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Avenue of the Giants Weekend Run - Sat. March 23, 2024

Saturday will be a very full day of cruising from Novato up through the Avenue of the Giants and ending at Eel River Brewing in Fortuna. Sun...

Napa /Sonoma - Twisty BackRoads - Saturday April 16, 2022

 


Your Hosts For The Run:

Michelle and Pat Lewis

Rejoice twisty road enthusiasts!

Enjoy your day zipping over twisty two-lane freeway connecting Fairfield to Napa, then for part two, climb out of Napa Valley's famous Wine Country along narrow, twisty mountain passes to reach Santa Rosa (Sonoma County).

Anticipate 3 hours of concentrated driving, broken into two segments. Two re-groups are also planned, but are not anticipated to be formal stops.

Our first half, from Fairfield leading to Napa, is on smooth, single lane freeway. Though our departure is timed to miss morning lake boat traffic, if we encounter trucks pulling trailers, we will collectively enjoy the scenery at their pace - there are few passing lanes. Spirited drivers will wish to revisit this loop again, and again.

Comfort stop at the Park N Ride (2000 Redwood Road, Napa). We’ll break hear for 45 minutes. There are restrooms in the gas stations and restaurants. This is your last chance for restrooms for the next hour.



Our second half, from Napa, over the mountain passes take use to Santa Rosa. Drivers from last year will recall the roads narrow and at times are BUMPY, perhaps annoying for MINI's with competition suspensions. Stock suspensions will fare better.

PRO TIP: 
MINI's who wish to avoid the super twisty fun, or bumpy sections, may wish to break off in Napa, to use smoother/direct freeway routes that most GPS units natively recommend. Just break-off, and meet us at the End point (Highway 29 South to Highway 12 North).

Wine Enthusiasts: 
Don't forget to book reservations at your favorite wineries. No point in rushing home.

Meet Up Time/ Departure Time:
9:00am/9:30am, sharp

Meet Up Location:
Solano Community College
400 Student Services
Fairfield, CA 94534
(South Parking lot near Admissions & Records)

Note: No services at this location. Arrive with a full tank of gas, morning coffee and have been to the restroom (no restrooms for the next two hours.)

Route:

Register Via Motorsport Reg:

Any other Pertinent Event/run details:

Following GPS addresses permit you to force our route (the fun, but least efficient route).

SEGMENT 1 – Collage to Moskowite Lodge

Start: 400 Student Services, Fairfield, CA 94534 (Solano College)

Regroup: 6003 Monticello Rd, Napa, CA 94558

SEGMENT 2 – Moskowite Lodge to Trancas Park & Ride (NOT STOP – JUST FOR GPS REFERENCE)

Start: 6003 Monticello Road, Napa, CA 94558

Regroup: 2000 Redwood Road, Napa, CA 94558

WE STOP HERE (2000 Redwood) FOR 45 minutes.

Last chance for Gas/Toilets (in area)

Drivers Meeting before we leave.

SEGMENT 3 – Napa Park and Ride, over the twisty Hills

Start: 2000 Redwood Road, Napa

(Leader Optional Regroup) (Drivers – for safety please remain in cars): 12099 Sonoma Hwy, Glenn Ellen

RUN END: 
Safeway, 100 Calistoga Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95409

To get to the 101, head North on Hwy 12. 

Check out 2022 Run Calendar for complete list of events for this year.

