4th Annual MINI Road Rally

dedestaud · Motorist

4th Annual MINI Road Rally

Davenicity · Member

I'm there!

badnewsmini · Member

well I will probibly be there as I havent missed one yet but I hope we dont do it like last years I dont think that was nearly as fun, I like the check point style better...

Charva · Motorist

I'll be there.

I need to find a navagator who won't become carsick though!

Dave

Pamlico · Motorer

The proposed date of June 10 is a week before MINIs on Top (MOT). We'll be leaving for that event on the 15th, so I don't think that we'll be able to make the WNY rally. MOT typically hasn't drawn many cars from this area, so it probably won't have a significant effect on the current plans.

yellowmininy · Obsessed (Taking the long-cut)

My solution to the June rally followed by Minis On Top is to take off the whole week in between the 2 weekends.

Now, to find a navigator. I wonder if Renee would like to come up from Florida again?

Pamlico · Motorer

Good idea, but we're taking the week after MOT to see friends in Vermont and hopefully spend some time driving to other parts of the state to see / photograph some more covered bridges.

yellowmininy · Obsessed (Taking the long-cut)

I think 3 consecutive weekend in June in a Mini is the perfect way to start out your summer!

Pamlico · Motorer

I'll mention that to the chairman of my department and I'm sure he'll agree...

Bagpiper · Motorist

I'm IN...

dedestaud · Motorist

-- Edited by dedestaud at 22:19, 2007-06-05

Sparky63 · Member

We'll be there ... looking forward to it!

-- Edited by Sparky63 at 21:53, 2006-05-09

Cogman · Member

Barb and I will be there. I must remind her to bring her reading glasses this year! Bill

yellowmininy · Obsessed (Taking the long-cut)

Diane, is the address for Friendly's 2 Locks Plaza, Lockport, NY 14094?

pooch1 · Member

Put us down,we will be there for sure.Its a clue based rally I assume.We will pay day of unless we are down before hand.Martin and Anja

-- Edited by pooch1 at 21:59, 2006-05-17

Rocketboy · Motorist

yellowmininy wrote:

Diane, is the address for Friendly's 2 Locks Plaza, Lockport, NY 14094?

I would guess so, as that's the only Friendly's left in Lockport. Although it's officially on '2 Locks Plaza', most native Lockporarians would say it's on Main Street.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2+Locks+Plaza,+Lockport,+NY&t=k&om=1&ll=43.169113,-78.695814&spn=0.001972,0.005375

Friendly's is the white building to the right of the marker on the Google Maps link.

Diane, is this correct?

-- Edited by Rocketboy at 23:05, 2006-05-17

Davenicity · Member

Just to throw in some more confusion:

Most of us Lockportians do call it Main St, but the maps and street signs, except for the 6 blocks where it actually IS Main St. will say either East or West Ave, depnding on what part of town you are in. DO NOT WORRY!!!!! This is ALL so much easier than it sounds! It's right by the locks, and what we call the Big Bridge, which is, or was, the widest bridge in the world (I never believed it, personally). It would be worth coming early and taking a walk down at the locks, for those of you who are history-minded.

Downtown Lockport is one of those urban renewal mistakes of the '70s, in which all the old business district was torn down, without a good plan to put anything in its place. The loss of the Harrison Radiator plant (now Delphi) downtown has left it a bit barren and blighted. We prided ourselves on a too-good-to-be-true, Pleasantville quality, but that has become lost with the advent of drugs in the poorer neighborhoods, and the lack of industry. The house I grew up in is now a slum, but Lockport still has beautiful homes and a quaintness to some of its areas that make it a nice bedroom community for Buffalo and Amherst professionals. If my wife was not so attached to her own hometown, I would gladly move back.

When I was very young, we claimed Belva Lockwood as our most famouse Lockportian, although she actually was from nearby Cambria. In my teens, my older teachers would tell us stories about Joyce Carol Oates, but she technically was from Pendleton (as was Timothy McVeigh, less said the better). Our most famous natives are supermodel Kim Alexis, with whom I graduated, and NASA space shuttle pilot Bill Gregory, with whom I was in Boy Scouts. I had always expected to grow up to be the most famous person from Lockport, as the only presidential candidate to have been awarded both the Nobel Prize in Literature AND the Academy Award for Best Actor, but, sadly, none of those things have happened. Yet.

Anyway, sorry for rambling, and am looking forward to seeing all of you there!

dedestaud · Motorist

-- Edited by dedestaud at 21:10, 2007-06-20

yellowmininy · Obsessed (Taking the long-cut)

OK- I've posted the details on the MINIUSA OL, MINI2, NAM, Roadfly & SOMC (with Diane's address omitted but with a link to this page for more details). Hopefully we'll get a few people coming to visit for the rally news!

