Greetings from the MINI community

[BillTheCat]

Hello New Beetle owners!

My name is Bill, and I'm not a Beetle driver. I'm not a MINI driver any more, either, but I am still deeply involved with the MINI community. I recently saw your club listed on the Tail of the Dragon web site, and noticed that our clubs would both be there at the same time, so I wanted to pop in and say hello.

I understand that many of you made a trip to Deal's Gap last year, so you already know what a great area it is. The MINI club has been making this trip annually on the first weekend in May since 2003, and one of our members has built a great web site with TONS of info about the area, from lodging to activities and maps, etc. It might be helpful to you as you make your plans:

MINIs On The Dragon - Home

Our club started out in 2003 with a hastily planned, and very loosely organized trip involving only a few dozen cars, but it grew rapidly, and for the last few years, we have had over 400 MINIs and 600 people register for our trip. (We always have a small number who join in but don't register, too) We even have some national sponsors (MINI USA and Yokohama Tires among them), and a vendor alley set up for MINI related vendors to sell and install their products.

I see that you are staying in Bryson City, so it doesn't appear we'll be right on top of each other, although some of the MINIs do stay in that area as well. The largest concentration of MINIs will be staying at Fontana Village, which is also where most of our activities take place, and the rallying point for most of our drives.

We have an absolute blast on this trip every year, and I'm sure your club will as well. We'll be looking forward to seeing you all out on the roads in May. Be sure to wave!

Bill

PS- if you have questions about the area, feel free to drop me a PM or e-mail (laszlo2u (at) hotmail) and if I can't answer it, I can relay it to the MINI community for more help.

We have forums dedicated to "MINIs on the Dragon" at our national web site, www.northamericanmotoring.com, as well as my statewide club's site, Sunshine MINIs. I'm not especially active on "NAM," but I am post whore #1 on "SSM."

[Yello_jellybean]

AWWW That is really sweet. I Love those MINI's, and it just goes to show that the drivers are cool too.
They fit in quite nicely with Beetle poeple.

[MichelleRoze]

I think it'll be a nice fit to our cruise! I mean, Mini's and Beetles....works well. Sounds like we'll be getting to know the mini group quite well, since our ToD is also going to continue to be the first weekend in May...

Maybe we should ask them how they got sponsors! I mean...dang. That'd be pretty sweet. Or because they have sponsors, that may up OUR publicity as well. This could be a win/win situation here!

[dnyed]

We New Beetle and MINI peeps have a lot in common. We Love Our Cars!

I, too, love the MINI.

[mybugrocks]

Well hello there Bill this sounds like a very cool trip, and you sound very nice, can't wait to meet you all how exciting

[BillTheCat]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone. I kind of figured that Beetle and MINI owners would have a lot in common. In addiiton to the small size and fuel efficiency that everyone associates with our cars, I have been told that Beetles handle pretty well, which is a MINI specialty.

And I'd say that in both cases, most folks who buy them have to have a sense of whimsy to some extent. You just can't look at either of these cars & not smile.

FYI, my current daily driver is a 2009 Mazdaspeed3 Sport, 2.3 turbo. My weekend fun/project car is a 1992 Toyota Supra 2.5 twin turbo. Yeah, I'm all about forced induction. And for anyone here who is familiar with Supras, if you're thinking that the Supra didn't go twin turbo until 1993, you are correct. Mine has a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) engine in it that was never used in this country, but was used in early 90's Supras in Japan.

Before these 2 cars, I went thru 2 new MINIs ('03 MCS, '05 MCS) and a Classic Mini (198x Mini City, RHD Brit import). Prior to that, I was in a 2001 Golf GLS 1.8T (Considered a Beetle, but opted for 4 doors). And prior to that was my 1990 Supra Turbo, which started my love affair with forced induction.