Current EVENT PROTOCOLS:
The following guidelines are our best attempt to secure your safety given what is known at this time. They are by no means comprehensive, and we cannot predict every circumstance. Therefore, we are counting on you to exercise your best judgment throughout the event. Please have an awareness and understanding of the following COVID-19 safety protocols:
• NorCal MINIS asks that anyone who is at higher risk for severe illness, feeling unwell, or who has been in contact with anyone that is sick in the last two weeks to STAY HOME
• In line with State guidelines – people who are fully vaccinated may attend without a face mask. If you are not fully vaccinated – we kindly request that you maintain a face covering.
• NorCal MINIs will encourage everyone to maintain personal hygiene in regards to washing hands
• Club loaner radios will be available at the run. These will be sanitized prior to be handed and out will be sanitized again upon return.
• Any PPE you wish to use must be supplied by yourself. This includes any face coverings or hand sanitizing products
• Participants will be required to Sign Waivers Electronically
• Please be courteous with people who wish to maintain PPE and social distancing. It is their choice to do this and we cannot question their vaccine status
Anyone who continually or willfully violates these guidelines will be asked to leave by a club officer or director.
POST-EVENT PROTOCOLS:
• Any participant that falls ill within 2 weeks after the event MUST contact NorCal MINIs and share a description of their symptoms, related test results and movements during the event
• NorCal MINIs will make every effort to alert affected participants privately of the situation
Ultimately, it is your responsibility to assess the risk to you and make a responsible decision on whether or not to participate. You assume all risks and agree the Club holds no liability if you or anyone in your party should develop any Covid-19 symptoms afterwards by attending a NorCal MINIs event. Participants are required to follow these guidelines; any participant may be asked to leave the event for non-compliance.

Join Today! Create your MotorSportReg Account to become a PAID Club Member, use the link below:
NorCal MINIs Membership

Instructions for joining MotorSportReg and joining NorCal MINIs can be found in the following document:  Instructions

Recap - Highway 1 Tomales & Bodega Bay Run - Saturday March 12th, 2022

 


Your Hosts For This Event:
Gordon Lee and Tasha Hudick

Thank you MINI of Marin for the bagels, coffee, and the swag for our NorCal minis members. Thank you, Tasha, Pat, Michelle, Paige, Eddie, Duane, and Michael for helping to make this event successful.




On a gorgeous day, we had 37 minis, we had a blast on those twisty turns. My favorite is a 340 degree turn near the park. At MINI of Marin and at the Marin French Cheese Co, we had taken over the parking lots. Lots of smiles, and acknowledgements from past and new members.







 
Some folks went out of their way to give us a job well done at the Tides restaurant for lunch.

We enjoyed our rally as much as good company on the lunch table.

Gordon and Tasha

PS: Don’t forget to register for these upcoming events!
Sonoma/Napa Run on Saturday April 16
HIKE FOR HOPE (Hospice) event on Saturday May 14th

You will find the links to register on our NorCal MINIS website!

MOTOR ON

PS: MORE PICTURES - See the links below!!


This link is NOT a gallery. It is simply a file of all the pictures Duane took. Scroll through and check them out.
Thank you Duane!

And more:



Recap - Delta (Highway 160)/ Sacramento Auto Museum - February 19th





Your Host: Mike Zampiceni

This was my debut hosting a run for NorCal MINIS, but I’ve had prior experience leading car groups, particularly for the BMW club in which I was the Golden Gate Chapter driving tours organizer for several years. I figured it had been about a decade since I last led a group, however, so had to put on my thinking cap to recall how I handled previous events. Since I figured I was a bit rusty, I was intent on getting all of the details in order for a successful event. Part of that was driving the route twice to make sure I didn’t miss anything the first time.
 
I first drove the route in early January, and I was already very familiar with it over the years. It was like déjà vu for me driving on Highway 160 over the levees on the way to the auto museum adjacent to Old Town Sacramento. I hosted the identical tour for the Porsche club Loma Prieta region about 20 years ago when our destination was the California State Railroad Museum at Old Town.
 
I was really elated with the high water level of the Sacramento River while meandering over the levee road in January, having been replenished with the record Sierra snowfall. Predictably, the level had receded somewhat when I ran the route a month later, and it appeared back to normal the day of the run. With the lack of rain for the past couple of months, it’s just a matter of time before the water level will be subpar.

