Life is a highway
FAMED CANADIAN COASTERS PLAN VISIT TO COINCIDE WITH STREET MACHINE WEEKEND
This summer will be a special one for antique and old car lovers as a rare coast-to-coast car tour — and travelling antique car show — will be taking a spin through southern Alberta.
The Canadian Coasters 50th Anniversary Coast to Coast Classic Vehicle Tour is hitting the road this summer to celebrate both their anniversary and Canada’s Sesquicentennial celebration.
The first tour took place in 1967 to coincide with Canada’s Centennial celebration, and they have taken place about every 10 years since then. The tours generally alternate their start points, so one year it begins on the west coast, the next time on the east coast.
It has been seven years since the last tour, but it was felt with the Sesquicentennial happening this year, the tour needed to be a part of those celebrations.
“We did one in 2000 to celebrate the Millennium,” national co-ordinator Fraser Field said. “Now that it’s Canada’s 150, we’re out here again. And it’s also our 50th anniversary celebration this year.”
To qualify to be part of the tour cars need to be at least 30 years old. The group spends 70 days on the road, and Fraser said the focus is really on seeing everything the country has to offer.
“We focus on the back roads,” he said. “It’s not like we jump on the Trans Canada and away we go. We cruise around here and there.”
This year there are more than 100 vehicles expected. Field said that number will change as the tour progresses, as they will pick up people for certain parts of the trip and then lose others in other parts.
The tour is made up of people from across the country, brought together by their love of their classic vehicles, and also a yearning to spend the summer really exploring Canada. Field said drivers from Eastern Canada are particularly interested in seeing what the west has to offer, and those from Western Canada are just as interested in seeing the eastern parts of the country.
“We try to keep it down to three or four hours a day driving, so we can stop and see lots of things,” he said. “We have lots of events as we travel. It gives everybody time to see everything on the journey.”
The tour is unique in the world in regards to dealing with classic cars, the length of time spent travelling, and the distance covered.
“There are other tours, like as Route 66, which goes from Chicago to Los Angeles. But we go coast to coast.”
Field said the tour will leave Victoria on June 28, and will finish on Aug. 31 in St. John’s.
It is expected to be in the Lethbridge area in time for Street Machine Weekend on July 7-9.
Vehicles must be able to make the tour under their own power, meaning they can’t be trailered. While some drivers are staying in motels and finding alternate arrangements along the way, Field said the majority are hauling fifth wheels or campers.
The tour effectively doubles as a travelling antique car show, which is something organizers actively promote everywhere they stop.
“Wherever we set up, we invite local car clubs and the public to come out and view the cars, and walk around and talk to us,” said Field. “There’s no charge when we set up. People can just come out and enjoy the old cars.”
Putting together a tour of this size requires a lot of work, according to Field.
“It’s a huge logistical operation,” he said. “You’re looking at more than 200 people to get campsites, and meals, and all the rest of it.”
But logistics aside, the tour can represent a substantial boost to the local economies of places they visit — especially in small towns. Fraser said in some cases, the tour actually brings more people to the community than who live in the community themselves.
The focus is on finding the true gems in these small communities, the out-of-theway tourist attractions and features that make the communities tied to them special. In return, Field said the tour acts as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of their hosts.
During their two months on the road, the tour will spend more than $1 million before food and fuel, including paying for campgrounds, special events, and organizing special group meals, such as barbecues, which will take place along the way.
All that time spent together has created a close-knit group of travellers.
“We’ve become the Coaster family,” Field said. “We have reunions every year. It’s unbelievable. And you’re not next to the same person every night, so you get a good mix of neighbours from all across the country. You just have friends for life.”
“Once you become a Coaster, you are forever a Coaster,” he said.
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