David Purdy's Corvette has a new decal for this weekend's Cannonball Rally.
The event will run over the weekend and features three different tiers of
difficulty, ranging from 500 miles to 2,500 miles.

By Michael Chen, The Nugget - Organizer David Purdy wants to make one thing clear about this weekend's inaugural Cannonball Corvette Rally.

"It's not a race.  It's about having fun, getting your car out of the garage," says Purdy, who is president of Bobcaygeon-based web development company Turn Key Web Solutions.

"The one thing I don't enjoy is going to a hot parking lot and standing around all day with my car."

The event features different tiers of racing ranging from a "light edition" 500-mile rally on Saturday to a 2,500-mile rally that runs from Tuesday to Saturday.  The event has different routes for Northern and Southern Ontario, with the 500-mile Northern route ranging from Bobcaygeon to Bancroft, with a stop in North Bay.  The 1000-mile route goes as far as Pickering.

Purdy has previously organized more than 80 motorcycle rides under the Cannonball Ride banner.  "I do all the layout, I do all the legwork.  It's just about finding like-minded people who actually enjoy getting out and driving," he says, adding that his motorcycle rides now average 8,000 to 10,000 riders per event.  "My plan next year is to have eight car rallies coming out weekend after weekend."

For Purdy, these events are an outlet for him to pursue his own passions.  "I'm not about making money.  It's just about going out and having some fun because, if I didn't do it, it wouldn't happen," he says.  "If someone else had done it, I wouldn't need to do it!"

Purdy says the free rally will require drivers to stop at various car dealerships to pick up business cards.  Participants start from the closest dealership to their home and end when they arrive back home with all the cards.

Purdy expects anywhere from 300 to 500 cars at the event.

Find out more at www.cannon-ballcorvetterally.ca