I know exactly what bridge you're talking about. The first thing I heard during Minis Slay The Sleeping Dragon was "WATCH OUT FOR THE BRIDGE"

Don't blame yourself that is a really tough corner and I know it's infamous in the area.

Really glad you're ok though!

 

Thank Goodness you're ok.

 

I'm glad you & your passenger are fine. Sorry about your car, but it will be fixed. People are important, cars not as much. Good luck.

 

Like everyone else, I'm glad you & Rich are ok. And I do hope you're able to get your MINI carted back to MI and "on the road again." And then, once life has returned to normal, tell us where you got that cool retro "Vette" look from?

 

Glad your okay, hope they can fix your car. That will remind me to slow down a little more and watch the white lines. I tend to drive offset to right side of the lane.

 

Wow glad you came out of this unscathed! From your description of the accident your mini really came out lucky as well.

I did want to ask if you have the stock rear sway bar or an after market? Asking because this is the type of thing I've been worried about since I've recently installed mine. The handling is so great and predictable, but I'm afraid bad road conditions may bring out a different beast?

 

From Big Daddy's description it sounds like one rear wheel lost traction when hitting a bump causing the rear to slide. I'm not sure if that can be blamed on an aftermarket swaybar or not.

I've run an aftermarket bar for two years. I've never had snap oversteer, even in winter.

 

Like everyone else, I'm happy to hear you (and passenger) were not hurt! Very sorry to hear about your car, though; it really is beautiful.

Also wanted to say thanks to you for sharing this with the rest of us.

Good luck getting home and with the repairs.

Tony

 

Reminds me of the pictures of "NANO" in the ALLIANCE Mag. The dragon got fed some metal, not us.
I'll pray for a speedy recovery!

 

Hey I'm so sorry to hear & see your Mini accident. Thank GOD you guys are Ok. Hey people Please be very Careful over there at the Dragon. Good driving Goodluck & Godspeed. Your Mini will rise like a phoenix once again.

 

First of all, very sorry to hear about the accident, I'm glad you two came out safe and sound; but out of curiosity, do you have DSC?

 

Glad you guys came through ok. Smack Tuls for me

 

All,

Thanks once again for all of your kind words. Yesterday was a rough day, not knowing how everything would play out, watching everyone else driving around in their MINIs with big smiles on their faces, having to look at mine every time I walked out the cabin door, etc., etc. Today I spoke to my insurance company. I am feeling much better now as they will reimburse Chad for trailering the car back to Michigan, will pick it up there and take it to WIndsor where it will be fixed, and give me a rental until it's ready to roll again. All I will have to pay is the deductible. What a relief.

To answer some of your questions:

revray- The door graphics are just vinyl and chrome/plastic adhesive trim. It will be a cinch to repair.

jdavidson- I have the H-sport 22 mm sway bar. I don't think it helped or contributed to the crash. When that outside rear wheel hit that bump under load, it lost traction. It was probably carrying about 30% (I'm guessing) of the load, and when it went airborn for that fraction of a second, the outcome was inevitable.

Hammerette- Did you know that you were one of the last people I talked to (at the sphagetti dinner) before I went for my little excursion? I always drive the Dragon with DSC on, but it only is active on the front (drive) wheels. Losing traction on my outside rear tire in the turn is what caused the crash. I'm sure my DSC was flashing like crazy when we were spinning but I was too busy to notice.

Pir8 97- I'm heading down the hill to smack Tuls in a couple of minutes.

 

Just a reminder about DSC. I've been driving this road in a MINI for the past 6 years, most of it with DSC fully engaged.

I can honestly say that DSC only kicks in obtrusively when the idiot behind the wheel makes a mistake and is not driving as smooth as he/she should. If DSC activation is obtrusive while you are driving on the dragon, you need to work on your driving skills

Certainly one might choose to turn it off on a closed race track, but because a public road may have surprises like debris, bumps, wet patches, etc around the next corner, the DSC system might save your butt and your MINI if you get surprised.

 

Best wishes to you Big Daddy. Sorry about your beautiful MINI, but glad you and your friend are A-ok.

 

Sorry to hear about your accident, but very grateful you guys are OK.

 

We talked about this in person but I'll again say how glad I am that you guys are okay. Scott and I had a look at the spot and could see glass and other bits of car where you landed. It must have been really frightening. I can't say I could have dealt with it with such good humor. And sorry I missed the tree ceremony.

And do you really want to say "ready to roll again"?

 

+1

And, for the record, my DSC has saved THIS idiot's butt a few times, during the 0.01% of the time when my driving skills or my attention slip a bit... I'm darn glad it's there... worked well on my "rallycross" ride down Parson's Branch Road Saturday, also.

Big Daddy - once again, here's to a speedy MINI recovery. Hope it all works out.

 

I agree Yucca.
Wanted to say to Bigdaddy, I enjoyed talking with you at the car wash and just wanted to reinforce that it could have happened to any of us. You are an inspiration the way that you handled it, not loosing your sense of humor and good spirit because of it. Having said that, please feel free to use my comment about the incident, "That's how I roll".

 

Big Daddy,
I had the pleasure of meeting you when you had brought your car up and had it put near Detroit Tuned's tent. Thank you for sharing it. I am sorry your going through this and look forward to when you post and say your car is back and better then ever. I was also at the tree ceremony.
I am glad you and your passenger are well.. seeing your car, was a very somber reminder of what the dragon is capable of doing.. Let us all know soon when your out motoring again!

 

Big Daddy I can't even begin to tell you what a sobering impact the sight of your MINI laying upside down was when
Sprog and I (cabriopilot) came around that corner that night only to find you in the middle of the road with your
flashlight and your MINI half in the ditch and upside down.

You handled that situation with such great demeanor and character.
I on the other hand would have been found laying on the ground kicking and screaming and sobbing for the entire MOTD event.

On a side note: You may have saved me some money because after my daughter saw your car that evening
she no longer wants a Cabrio like mine she wants a hardtop like yours instead.

Hope to see you at next years MOTD with all four wheels facing down.

 

Big Daddy, so sorry to hear about your mini. Very glad to hear that you were ok. While my girlfriend and I were looking at it outside the DT tent, we realized that you were one of the people that graciously helped tow my mini to fontana last year after it dumped the oil on my way in on the dragon. Thanks again for your help then and I would have been there to help you in return, but we hadn't arrived yet. Again, we're so happy that you guys weren't hurt.

 

We often attribute human like qualities to our fun little cars. And the quality that I am reminded of in these situations is that these cars love us as much as we love them. And they would happily give their lives to protect us.

Your MINI did it's job. And your MINI will ride another day. And it will remember what it's most important job is. Let's hope & pray that your MINI is never called to that duty again.

 

We are glad you are ok and I hope my kids took the damage to heart as we talked to you about it back in Fontana! Hope everything is back to normal by next year!

 

tree ceremony? what part/s was added to it?