Awesome Awesome FUN!!!! Great run, thanks to Haemish for organizing (and everyone that helped of course!)! The wine tasting was great too and I was able to pick up a very tasty dessert wine.

I was a bit worried about the rain since I don't have a lot of confidence in my tires when it's wet but Ambrosia fared well on the twisities. I also saw this run as another chance to get some pre-dragon twisty training in

I got a kick out of the look on people's faces as our train of minis passed them by as they waited to turn or drove by....I loved to see them just smiling! How can people not smile at the sight of a long row of minis!

Looking forward to the next run of course!

 

Haemish and everyone (even PGT - you met me but didn't know it), thanks for making me feel welcome and my first event a fantastic one; however, I am *not* responsible for any addictions resulting from eating Griffin Tavern's Shepherd's Pie.

As I told Haemish, I will be joining the club once I finish my taxes (that I haven't even started on )

I do wish I could go again on the 20th, but prior commitments prevent a repeat. C'est la vie.

And thank you to the two young men who loaned me their extra radio. Mucho appreciato.

 

awww.....I didn't act like a jerk?? Darn it!! I was so looking forward to it.













on a serious note....people are often surprised when they meet me in person. I don't really have horns, I promise. I once had a half hour conversation with a guy who hated me online (and would remind me all the time how much I was a loser) before he knew it was me...he sent me a PM a day later thanking me for the wonderful talk and for not cluing in him sooner elst he would have probably ignored me. online persona != real world personality many times.

 

 

Great team work

 

I guess she missed the TPMS warning light and my repeated calls over the radio to check her tire? I was right in front of her and could see for a few miles she needed to pull over.

 

 

Well, in the three years we have been a part of this club, this is the first flat we have seen! I for one am glad it was a Cooper with a spare! I don't know what we would have done if we didn't have a spare tire.

I am sorry that it had to happen to you CMCG, I hope it doesn't sway you from joining us in some future events! As you saw, we are a rather helpful bunch

 

FD3SDriver - Some things are just worth it, rain or shine... it's not as though we were going to be playing flag football.

kgdblu - Actually, that was my 4th Griffin Tavern shepherd's pie in the past month...

Ambrosia - You are very welcome! Yep, that's always a trip on the runs - people's reactions are priceless!

creseida - Actually, don't sweat it, I was addicted to shepherd's pie well before I ate at Griffin Tavern... but I have to say, theirs is most definitely one of the better examples.

PGT - My guess... new owner, not familiar with the TPMS system... and perhaps also she either didn't have a 2-way radio with her, or she didn't realize you were talking about her and not someone else?

MINInurse - True, that was the first flat I've seen too... although I have seen a MINI go into "limp mode" while on a run before. That was a bummer for the owners! Likewise... I hope that Claire joins us again... figure that was her one "bad luck" run... now that's out of her system, it's smooth sailing the rest of the way! Right, Claire?

 

OK - separate question... who was it that loaned me their blue hard plastic clipboard before the run?

First of all - thank you... second of all, I still have it, and I'd like to return it to it's proper owner.

 

I believe MellowYellow's R56 had a flat and their TPMS light didn't go off so maybe that's why she didn't know ?

Curious if run-flat members have had a flat and their light has turned on ? (R53/R56) I'll curse myself but I've never had a flat out on the road so I have no idea what its like to drive

Great job getting the tire changed and everything back in order.....a very well organized run

Cheers,

Mike

 

mine goes off when pressure drops 2-3psi.

I know she had a radio...she borrowed it from GreenCactus. I thought she had heard me as I got a reply 'Yeah, something isn't right'

 

Good stuff. Lots of fun. I couldn't really see me going all that much faster if it were dry. We really kept a quick pace, albeit in spurts. Maybe it will be more consistently quick when it's dry. I remember looking down at my speedo when we were on that long straight two lane road and saying , we are doing 70? On this small, wet road. Then a wicked smile tugged at my lips. One of those sideways ones. I was also really surprised that I didn't understeer off into the sunset. We were really moving on those wet roads and they had no real effect on my car.

