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greatbear...and several times throughout the day. And night.
But who knew how therapeutic it would be? I NEEDED this!
The Dragon Run is sadly over, but it's effects will last me a good while. I'm not talking about the several thousand miles I scrubbed off the tires and brakes in several 11 mile increments (though this is true too), I am still basking in the friendships, the good times, the fact that we were just about totally disconnected from civilization (cell phones were worthless; we all kept in touch by FRS radios), the scenery was awesome, the weather was for the most part decent with just enough rain and downpours on occasions to make the gonzo driving that much more interesting. Too much fun? I'd say so. And I wanna do it again.
I thought I was well aware of the handling capabilities of the Mini before I did this, but I gained a new appreciation for the corner-carving abilities on the Dragon. Mine is stock, but several had modified suspension and power upgrades. Nevertheless, I was able to keep up with all but the most experienced drivers with modified cars. What I wasn't prepared for is the difficulty that many of the sport bike riders had in keeping up with us. A guy riding a Buell pulls up just after I got out of the car and tells me how it was everything he could do to keep up, but he fell behind. Many of the other riders I talked to were amazed at the invading Mini army and how well they took to the road. A few times our pack of cars was slowed down by the bikes. Our "Wake the Dragon at Midnight" run was a flat out joy too, and the end was everyone parked with their bonnets open and their headlights aimed to the sky in defiance of the full moon (The headlights are attached to the bonnet and go up when it's raised.)
There were varying counts of the total number of cars there, but most counts were around 120 or a bit more. I'll tend to agree with those numbers. We had a photo op at the Fontana Dam ("Let's go and have our dam picture taken!"), after which the entire group of around 120+ cars took to the Dragon for a 'parade lap'. The gonzo runners (me included) fronted the line. Once we headed out, the front began blasting making for the 'fastest parade ever'. We were held up by a local towing a pontoon boat until he decided to pull partially out of the lane in a corner to let what I am sure he thought to only be a handful of cars past. I don't know how many more of the cars went past him in that rather dangerous situation, but I bet he probably needed therapy after the Mini Onslaught.
This event was easily twice the size of last year's. It has gotten so big in just it's second year that MINI Division showed up surprising everyone with the upcoming MINI Cabriolet. The rare preproduction sample car, supposedly the only one in the states also took to the Dragon, with the owner of northamericanmotoring.com riding shotgun and taking pictures. I still don't think BMW was prepared for what their funky little car would create in the way of owner enthusiasm and aftermarket goodies as well as events of this magnitude. They'd do well to keep in tune with these people.
The pictures I took were great, and I hope to post some of the better ones. There was no shortage of people with cameras, and slowly the photos of the weekend are trickling onto the web. One of the few I found so far was here. (See if you can find my 'action shot'. It's now my desktop wallpaper. lol)
I'll say again that this was like therapy for me. I went alone, came back with a fonder heart and with stories to tell. Mom goes in for her cancer sugery tomorrow morning. She says she is glad I had this 'mini-vacation' too. She agrees that I needed it.
But who knew how therapeutic it would be? I NEEDED this!
The Dragon Run is sadly over, but it's effects will last me a good while. I'm not talking about the several thousand miles I scrubbed off the tires and brakes in several 11 mile increments (though this is true too), I am still basking in the friendships, the good times, the fact that we were just about totally disconnected from civilization (cell phones were worthless; we all kept in touch by FRS radios), the scenery was awesome, the weather was for the most part decent with just enough rain and downpours on occasions to make the gonzo driving that much more interesting. Too much fun? I'd say so. And I wanna do it again.
I thought I was well aware of the handling capabilities of the Mini before I did this, but I gained a new appreciation for the corner-carving abilities on the Dragon. Mine is stock, but several had modified suspension and power upgrades. Nevertheless, I was able to keep up with all but the most experienced drivers with modified cars. What I wasn't prepared for is the difficulty that many of the sport bike riders had in keeping up with us. A guy riding a Buell pulls up just after I got out of the car and tells me how it was everything he could do to keep up, but he fell behind. Many of the other riders I talked to were amazed at the invading Mini army and how well they took to the road. A few times our pack of cars was slowed down by the bikes. Our "Wake the Dragon at Midnight" run was a flat out joy too, and the end was everyone parked with their bonnets open and their headlights aimed to the sky in defiance of the full moon (The headlights are attached to the bonnet and go up when it's raised.)
There were varying counts of the total number of cars there, but most counts were around 120 or a bit more. I'll tend to agree with those numbers. We had a photo op at the Fontana Dam ("Let's go and have our dam picture taken!"), after which the entire group of around 120+ cars took to the Dragon for a 'parade lap'. The gonzo runners (me included) fronted the line. Once we headed out, the front began blasting making for the 'fastest parade ever'. We were held up by a local towing a pontoon boat until he decided to pull partially out of the lane in a corner to let what I am sure he thought to only be a handful of cars past. I don't know how many more of the cars went past him in that rather dangerous situation, but I bet he probably needed therapy after the Mini Onslaught.
This event was easily twice the size of last year's. It has gotten so big in just it's second year that MINI Division showed up surprising everyone with the upcoming MINI Cabriolet. The rare preproduction sample car, supposedly the only one in the states also took to the Dragon, with the owner of northamericanmotoring.com riding shotgun and taking pictures. I still don't think BMW was prepared for what their funky little car would create in the way of owner enthusiasm and aftermarket goodies as well as events of this magnitude. They'd do well to keep in tune with these people.
The pictures I took were great, and I hope to post some of the better ones. There was no shortage of people with cameras, and slowly the photos of the weekend are trickling onto the web. One of the few I found so far was here. (See if you can find my 'action shot'. It's now my desktop wallpaper. lol)
I'll say again that this was like therapy for me. I went alone, came back with a fonder heart and with stories to tell. Mom goes in for her cancer sugery tomorrow morning. She says she is glad I had this 'mini-vacation' too. She agrees that I needed it.
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no subject
Date: 2004-05-04 07:27 am (UTC)The one at the potluck? *ducks* ;)
yeah, I see what you mean about the headlights. It looks like some sort of interesting sci-fi metal insect mating ritual. Pretty cool! And glad to hear you had a good time, hon! *hugs*
Btw, LFN 785?