I'll go ahead & get on my soap box for a second. I have given several safety lectures at MOTD's in the past, and the number one item is always- DO NOT CROSS THE CENTER LINE ON 129. There are some MINI owners who see the ToD as a high speed challenge, but the real challenge is to do it as fast as you can (speding tickets are your risk- got my 1st last year... *sigh*) without crossing that line. Crossing the line is not only cheating, it's deadly dangerous. Even being near the line can be dangerous, as sport bikers often come around corners with their wheels on their side of the line, but their heads & helmets on your side. Do have fun, but be safe first.

Second most important is not to outdrive your skills or your car's capabilities. Be sure you have good tires & brakes before you ever leave for the trip, fresh oil doesn't hurt. And when driving the Dragon, don't push yourself. If someone comes up behind you & obviously wants to go faster, do not panic. Do not speed up. Watch for a safe place to pull over, OFF the road, and let them pass. Never wave someone around- do not encourage them to cross the center line.

By the same token, if you catch up to someone who is driving slower than you'd like, try not to tailgate. Remember, this is a public road, and locals use it for daily travel needs. If you'd like to pass & the person in front of you misses or ignores opportunities to pull over & let you by, then give them a headlight flash, etc. to be sure they know you want to speed up. If they don't let you by, then sit back & enjoy the scenery.

Another tip, which is true all the time, but especially if you plan to run the Dragon, then turn around & come back the same way- the locals in this area are split on their opinion of all these tiny cars running around. Some of them, who work in tourism and hospitality, love that we come in, spend money, tip well, and behave ourselves. Others, who are more into bear hunting, hate the noise because it scares the bears.

In the past, the anti-tourist hunters have on occasion resorted to peppering the pavement on 129 with:

cooking oil
motor oil
ball bearings
sand
gravel
shattered glass

Therefore, I strongly urge you to take it easy on your first pass. Look for any road conditions- debris, potholes, etc. And of course, scout for LEOs. If the road conditions look safe on the way out, have a little fun on your way back if you like. It's been a couple of years now since have heard a report of debris thrown in the road, but you never know.

Other random thoughts... the gas station at Deal's Gap (28 @ 129) caters to motorcyclists. They often have an 8-gallon limit on fuel. Be sure to fuel up in Bryson City or Robbinsville- gas is cheaper there anyway. Also, the owners of the Deal's Gap station prefer that cars park deeper into the parking lot, to leave room for motorcycles closer to the main building. If you want to make a good impression, this will help. This gas station has the best selection of Dragon memorabilia, stickers, etc. And cheap food.

Oh, this will mean more to those who have been there before, but the pull-off at Tabcat Bridge in TN has now been paved. No more gravel. Also, many of the pull-offs along the highway have been paved as well, making it much easier for smaller cars like ours to pull off the road & let someone by, or just take a breather, etc. (And easier for Killboy's photo team as well as LEO's to find a nice spot to pull off)

Couple of items that may be useful to know... cell service is spotty on the roads. Bryson City and Robbinsville are fine, but the Deal's Gap area is generally a dead zone. If you're going to spend a good amount of time in that area, turn off your phone to preserve the battery. A phone that can't find its network will quickly drain the battery by constantly searching for it. Then you're left with no battery once you get back into civilization.

For the same reason, FRS/GMRS radios are handy up there if you want to keep in touch with your group while driving. The MINI club uses FRS channel 7, subchannel 21 to keep in touch.

I'd like to invite anyone who feels like being social to come by Fontana Village most any day you're there. I'll be hosting our annual car show on the ball field at the resort on Friday, April 30th, so I'll be easy to find. Also, on any evening, if you drive around Fontana, you'll find bonfires and cabin parties. Trust me when I say that 90% of these are not private in the least- park nearby, walk up, introduce yourself, and grab a drink or some food. We're a friendly bunch!!!

I'll be in a dark grey Mazdaspeed3 with FL tag that reads "129 SLYR" (Dragon slayer).

Cheers!

Bill

[marvins_dad]

Thanks for all the advice...look forward to seeing all the Minis in the area.

