Road Trip

[kpcseven]

Our own Ross Robbins has written a book telling the tales of his road trips, many in his Elan. If you have enjoyed hearing of his long distance travels here on Lotuselan.net as I have then check out his book, Road Trip! Chasing blue skies on roads that go forever. Available on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Road-Trip-Chasing ... =road+trip
An inspiration! I've ordered my copy.

[Ross Robbins]

Hey Thanks Ken!

I should mention that Road Trip! is also available on amazon.co.uk, at 7.95 pounds and on the continent at amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon.it and amazon.es all at 7.95 Euro. It is written always in "American" English regardless of location, however.

Won't you let me know what you think if you get one? Thanks.

[69S4]

Hi Ross - No Kindle version, or is that for the future? Presumably you've had to pay up front to get the book printed and now it's just a case of having to recoup that money on sales. I'm just interested because I have a number of friends who have books written but are wondering what to do next, what route to take to get their tomes in front of readers, and also one who took a chance and had 500 privately printed a couple of years ago. He's just manged to sell the last of them recently and is now wondering whether to risk another print run. It almost seems like the writing is the easy part.

[gjz30075]

I just finished it. A GREAT read! I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend it.

Greg Z

[Ross Robbins]

Stuart,

I can produce a Kindle version if there is any demand for it. I just assumed the folks who like old cars would like old technology to read about it. Am I as hopelessly out of date as an Elan?

Give me some direction on this. Is it wroth doing a Kindle version?

[69S4]

Hi Ross - I've no idea whether a Kindle version is the way forward or commercial suicide a la music downloads as I've heard the arguments go both ways but it's certainly a lot cheaper to get things off the ground digitally and of course the finished product can be cheaper as you're cutting out the printing stage. Kindles are useless though if you've included photographs and I've no idea whether there are any / many in your book - I'll have to buy a copy and find out - anything with Elans in it tends to lead to my wallet being crowbarred open!

Really though I was just interested in the background to it all as over the last five years or so I've come across so many people who've written books on a whole range of topics and in the absence of publishers beating a path to their door have had to work out their own route to making their work available. Some, as I mentioned before, have gone down the pay-for-a-print-run-up-front road ( a friend who fictionalised his WW2 childhood experiences and my wife's cousin who wrote an epic poem about commuting to mention but two ), whereas others (friends who did a motorcycle trip around Iceland for example) have gone down the digital-mainly-but-print-on-demand route. I also know a number of others (including myself) who have manuscripts in various stages of completion and are wondering what to do with them. I wouldn't think anyone would have much interest in anything I wrote but some of the others definitely deserve a wider audience.

[kpcseven]

I just finished Ross's Road Trip! book. It's a fun read sure to make any Lotus owner smile and wonder how any guy gets so fortunate as to have had such a great collection of Lotus, the tremendous luck to have taken them on such journeys and to have survived to tell the tale, and a wife not only tolerant of the escapades but willing to facilitate and join in on the adventure.

Buy the book and read it for inspiration to get as much fixed as possible as we enter Spring and Summer driving - hopefully on a long road trip. HIghly recommended.

[Ross Robbins]

I guess if Bob can bump his post about his book I can be just as shameless and bump mine. By the way I bought Bob's Europa book and enjoyed it very much. I hope he enjoyed mine

[zog]

I'm a car guy.... I don't read books! Unless they have car pictures...

[HolmDenmark]

Read the book over Christmas. Truly inspirational for getting out there and enjoying the open roads when spring breaks. Essential reading for all Lotus and sports car guys.

[Tahoe]

I bought the book as my own present and I'm reading approx. 1 chapter per day. Only couple more to go and I love it. Brings back a flood of memories of my own road trips. Good work Ross!

Some of my road trips:
'65 Sunbeam Tiger from Southern CA up the coast to Vancouver and back down stopping at Lauguna Seca for the historic races.
'56 Chevy 150 2 door wagon towing a '53 Crown travel trailer over 8000 miles from the West coast up to Canada, over to the East coast and back to California.
'91 M100 from California, through Yellowstone, Glacier, Bad Lands to Wisconsin and back. Top down while snowing in Glacier!
Many trips to Historic races in Sunbeam Tiger, Lotus Elan, Morris Minor Woody, Morris Minor Pick Up, 56 Chevy Wagon, 59 Studebaker 2 door wagon, Land Rover, SVO Mustang, Alfa Duetto, Bugeye (Frogeye) Sprite.
Many trips towing my 59 Airstream towed by some of the above to national parks, races, and just for the Hell of it!

....and many more! Maybe I should document some of them.

[kpcseven]

Russ,
Those sound like great trips!

I'd be really interested in the trips that others have taken in their Elans or other LBC's, as well as tips and advice to make such trips successful. My own longest trip in a Lotus has been from Pittsburgh to Gettysburg, PA for LOG in my Seven. This past summer saw a few 200 mile round trip rides in my Elan. All rides around the block compared to Ross Robbins and his adventures but, as I said, his book has been an inspiration for future endeavors.
Ken

[DeanG]

We did go to a LOG in Ohio with our Elan. On the way back to SE Virginia I raced a dump truck. It was surprisingly fast down hill! My other long drive in the Elan was taking it from Connecticut to our new home in Virginia. Driving the Elan is always an adventure.

We have taken our M100 coast to coast twice (9,000+ miles each time) and one trip that was almost coast to coast (7,000) miles. The only problems we had in those trips were CAS, wheel bearing adjustment, fuel injector shorting out and a tripped rollover sensor. I have driven that car in 47 states. It is almost too civilized.

[StressCraxx]

Hello Ross,

Your book is great fun. It brought back some memories of the times Sue and me toured Colorado in my ratty old Elan, Independence Pass and our very first fruit smoothie in Aspen bought from a street vendor. That was our first Glenwood Rallye.

We enjoyed our share of thundershowers (when the wipers would no stop wiping until you switched off the ignition) and doing Sunday tours in the mountains with a stop in Idaho Springs at the SugarPlum for a scoop of their delicious ice cream. I think Ken Phair or Chuck and Betty Henry clued us in on the pie and ice cream there.

Camping at Laguna Seca with my two year old son in the Lotus Corral during the Historics. He now suffers the affliction with a 62 S2 Seven.

Best regards,
Dan Wise

[Ross Robbins]

Thanks for the kind words guys. I am delighted you have enjoyed it. It was on my bucket list to do and now I have done it. Dan, you have clearly raised your son properly And by the way it is Mike Henry not Chuck. The memory is the second thing to go, right?

I have sold enough now to spend the royalties on a lavish night out with my wife at Olive Garden. (For those across the pond, that is a cheapo chain eating place- I dare not even call it a restaurant)