Roger Sitterly has written two more articles for our Technical Talk pages. These are the first two articles on the subject of improving the handling of your MINI. I for one am looking forward to him continuing this discussion.
As many of you know, the Iowa MINI community (primarily Eastern Iowa MINIs and Central Iowa MINI owners) has had a fall colors drive each October since 2003. This year will be the eleventh such event. Over the years, the location has varied, and route planning/event responsibility has alternated each year between EIM and CIMC. In all previous years, the work has been handled by Daryl Hanneman (of EIM) and Greg Beachy (of CIMC).
This year it’s the responsibility of the Central Iowa owners to come up with a date and route for the event. Unfortunately, Greg has been relocated to the Kansas City area by his employer, and is unable to do much work for the event this year. I’ll have some time to coordinate route planning, but I’m going to be out of town from time to time in September and I’ll be out of town for most of October, so other members of the club will need to help on this.
Please send me any and all ideas you have for a scenic Iowa countryside drive, and I’ll try to assemble a good route from those ideas. In addition, someone will need to take charge of things the day of the event itself since I won’t be here. Without help from other members of the club, this longest-running and most enjoyable Iowa MINI event may end, and that would be sad.
At this point the tentative date is Saturday, October 12 (which is the traditional Columbus Day holiday) with an alternate date of Saturday, October 19. Any and all comments, ideas, suggestions, and volunteers can contact me at rogersitterly (at symbol) yahoo dot (.) com or using the contact form below.
Thanks, Roger
You know you want one.
I’ve got one sitting behind the driver’s seat on The Green Lantern and it makes me smile every time I see it.
For $10, you can add one to your MINI, support the CIMC (all proceeds go to help with Club expenses), and will be available at all club events/meetings.
If you get a chance, please thank our President, Scott Paulson, for taking care of the design and fronting the initial cost to have them printed.
Please tell your kids, grandkids, and friends/co-workers about this important program.
Teen drivers need to learn more than just the basics that are taught in Driver’s Training: how to control their cars under emergency conditions, drive on slick surfaces, avoid accidents, and hands-on practice doing skid and braking control. This program combines classroom instruction with driving time while an instructor rides shotgun. Students understand what they’re doing and why.
Want to Make Your Teens Safer, Smarter Drivers?
Give them Street Survival™ skills!
What: Tire Rack Street Survival® teen safe driving program for drivers ages 15-21
Who: Presented by the SCCA Foundation, a 501(c) (3) public charity, in partnership with Iowa Chapter BMW Club and Des Moines Valley Region SCCA.
Where: Iowa Speedway parking lot, 3333 Rusty Wallace Drive, Newton, IA
Why: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that approximately 80% of accidents among teenage drivers are caused by driver error. The Street Survival program is designed to provide teenagers with the skills needed to avoid costly mistakes.
Street Survival takes teens well beyond basic Driver’s Education classes. It teaches them driving techniques on how to avoid accidents before they happen.
With Iowa winters and Iowa country roads, it just makes sense to enroll your teen.
How: Street Survival is a unique hands-on driving experience that puts each student behind the wheel of his or her own car along with a trained instructor. After classroom discussion, students go out on course with their instructors to practice the exercises. The instruction takes place on a closed, wetted-down parking lot, so students experience emergency driving situations in a controlled environment. We teach accident avoidance, skid control, emergency braking, and many other driving skills. Students get to practice maneuvers many times over to gain skills and learn from their own mistakes in this intense one day class.
When: Saturday, May 18, 2013, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $75 fee – includes in-car training, lunch, and a free youth membership provided by the Sports Car Club of America.
To register: Visit www.streetsurvival.org to register or contact registrar Becky Brighton at streetsurvival@bmwia.org for more information.
Registration deadline is May 4, so hurry!
Spaces are limited. Register early! www.streetsurvival.org