Rudy Mancinas and I kick some asphalt.

A group meetup of four and a group ride for Rudy and I.   Seems simple enough, but it was AWESOME.

Actually this was a crappy photo before I cropped out a truck,  my dash and an overpass

When Rudy hits the road, people online know what's happening.  Another Porsche just left the market and is getting parked in his little garage in Texas.  We all get quite excited because we are living our dreams vicariously through him.   The C4S above he sourced from Wichita Kansas.  

Who's Rudy you ask?  Were you born yesterday?

Read this:  

Rudy Mancinas Porsche Collection - Hypebeast

Or this:

This Guy Wants To Have A Porsche 911 In Every Color

watch this:

Meet Rudy Mancinas, A Very Colorful Porsche Collector ...

Now you may read on because you can understand that  Rudy is the Jay Leno of Porsche 993s.  

Rudy in Kansas, loaded up his one owner C4S. No I didn't ask permission to use his picture.

A Pad Keeper could have easily been mailed, but that wouldn't be any fun now would it?  Rudy was already on the road after fetching the car.  Why not make it a road trip?  

Off to Colorado

David Etter's Pad Keeper is an obvious Rudification and David lives outside of Denver.  No drilling or mods, so uptight purists can embrace these too. They cost $159 which is cheap enough. Heck, if it was an OEM part Porsche would charge $500 like they do for shift knobs and cigarette lighters.  One is pictured below, just in case you are the last man on earth and haven't seen one.   

Porsche  heat/sound insulation usually  looks like a saggy diaper that leaks.. 

The Pad Keeper below keeps everything looking nice and tidy,  permanently.

Rudy asked if I wanted to join him and David  to grab a coffee or something.  If talking about buying a Porsche is fun, just imagine talking w/someone who's purchased dozens.   Oh, and "or something" translates to driving if you didn't know.  Does a bear crap in the woods?  Hell yes, I'll meet up.  I dropped everything and made this short notice invite happen.

People here are models of course, we aren't this good looking.

Due to such short notice our group was small.  David arrived on the scene with his goodies. Rudy stocked up for the all cars he'd recently bought,  I scored a Pad Keeper for myself, paid for by barter.  I offered David  50% of my blog earnings for 10 years, he doesn't know that will come to about 10 bucks. 

These, and Idaho potatoes, are the only two things still manufactured in the USA

You'll note some of the Pad Keepers are different sizes above,  David explained although all Porsche 911 engine compartments look similar they are not; to fit properly, several fitments are actually required.   Here's a link to a  little chatter on Pelican's forum about them. 

White car is my C2S, the grey car is the new Toyota model 24. They look similar don't they?

We discussed important worldly issues at Brooklyn's in Denver, like everyone's love of the BMW 2002.  Rudy's use of  NB cars as place holder "investments" till the right WB car comes along. How that practice has benefited other enthusiasts when he sells these "Rudified" NB cars. David shared details on some cool things he's developing.   Debated if Kim Kardashian was more like a C4S or a RWB.  Okay so I made that one up.  Lastly, we appreciated the anonymity of forums and how you can get advice from people w/out a drivers license.   

Everyone knows a C2S is MUCH faster than a C4S, Rudy did his best to keep up w/me..

A quick consult with David for a driving route was in order at this point. (I-70 then up Central City Casino Parkway)  Though I'm here in Colorado, I've actually driven less than 1000 miles since moving here 2yrs ago.  New job and new child have kept me pretty distracted.  Neither Rudy nor I knew Colorado at all.  David recommend a run up to Central City. 

Not secluded roads by any means, but this was a spur of the moment drive.

Not an epic journey from Denver, but it was a beautiful Colorado spring day and the Continental Divide does not disappoint EVER.  We enjoyed every minute of it.  Rudy's from Houston, so the scenery was more than mildly interesting for a "Flat-lander."   Can I call people that if I'm from Seattle? 

Not a damn Starbucks anywhere to be found.  I'll be writing the mayor.

We've debated the roads of various states online often.  I'll weigh in on that subject for a moment.  In Colorado you cannot have a lawyer fight your speeding tickets.  Also, Colorado is very hard on paint; the sand, salt (MgCl), and pebbles litter the center of the road.   These are all big minuses for Colorado.

The MD  who owned the car told Rudy he'd never exceeded 75mph   
 This has been resolved.

The mountain roads, the scenery, the high speed limits, and clear blue skies make up for those shortcomings with a little help from an expensive radar detector and  quality Rock Guard coating (or the equivalent).  I'm opting for a full wrap when funds are ample.

[ you know what Starbucks look like?  Insert a photo here for yourself then]

We wrapped up our drive at Starbucks.  Watched admirers photograph our cars;  that never gets old. Reviewed our photos and reflected on the glory of our ride.   Another internet friendship realized with a face to face encounter.

Rudy sure is a lucky guy to have met a famous blogger like me.

(Rudy, David: It was a real pleasure.  Thanks for the invite)