One of the reasons I ran the route a second time was to secure a spot for a social and bio break about midway, and the village of Isleton seemed to be a likely candidate. I scoured the town to no avail, but didn’t realize the first time that I had passed by a perfect respite area until I subsequently looked at the map and saw Ramos park right off the roadway in town alongside the river. Better yet, the park had public restrooms. The parking was limited, but there was also an adjacent lot next to an abandoned building, so I figured we could park the overflow on the side of the road.

The day of the run, I turned into the Ashley Furniture parking lot from a side street and didn’t see any Minis, so was somewhat concerned because it was already 8:30, but as I drove toward the far end of the parking lot, I saw that a few early birds had parked on the side closest to the shopping center, which conveniently had an open Trader Joe’s and Starbucks.
 
At 9:15, Simon called the assemblage together for a short pre-drive meeting. Several new members were acknowledged, and then I went through my pre-drive instructions, such as being wary of the sharp drop-off on a significant portion of the narrow levee roads. Since there were more than 40 cars to herd, we split up into three groups. I led the first group, followed by the Lewis’s group about five minutes later, and then Simon led the last group about five minutes after that.
 
This turned out to be an ideal staging area, considering that there was a spacious parking lot in front of a store closed for the morning and adjacent to businesses with food and bathrooms. Furthermore, there was easy freeway access on and off Highways 680 and 242. I will definitely keep this location in mind as an assembly point for future northerly destinations.
 
The weather was seasonable when we left, but unfortunately, the visibility was occluded from a high-pressure ridge that trapped haze. Nevertheless, our cheerful procession of multi-colored Minis added some zest to the roadway for us and others driving mundane vehicles.



The portal to the delta on our route was crossing the Antioch bridge, which is a narrow two-lane affair. I don’t think planners were thinking strategically when they opted for this restrictive roadway, especially considering that there’s no room to pull over in an emergency, thereby potentially backing up traffic for an interminable distance.


 
The run up to our stopover in Isleton was uneventful, and nobody plunged over the edge of the levee and into the abyss. As we approached Isleton and Ramos park, I had a sinking feeling when I saw a Harley group occupying all of the parking spaces, and the vacant parking lot next door had two pylons blocking it. I had to go to plan B, but I didn’t have a plan B, so figured I’d drive straight ahead into “town” and hope for the best. Ironically, I couldn’t have come up with a better outcome if I had planned it in advance. Ahead just a block on the right was a vacant water tower parking lot with ample parking. I’m sure all of you thought this was planned in advance, but nope, it was just dumb luck maybe assisted by automotive angels sending their beams of goodness upon us. The overflow parked on the street, and all of us managed to filter in fully off Highway 160. Additionally, the bathrooms were located a short distance across the street.
 
After about a half hour’s worth of socializing and checking out the latest Mini mods by various owners, we continued north on 160. Within a mile, Highway 160 (River Road.) actually continues on the west side of the river, so one of the groups decided to take that route instead of continuing straight ahead on Isleton Road. Another bridge in Walnut Grove enabled the group to cross over and join the rest of us, and it’s probably just as well they used the official 160, because Isleton Road. isn’t well maintained and was pretty choppy. Walnut Grove, by the way, is the town where you can see tall transmission towers for the Sacramento TV stations close up. These towers are visible for many miles around.

Beyond Walnut Grove there were far fewer cars on the road, so we were reliably able to average 60 mph on the stretch to our delta terminus point on River Road. at the little hamlet of Freeport. From there it’s a short distance to Highway 5, which we turned onto and continued into the back approach to downtown Sacramento and the museum, which sits adjacent to the Sacramento River and less than a mile from Old Town. As we pulled into the museum grounds, we were relegated to the overflow dirt lot. We weren’t the only group that decided this would be a good venue to visit on this particular day, because the area Dodge Challenger car club was already there with a large turnout of cars gracing the perimeter of the lot. This worked out well for us, because we were able to fill in the infield, creating a view of two very different types of cars.



