So, the wife was out one night, I had the MINI to myself so I went driving.
I ended up wandering way up into the hills. I came to where the pavement ended and transitioned into...

gravel.

You have to understand: it's late, it's dark, I'm the only car around, I still got a half tank of gas, and I saw the magic sign... "Forest Service Road".

(DSC--off)

Rrrrrrrrr... RALLY!! All of you who know me and keep your cars pristine, I did it for you. I had to. MINI has 90,000+ miles and not a yard of it on nature's asphalt. The high beams against the curtain of trees contrasting against the gray pebbley single-lane twisting into the woods like an epileptic snake... It was like a video game and a wet dream rolled into one. I opened the windows so I could hear the crunch of the dirt, the whoosh of wind, supercharger screaming, paint job whimpering...

dan

 

Awesome :D I bet your paint feels otherwise though....

 

kicking it old school hahahah montecarlo style hahaha.

 

Sounds like fun, but remember.

When motoring always listen to the supercharger... not the paint

 

As long as you weren't FOLLOWING anyone, you're probably just fine (especially if you have stone guards in front of the rear wheels). In my experience, the gravel doesn't just jump off the road in front of you in a preemptive assault...

I'm gonna have to do this sometime - some good twisty gravel roads near here - and I have PLENTY of light...

 

Sweet! The inner child peaks his lowly, innocent head out. "Can I play outside on the dirt?" :-) From all of us asphalt junkies too worried about the scars of war that cometh from those roads, thanks!
jason

 

I have to admit that reading this post makes me want to drop all things current, and hop in the MINI for an early morning road trip...

On second thought... I'm pretty sure my girlfriend can *smell* gravel... not sure if I could get away with that one

If you ever need a co-driver... I can repeat the following "left 90, right 120"

 

Awesome story!

 

Go do it again! I'm living vicariously though you.

 

 

One thing is for certain, dan's MINI has seen it all.

Any MINI that has actually lapped the Nurburgring multiple times, is my kind of MINI.

Add in a late night, self styled session imitating Peter Solberg or Marcus Gronholm running sideways on gravel....and you are in some seriously good stead.

Sounds to me like you are getting the best out of her before ordering that R56.

 

Great story, MiniBeel. It reminded me of Lightning McQueen hanging it out on the dirt track in Cars. Gotta turn right to go left sometimes.

Long ago, my family had a Volvo 144 purchased new in 1969 (dad really wanted a Porsche, but had to wait a bit until he finally got it some 20 years later). Dad and I were on one of our many weekend adventures to a trailhead one Saturday morning clattering up the side of Mt. Hood (Wyeast) towards Cloud Cap. I must have been 11 or 12 and fairly impressionable at the time. For anyone that’s been on that road, it can be quite rough and jarring to say the least.

While we were taking our time, I inquisitively asked dad why we were going so slow. To my surprise, he buried the throttle and opened up the dual Solex carbs. We were absolutely flying for the next mile. I turned in shock looking over at dad as he so uncharacteristically piloted the Volvo at speed. Without a word from me, he responded with a little sarcasm, “What kind of roads you think they got in Sweden?”

We both laughed and enjoyed the exhilaration of the moment. Since that time, I, too, dreamed of being a rally driver.

Gromit hasn’t been one to disappoint either. Since his early days, he has done whatever it takes to reach interesting destinations in the spirit of adventure.

 

Got more guts than me.........lol.

Will take the PU out for a romp in the woods, but the MINI stays on the smooth stuff !

 

Well, the trick is to find that sweet spot... where the bumps dissappear, but you still got some control. Then it IS smooth... albeit terrifying!

Sadly, winter tires came off today. Those things are magic on pavement when it's 80F out. My old summers are on until I can get the new tires on my summer rims. Hope they last long enough. Hope it doesn't rain. I think they're on 3/16.

dan