Larry (pl4ypl4y) and I have been talking about a Midnight Run. I don't have a specific timeframe, and this run may not happen for a few months, but I am looking for ideas as to routes in the DC area that would be suitable for a Midnight Run. Somewhere along the run we would have to have a late night pit stop for victuals (strangely restaurants like the Silver Diner (and others) come to mind).

Some of the concerns with a Midnight Run are the LEO's as well as driver safety. So, please PM me with any and all suggestions. I'll come up with a route or two and we can then work scheduling.

Thanks,
Christina

 

Sounds like fun.

I heard that some of our friends are also working on the secret kind of project as well.

 

You need a nice clear full moon evening otherwise the scenery is kinda boring

I remember doing a midnight drive out through the countryside in my Mustang on a full moon in October when the mist settles low in the valleys, very creepy with that clear sky and full moon.

 

Now we're talkin'!

 

That sounds like photoshoot heaven....

 

Laura (GreenCactus) and I discussed something like this a few months ago, but we were thinking along the lines of a downtown DC (Memorials) run, finishing up at a late-night diner kind of place. Who's game?

 

We did this a few years ago with the Miata gang. Downtown DC was a ghost town and it was like playing Need for Speed or Midnight Club. Nothing to get in the way of pictures either! I'm totally game!

 

Oh I am game. I love diners, too! There's a diner in Arlington called Metro 29 that's not bad. There's also a diner called Bob & Edith's on Columbia Pike that's supposed to be very good.

Perhaps we can have two night runs....Monuments @ Midnight Run...and The Vampire Run

 

Ssssshhhhh......... don't tell anyone.

(I'm in as well)

 

Creepy sounds cool.... clear sky, full moon, a mist, and "The Castle" !

 

I am planning (though rather slowly) a Midnight run, but it's more of an "urban" run, though DC neighborhoods and the monuments.

I think Christina's run sounds great and very different from what I'm working on.

 

Could we put them together some how.

Early evening, a DC "Urban twisties" run (by GreenCactus & Claymore), follow by a late steak and egg dinner, and finish the evening by a late night "Twisties & Spooky" run (by Christina_JCW & PlayPlay).

 

Bob and Edith's is wonderful. I have been going there for years. Good diner food cheap. No gimics. No trying to be something they are not. They have two locations on Columbia Pike. The newer location has a big parking lot. The orginal location has very limited parking and would not be suitable to a large (more than 6) group of MINIs.

I've tried Metro 29 a couple of times and never come away impressed.

Last trip to a Silver Diner location to eat,I came away with my only case in my whole life of food poisioning!

In DC Bistro Francais in G'town also serves there full menu on weekends until I think 3:30 am. If anyone wants steak frites and an omlette.

 

To get the mist and super clear skies, you need to wait till October or November. Perhaps with a little nudge, I may be inclined to put together this one but it will need to be a "floating" date so we can hit the conditions right. We'll keep it away from Halloween due to the increased (and much needed) LEO patrols. October 17th/18th or November 14th/15th are big moon nights. No promises or guarantees for the mist - that is a bit tricky to predict

A DC run is peeking my interest though I'm a bit shy of potholes and the like, are the roads good enough ? Us R53 with 17" wheel option owners get nervous on roads as such

MT

 

Last 2 times that we did a secret "Twistrict of Colubia" run, most of the roads are good. Road condition scale: 7 out of 10 (10 is for perfect condition). Not too bad for my 18".

 

almost three years ago James and I put together this run.

I 'm willing to try it out again on evening .. I know a couple of MINIs from Capitol Hill will join too

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=48060&page=3

 

Laura, I think a midnight run around the DC monuments would be awesome. I agree with others that DC is a ghost town late at night (courtesy of uber late nights at the U.S. Treasury). You are right that our two car runs are different. It's possible to blend them together, especially if we cross over to Virginia. (Start with the monuments and zip through Arlington, maybe Spout Run or a few other places).

The river effect when it gets cool in the fall creates varying amounts of fog/mist in DC. Hmmmn. I need to get my thinking cap on....

 

Laura, I made a cursory review of the run that Lastrega posted- it may be a good template for you.

We may have to do two separate runs - I just have a hankering for the mix of fog and trees.

 

I am so down for this. Any kind of midnight run sounds good. The city is pretty cool at night. And a midnight run through the country with Opeth coming through the speakers creates one heck of a mood (not that you guys would be Opeth fans).

 

Any catchy names for these runs?

Vampire Run & Midnight Monument Run?

I'm all about naming the runs to make it seem more official hehe

 

Midnight runs sound awesome! I'd love to join in, especially with the monuments. There could be some great pictures there. We would do these on a Saturday at midnight, i hope?

I cant wait to get in on another run! Especially since i'm not sure the cherry pickin run is gonna work out for me. =(

 

Perhaps, in the spirit of what Minitao just posted in the music thread,

a "Midnight Run" and a "Moonlight Run" hehe

 

Every year, the local scooter folks meet up at the Krispy Kreme Doughnut place on Route 1 in Alexandria, get fresh, hot doughnuts, drinks, etc and do a ride on some twisty roads along the Potomac River. It is a pretty fun ride, and not a bad place to start. We could pick a full moon night and do something similar...

 

I still don't own a Mini (waiting on some home improvement issues to be resolved), but I do live in NoVA and have lived in DC itself. This sounds like a great idea. A place that you may want to at least take your route for a little bit is the Rock Creek Parkway. At night, it is very ominous... dark, inside a little canyon, and has some slight twisties. The best part: No traffic lights for miles, right through the city. Then you could come out the southern end of it and ride through the monuments.

Just my 2 cents.

-Bo

 

However and whenever, count me in. I have'nt driven late at night in DC

since I moved from there to Hagerstown in 1976! It was fun then, probably

funer now.