Wasn't it the Mini group that had that rad video we were drooling over?... that and the crane group photo?

[MichelleRoze]

Wow, sounds like you guys have it all planned out. Ironic we were thinking of some kind of informal car show as well on Friday for those would could make it.

I do agree about not crossing the yellow line. And it's easier said than done for sure. You think it won't be an issue, but last year I sure had some troubles with it. Those turns are SO tight, it's best to just slow down and stay on your side. Have any of the Mini's had a run in with a Semi or anything like that? I've seen pictures of large Semi's and RV's hitting the dragon and taking out some bikers/cars/etc. We got lucky last year, but it had just finished raining when we got there.

We used 2 way radios last year, though it didn't seem to help much at the Cherohala Skyway once you're at the top. Thanks for letting us know what frequency you'll be on, we wouldn't want to clog up your communication line and visa versa.

I did not know about the hunters "peppering" the roads. How awful and extremely dangerous for any motorist; tourist or not. We'll definitely be on the lookout for that.

Sounds like you guys have had a lot of fun in the past and continue to do so each year. What time did the Mini's run last year? I don't remember seeing any, and I can't believe that if there were 400+ of you guys that I didn't even see one.

Thanks for all the great advice, and for anyone here who hasn't been on the dragon yet, he's got some great points! It's not a race. You will find that out as soon as you make a sharp left, into a sharp right, back into another sharp left and then right - especially if you have a manual Those with automatics, no worries. There were a few of us last year with autos, and they handled just fine up the mountains and around the curves. Might be wise though to do a fluid change just before you go, just to make sure it's all cleaned out and won't cause you any issues while you're there!

Looks like this is going to be a great year for the ToD!!!

[BillTheCat]

Originally Posted by MichelleRoze

Thanks for all the great advice, and for anyone here who hasn't been on the dragon yet, he's got some great points! It's not a race. You will find that out as soon as you make a sharp left, into a sharp right, back into another sharp left and then right - especially if you have a manual Those with automatics, no worries. There were a few of us last year with autos, and they handled just fine up the mountains and around the curves. Might be wise though to do a fluid change just before you go, just to make sure it's all cleaned out and won't cause you any issues while you're there!

Looks like this is going to be a great year for the ToD!!!

If you're trying to make a spirited run with a manual transmission, the best way to attack the Dragon is to leave it in 2nd or 3rd gear, depending on how low your torque kicks in, and let it wind out. You're going to spend the whole run at 3k-6k RPM's, but there are only a couple of spots on the whole run where it's truly worth upshifting. Most of the time, by the time you upshift, you'll be about ready to downshift for more torque again.

The MINIs have several runs over the 5 days we're there. We usually have a "parade lap" of the Dragon early on Thursday morning, and then we have "Darkness on the Dragon" and "Midnight on the Dragon" on Saturday at 8-9pm and Midnight. (We even have separate t-shirts specifically for the Midnight run.) Plus, since we're at Fontana, there are tons of impromptu runs all week long.

Just checked our schedule, and it looks like organized activities where you might be likely to see us this year are:

(For your early arrivals)
Thursday, 8:00 a.m. - Dragon Orientation Run (for n00bs)
Thursday, 9:00a-2:00p - Deep Creek Waterfalls & lunch in BRYSON CITY.
Thursday, 2:00 p.m. - Cherohala Loop

Friday, 8:00 a.m. - Dragon Parade

Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Ice Cream Run to BRYSON CITY (Soda Pop's Ice Cream Shop)
(We already have 60 people signed up for this drive & dine excursion)
Saturday, 8:45 p.m. - Darkness on the Dragon
Saturday, 11:59 p.m. - Midnight on the Dragon

I'm sure you noticed the photographers there last year. I noticed the Beetles when I browsed their sites looking for my pics. I figured it was an organized event, as there were too many Beetles to be a coincidence.

killboy.com photos - The Original Photographer from US129 Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap
US129 Photos - Your Source for Photos from the world famous Tail of the Dragon
http://www.zeefoto.com

All 3 photog sites have sections where the photos are archived by date, and they have years' worth of photos. Killboy is pretty much the original, but they all get good shots. You can order your photos from them, and I think they all will print them on mugs, calendars, magnets, etc., too.