 

yeah.....that last set of twisties before Griffin Tavern was a blast.....I'm not sure I'd want to drive it in the dry with my summer tires on.....I'd be tempted to hang it out a bit more

 

I have had a couple of punctures on a run.Picked up a nail on 695 coming home from MTTS. Didn't have ANY KIND of light till 270 when we had the light come on. didn't know why, didn't know until the next morning! .....had to bail out on the run last year between the Capitol Hill 4th of July parade and Annapolis parade and had to run and get it fixed. That one, the light never went off, just heard a different kind of road noise while driving.
We also have had a problem after having our winter tires mounted..had a leak. The pressure gauge did NOT go off until it was down from 40psi to 15!!! Again, I heard a "funny" road noise, and luckily I was still in our neighborhood and could turn around and go home.
Now, I have NEVER had my light go on like PGT's with just that small of a difference. It has always been a 10-20psi change that it warned me, and mostly I heard it first, or noticed it when I check my car before I drive.

Plus, she has a Cooper, they aren't runflats. Sometimes I really like having them. But... I bet she will be more 'in tune' with her car now. (at least I hope!)

 

Edge, thanks for a super enjoyable day(albeit the weather). Once we got

away from the metro area the smile factor shot way up. There is nothing

like seeing old money up front(Middleburg) rather than new money (DOT

COM). And once I got back home I spent close to 2 hours getting that

black car black again. One guy at the car wash said that it looked like I

had been driving in the Amazon basin.

Hope to see everyone next Sun. Good Day.

 

Thanks, I too have never seen a light for 2-3 pounds, I do keep a good eye on the pressure but every once and a while they'll drop with the temp that much. Its one of those features that makes you wonder "Does that thing really work ?"

I heard bits and pieces from the radio conversations, to me it was a bit confusing at first with several folks "stepping" on each other so only partial conversation was heard. Perhaps we should come up with some kind of radio protocol.

Still, well handled and luckily in a low traffic area

Cheers,

Mike

 

have Jaysen take the radio away from Stacey?

 

Sounds like you all had a good time, despite the rain and the flat tire.

Hey, Stacey, since when do Coopers not come with run-flats ? Both our 2006's did.

 

runflats were optional I think...Sport package or something? base Coopers come with a spare.

 

I got the Sports, Convenience, and CW packages on the CR.

And on the PW, we ordered Checkmate and Convenience packages.

So, seems like the Convenience package is likely the one that came with run-flats. Spare tires, too... which is nice because now we're running better tires.

 

Sorry to miss the run yesterday - I was geared up to go Saturday night - woke up early Sunday morning - splitting headache. So CTD (Cooper the Dog) laid around the house all day. He did "woof" at me at 3 PM to get up.

 

Yeah...I think the sports or convenience package for the R50s added the 16" Run-flats.
I had the car 5 days when a screw got embedded into the tread. Heard a funny sound, TPMS came on....oddly it's never come on since! The Goodyear shop in Mclean fixed the flat for free under warranty

Also, here are some of my pictures from yesterday.

- Rowan

 

Nice pics Rowan!
I had so much fun on the "dreary" run, I can't wait till the next one! I know what it is like in crappy weather, so it can only get better in the sun (MAYBE!) And I too will be eating ANOTHER Shepard's Pie

(and NO, you can't take the radio away from me!)


Chris, your Coopers, did they come with a spare as well? I didn't realize that they had runflats.. I guess that is what the conv. package gives you.
But either way, I am GLAD that Claire had a spare, and that we were able to help her! that would NOT have been fun if she didn't.

 

Bev and I had a problem with some sensor coming loose and rubbing up against the tire. I believe...but I can't quite remember...that it was the tire pressure sensor.

But the warning we got was that our brakes had failed.

We do have run-flats and on the two occasion that the tire lamp came on, it was to indicate that one tire was a few pounds below the others.

Sorry we missed this run...sounded great!

Glenn