Sunday morning turned out to be a cooler morning than what we had been having of late – but it did not put anyone off supporting this run. Due to the sheer number of cars and people attending, we had to not only split into two driving groups, but also had to change the meeting point. The original meet of McDonalds in Dublin was not going to accommodate such a large group.
Our new meet point, the parking lot of Buffalo Wild Wings in Dublin proved to be the perfect spot. Plenty of room for social distancing and ease of parking our beloved Mini’s. I got to there nice and early to set up the club flag so that people could easily see where were located. Shortly afterwards the club members started to roll in – all watched by a friendly cop who was taking his break in the same parking lot.
This run was the biggest we have had in a long long time – 37 MINI’s of all shapes and generations. We had everything from a Gen 1 R53’s all the way through to the latest Gen 3’s. We even had our first club member to bring along a new Electric MINI. This is the first time a non-gas MINI has supported a NorCal event. It did create quite a lot of interest at the start with the owner being kind to open the hood and lift the cover to show the electric powertrain.
After about 30 mins of checking everyone in and viewing some of the newer members cars, we were ready to set off. I lead the first group of 19 cars and then about 3 minutes later – Larry kindly lead the second group of cars. All the drivers were warned to leave the parking lot in a respectful manner so that our friendly cop was not going to react and pull people over.
Once onto Tassajara Rd – the two groups of MINI’s managed to regroup as one to form a MEGA MINI caravan for a period. I am sure the locals of Dublin wondered what was going on. Once out of Dublin and into the country – the pace was kept quite steady and the two groups managed to stay pretty much together for much of the first part of the run. As we approached Vasco Road in Livermore – we did get a little split up.
We made a left turn on the Old Altamont Pass Road where the groups managed to get themselves together again. We continued a very pleasant drive through the country ending up a Patterson Pass Road. This is where those who wanted a little more fun could have it. The road is perfect for opening up the MINI’s engine (or electric motor) and has some great twisting turns – a little like being on a bobsled run. After a short stop to regroup we continued at a more leisurely place again taking in some of the back roads of the Livermore wine valley before making it to our final destination of Joan’s Pumpkin Patch.
May thanks go to Anita and Christoph for helping control such a large group – but especially Larry for taking on the second group.
Simon & Nikki Tildesley