-- Edited by yellowmininy at 22:46, 2006-05-20

doctorwho · Member

We are thinking of giving the rally a try (a.k.a., first timers). 8:00 AM check-in means we will have to be heading out a ~5:30. So, this will be an all-day event for us. What is your "late" check-in time? 9:00 AM would mean we would get up near our normal time (and another hour sleep).

Hopefully this is a fun rally and not one of those serious ones (i.e., need first aid kit, fire extingusher, loads of maps, etc.). I did a couple in college (~30 years ago) in a Classic Mini (that's part of the reason we bought our MINI). As navigator running through Westchester and White Plains, that was hard. But, it felt like a scene out of the Italian Job.

How do you run this rally? Places figured by how close a car / crew is to a predetermined time (finish time - start time). Course / directions indicated by answering some provided questions. What kind of questions? Question sheet handed out at start and each checkpoint. Any landmarks referenced so we know we are on course? Is the "bail out" to head to the end point restaurant?

I think we drove through Lockport once (first time ever) last year heading from NCCC to Towne MINI (after one of our daughter's WNY SCCA AutoX meets). So, we do not know anything of the area (except for around UB, Towne MINI / ECC-NC area & to / from NCCC). Are you trying to stay in Lockport or within X miles / minutes of its downtown?

dedestaud · Motorist

WOW!

Lot's of questions there. To many to answer on the web. All I can tell you is everyone seems to have loads of fun on the rallies and it is easy/hard. Not quite as difficult as the ones you have been on though. We hope you and your navigator will be able to make the rally this year. We have a couple from Erie, Pa that attend every year! As far as regristration goes, as long as you are in line before the first MINI takes off which is 10:00am then you are in the rally. Registration starts at 8:0am but goes on til the rally starts. LET'S MOTOR!

Davenicity · Member

Last year was our first time. We didn't know what to expect, and didn't know the area at all, but didn't have to. We made it back. We didn't do well, but didn't come in last, either. But we didn't get hurt, and had a lot of fun! I'd recommend it to anyone, and you'll meet a lot of great people. No laws were broken, moral or civil. But you could if you wanted to!

Sleep in, as long as you get there before it starts.

doctorwho · Member

Well, it looks like we will have to give this road rally a try to see how to do it and if we enjoy it.

We always like 'riding around' site-seeing. Even more so now that we are in our new MINI.

We plan to be there "somewhat" early. We can always catchup up on our sleep later.

-- Edited by doctorwho at 11:21, 2006-05-27

dedestaud · Motorist

More Rally News:

I spoke with the manager @ Friendly's and he is excited about our rally and choosing his place for the start of the meet. He is giving us a special on breakfast;

The Big -Two-Do and coffee for $4.18 each. This includes 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, 2 slices of regular toast or french toast and coffee.

I will be meeting with Dan again this week at Towne and I will try to see if I can have a contribution to breakfast.

If is advisable to have a breakfast because you will be spending 3-3 and 1/2 hours in your MINI, (Not that that is a bad thing!) and you may get hungry along the way.

Time is running out for the pre-registration of $15.00.
Let's have a great turnout for this year's annual MINI Road Rally. Hope to see you all on June 10!

Peaces · Member

I won't be speeding during the rally this time around

Looking at the pole.... We have 15 yes, 1 no and 1 unsure. Who won't we be seeing this time around?

Date: May 29, 2006

Marty, my better half just told me about your rally the other day (I think he saw it posted on the Southern Ontario Mini Club's website) and we're definitely going to attempt to get there on the 10th ... barring any unforeseen life interruptions! :) Marty & I (Darlene) are from Grimsby, ON - West of Niagara Falls, CA. It'll be like a rally for us just to get to Friendly's, so we'll be warmed up by the time we get there ... yeah, I'm fairly confident we won't be much of a threat! See you about 8ish for that great breakfast you worked...awesome! Looking forward to it! Cheers.

dedestaud · Motorist

If you plan on attending this year's annual MINI Road Rally and are heading on down the morning of June 10, bypass Tim Horton's and join us for breakfast @ Friendly's for "The Big-Two-Do". We will be in the back room. That way we can enjoy our breakfast and look out the window at our beautiful "babies". The rosary goes on the bush this weekend hoping for great weather. So far it hasn't let us down. We will be zeroxing off 20 copies of the rally so the first 20 MINIs will be in the rally. Hope to see you there. LET'S MOTOR!

-- Edited by dedestaud at 08:16, 2006-06-01

Jack07734 · Motorer

Diane,

Add Smileee to the list of attendees.

Sorry for being so late.

Cheers,
Jack

Rocketboy · Motorist

Will this be a timed rally this year like the first 2, or will it be a questions only like last year's? Also, will there be any considerations for the pain in the arses (like me) who are running non-standard sized tires?

Erik...

Charva · Motorist

I had to get a friend from work to join me this year.

He promised not to puke.

That's all I need to win this year!!!!!

Dave