 
Most everyone went into the museum if only to use the bathrooms, but not many stayed to view the collection, which is unfortunate. On the other hand, a lot of the stock had been shuffled over into the back edges for ongoing construction, making it difficult to see much of the machinery. I toured through and had a pleasant conversation with a couple from our group, then subsequently walked with them to Old Town for lunch at an Asian restaurant. I’m bad with remembering names of people initially, but I remember that the gentleman had a blue Clubman that I really liked and lived at Clear Lake. We were joined by the original owner of a first series yellow Mini whom I had seen and spoken with at other runs, and once again, I neglected to record her name on my internal read-write drive.
 
When we returned to the museum lot later in the afternoon, everyone else had left, but they hopefully had pleasant memories of the day to accompany them home. I enjoyed hosting my debut run, and am scheduled to lead another one on May 1st in the east bay.

I think it would be delightful to do this event again, perhaps on a more direct route that would afford extra time to visit the train museum in Old Town along with the auto museum.

MOTOR ON!

Mike Z

PS More pictures - see the link below




Hike For Hope - Hike and Run - Saturday May 14, 2022


Your Hosts For This Event:

Simon and Nikki Tildesley

Join the club for a drive from Pleasanton to Lake Del Valle outside Livermore to support the Hike for Hope. This is an annual event that the club has supported in the past but had to be put on hold due to the pandemic. 

Now it's time for getting out there to walk again. There are two hikes offered - a shorter one and a longer more challenging one. Whichever you choose will still give you the opportunity to support Hope Hospice in the same way whilst taking in the gorgeous scenery of Lake Del Valle. Entrance fee for the Hike is $35 per person will all money going to the hospice. 

We have set up a team called NorCal MINIs which can be found following the link below. If you cannot actually join the hike - then please consider donating to the club's team.

NorCal MINIs Hike for Hope:

The club has donated $500.00 to support the cause!

Meet Up Time/Departure Time
8:00am/8:30am

Meet Up Location
Safeway Parking Lot
6790 Bernal Ave
Pleasanton, CA 94566

Route:

Lunch:
BBQ Lunch provided at the hike

Register Via Motorsport Reg:

Check out 2022 Run Calendar for complete list of events for this year.

Current EVENT PROTOCOLS:
The following guidelines are our best attempt to secure your safety given what is known at this time. They are by no means comprehensive, and we cannot predict every circumstance. Therefore, we are counting on you to exercise your best judgment throughout the event. Please have an awareness and understanding of the following COVID-19 safety protocols:
• NorCal MINIS asks that anyone who is at higher risk for severe illness, feeling unwell, or who has been in contact with anyone that is sick in the last two weeks to STAY HOME
• In line with State guidelines – people who are fully vaccinated may attend without a face mask. If you are not fully vaccinated – we kindly request that you maintain a face covering.
• NorCal MINIs will encourage everyone to maintain personal hygiene in regards to washing hands
• Club loaner radios will be available at the run. These will be sanitized prior to be handed and out will be sanitized again upon return.
• Any PPE you wish to use must be supplied by yourself. This includes any face coverings or hand sanitizing products
• Participants will be required to Sign Waivers Electronically
• Please be courteous with people who wish to maintain PPE and social distancing. It is their choice to do this and we cannot question their vaccine status
Anyone who continually or willfully violates these guidelines will be asked to leave by a club officer or director.
POST-EVENT PROTOCOLS:
• Any participant that falls ill within 2 weeks after the event MUST contact NorCal MINIs and share a description of their symptoms, related test results and movements during the event
• NorCal MINIs will make every effort to alert affected participants privately of the situation
Ultimately, it is your responsibility to assess the risk to you and make a responsible decision on whether or not to participate. You assume all risks and agree the Club holds no liability if you or anyone in your party should develop any Covid-19 symptoms afterwards by attending a NorCal MINIs event. Participants are required to follow these guidelines; any participant may be asked to leave the event for non-compliance.

Join Today! Create your MotorSportReg Account to become a PAID Club Member, use the link below:
NorCal MINIs Membership

Instructions for joining MotorSportReg and joining NorCal MINIs can be found in the following document:  Instructions