Oh, and to answer another question above, we do have a panoramic group photo done every year. Costs some money to get the photographer out there, as he comes in from Atlanta, but if you have enough people willing to buy photos, it can be worthwhile. The company we use is:

Atlanta Panorama
2139 Liddell
Atlanta, GA 30324-4132
Tel:404-872-2577

I've never dealt with the photographer, George, directly, but I understand he can be quite difficult/demanding. I do know that he came in one year demanding that we supply him with food & lodging for the job. He's kind of a diva.

And it takes some time to stage up all the cars for the photo- even though the photo itself is 5' long, and straight, the cars have to line up in a semicircle around the crane, and it can take a while to get them all lined up properly.

Oh, we do our photo at the base of Fontana Dam on Hwy 28, not far from Deal's Gap. You need to contact the TVA, who operates the dam, in order to park in the grass there. If your club decides to do this and you need their contact info, I can get it for you.

PDF price sheet for our photos this year is HERE. He shoots a couple of photos of just the cars, and a couple of photos of the cars with everyone standing near them.

Video of MOTD is all over YouTube, so I wouldn't doubt if you've seen a few of our videos if you've been browsing. We're a very techie bunch, and we like to share.

HERE is my video from last year, edited down to 10 minutes for YouTube. Of course, I'm the dork driving the Mazda, but this was my one clean run without major slowdowns for trucks, etc.

Oh, and yes, we have had a few incidents of the years. Seems like we have one noticeable accident every year. None of them have involved more than one car, and noboy has hit a sportbike or a truck yet.

I was at Deal's Gap on year when a sportbiker came in pissed like you would not believe, claiming that a MINI had crossed the center line & run him off the road. Wasn't me, but I felt like dog poop, just for being associated with the offender, who he never could identify.

We had one fellow get too fast on Hwy 28 en route to Deal's Gap one year & flip his MINI on a low shoulder. Another young kid went off the side of the Dragon- down about 60 feet before a tree stopped him. There was one more flip I am aware of, and several significant crashes, but almost always one per year, regardless of the size of our group.

I honestly think Hwy 28 is more dangerous than 129, because he speed limit is higher, and the curves are slightly less extreme, leading people to attack it even harder than they do 129. Which naturally leads to more accidents.

[BillTheCat]

I forgot to mention another side trip that some might enjoy. My group drives up from FL, and it's an all-day drive for some folks coming from the Southern reaches. Even from here in Tampa, it's most of the day. Leaving at 7 a.m. gets us to Fontana Village around dinner time, with no daylight left to burn, etc.

So a couple of years ago, we decided to cut our first day drive short in Helen, Georgia. For those unfamiliar, Helen is situated pretty much in between Atlanta & Deal's Gap, and is also known as "Alpine Helen." The entire "downtown" or "Main Street" area is made to look like an Alpine village straight out of the movie "Heidi." Even the fast food joints and motels on the main drag.

Yeah, it's a tourist trap, but heck- we're tourists! They have a lot of crafty shops & such, and a few very nice restaurants. I especially like the Troll Tavern on the river. And there's a French bakery & restaurant that's pretty darned good & serves killer breakfast. And you can go for a horsedrawn carriage ride if you like, too.

So we arrive in Helen 2-3pm, have time to browse the shops or take a nap, then do dinner. In the morning, we hit the French place for a sinful breakfast, and we're arriving at Fontana Village, NC by lunch time- it's less than 2 hours away.

This way, we arrive mid-day, refreshed, no numb keesters. There's time to unpack & get organized, and still go for a scenic drive or two, etc. with daylight on your side. MUCH more relaxed.

