescue & once you get through any gremlins, you'll be the one helping others out!  So, next time there's an opportunity, don't hesitate to join in!

~ Rob Ficalora