[marvins_dad]

Don't know if it has been discussed on the main thread or not yet, but historically with Roswell and other NB clubs we use FRS channel 6 with no security settings (because some folks still have radios that don't have security settings).

Just an FYI.

Thanks Bill - Akk-Akk!

[boogiemonster]

hi everyone...another mini driver here...bill mentioned this to us so i thought i would come over and say hai!i think a mini/beetle cruise would be a capital idea! lol im gonna be taking my 79 Leyland Mini City RHD UK to the dragon this year....which is no small task considering the distance plus i have no cruise control and it makes less than 90 hp and the BMC A series engines can be a bit of a handful but it will be a blast... and ya cant miss it since its bright lime green with a black roof...well that and it looks like a oversized gokart

but to add on to what bill said...when i was out in san diego there is a road around a mountain called Palomar Mtn....you can youtube videos of that road to see why...but the locals have in the past poured motor oil in retaliation for the drivers that enjoy the road...so yes on your first run take it easy until you get a feel for it...especially for the dragon newbs...there are a few corners(gravity cavity) that the road gets deceptive...doesnt look too bad but enter it at the wrong speed and its fangs show...one of the things that we do for each other and the motorcycle riders do to is if you pass a LEO if you see other fellow beetles/minis/etc coming the other way poke your arm out the window and give the slow down wave...that way we can cut down on the tickets and trouble...there are a few blind corners they like to sit and when you come around the corner they are pointing the gun as you come right at them...no getting out of a ticket...but sometimes you get a cool cop that will tell you to slow it down...

that being said enjoy the dragon...ill be on the lookout for the beetles...and if you want to get some group runs im sure if you come to the fontana resort and find us we can put something together or we can set it up here...

[MichelleRoze]

90 hp is no big deal. My TDI beetle is stock with 90 hp and it did great last year, with an auto tranny too This year my car has a bit more umph so I'm curious to see how it'll do.

[boogiemonster]

true but your engine is much more reliable...lets just say the classic A series has a temperment that borders on evil at times...sometimes it just decides to say nah i dont wanna run...hey watch me blow up a water pump...haha you overheated...now fix me

[Fl_bug]

Minis on the Dragon this year too? How cool is that!!! I bet the locals are going to say "Wow, is this like small car day in the USA or somethin?" We should check the smart fortwo forums out ASAP!

[boogiemonster]

Originally Posted by Fl_bug

Minis on the Dragon this year too? How cool is that!!! I bet the locals are going to say "Wow, is this like small car day in the USA or somethin?" We should check the smart fortwo forums out ASAP!

i think alot of people think its the british invasion when we come...but it wouldnt suprise me if another small car group is coming at the same time...that time of year seems to be popular i think we had the a quattro audi group there at the same time and i forget what other group...

[BillTheCat]

Yep, we've seen the Quattros out there, as well as some Smarts in the past. Vettes are going to be there the same weekend as our 2 clubs this year, but I don't think anyone will think anyone will associates Vettes with either of our clubs.

[Zero_webb]

Mini and new beetles On the Same roads? AWESOME! this is especially great for me due to the fact that I have a Beetle and my best friend has a Mini. We always joke about starting our own tiny european car club.

[connieray]

Hey Bill, I have seen the photos of TOD and some of the crashes. If you drive at regular speed on the first run and stay on my side of the road, how safe is it? Thanks.
Ray

[wilky]

Originally Posted by connieray

Hey Bill, I have seen the photos of TOD and some of the crashes. If you drive at regular speed on the first run and stay on my side of the road, how safe is it? Thanks.
Ray

If you don't drive past your capabilities you'll be fine. most of us are going to just cruise the Dragon so, it's safe as any other road. we'll all be fine, the new people have nothing to worry about I promise.

Now if you want to have to worry, then try to keep up with me thru it on one of may later solo runs. thats when it'll get fun.