I don't remember it ever being a group with a lot of organized drives. Maybe when I first started hanging out in 2007/2008. There were usually Spring and Fall drives to Amish country that would have 10-15 cars (logistical nightmare since the majority of us just wanted to play follow the leader). Since then it seems like Riverrun and the Brewery Drive are the main events. The important question to ask yourself is what you are looking for from a club (more drives, more frequent get togethers,..etc) There was a point when I would have agreed that some organization would have been good, but I also realized that it wasn't what the majority of the people wanted (so it was not going to happen). Maybe the climate has changed and people are ready for an organized group or maybe there are new people out there that are looking for something more formal (besides, it would be a good way to rid yourself of all the pesky non-MINIs taking up parking spots at breakfast).
....ready, steady yourselves ..... I don't think the non-MINIS are an issue and I've accepted that MoM is a group of auto enthusiasts that are or once were MINI owners. There were more drives early on and over the years it has decreased. From my vantage point the impromptu drives after donuts have been some of the best. For the record, I'm not an organized club person not will I ever be.
Thank you Mark. More often than not Babs & I take a drive after donuts. Folks are welcome to come along. Some do, many don't. Folks often have other things to do, it is just life.
For those that haven't been on a drive in a while (me included) or ever. I think it would be great if you would join us and I challenge you to join us, as a lot of time and effort goes into these routes and you get to see parts of Ohio you'd never imagine were there. And you make great friends and learn how to drive your car and understand its capabilities as well!
I'm thinking Nick is more commenting on the indecisiveness of the majority of people when it comes to setting up an event. I don't blame him for that, if I remember right he has ended up sitting at Sonic or QSL thinking people were coming to an event and they ended up backing out (understanding that life sometimes gets in the way of fun events). Formal/organized club life is not for every one, but there may be more people out there that would be willing to go formal (not necessarily people already in the group). The non-MINI comment was made in jest, but I will say that I would not be offended if there were organized events/drives that were MINI only (actually I think it would help bring in new owners to the fold).
I'm going to say that this is one of the big differences I see in the drives today versus some of the older ones i remember. I've heard several people comment on the level of aggressiveness that some of the drives have been in recent time (this includes someone that was in a group that I was leading in a recent Riverrun). The last thing you want is for people to have to drive over their comfort level just to keep up with the group. I remember some of the older drives being more about the scenery, destination, and social aspect. Maybe taking a note from some of the drive descriptions for MOTD and calling out the expected pace ahead of time or having someone willing to lead a group of people at a more relaxed pace may help increase attendance.
Just to set some normal expectations. The Miatas were from all over Ohio not just central Ohio. My .02 on the organization level is if there are people who like to organize nothing is stopping them. The Miata group has an active Facebook presence and the moderators keep the group together. If someone is being a jerk they are gone. The people who run the group also plan get togethers all over to make sure people from the web meet each other. Then we are all more willing to help others. What also helps is covering the whole state gives them a critical mass that helps. It really does seem to be a generational thing. The Miata group is much younger on the whole and the older local Miata guys poke fun at the new group. The thing is both are having fun enjoying their cars so to me it is silly that they don't work better together.
Your right Brian when you plan on going out to meet with a group of people that say they are coming and only 1 shows up it's frustrating. It makes you think why bother. Then no one shows up and there is no more group. I don't want people to over drive their ability either. But you can ask Seth, Dave and Ron. After a quick blast on a stretch we wait for everyone else to catch up at their own speed. I think it would be great to go down and do something with the Cincy group or up to Cleveland but sadly I don't think that will ever happen. I joined the MINI guys because the Subaru guys were boring. In fact I have the guy that started the Subaru group on drives with me when ever he can. I felt bad that Zach and the shop made a special effort for the MINI people and we couldn't provide the turn out. Oh well I know the people who like to drive, fast or slow, and we'll go when we can.
Yup! On these drives those that want to run fast go up front and those that want to take it easy drive behind and we always wait up at a stop sign or the side of the road when there is a turn or what have you. And this is usually a great time to get out of the car and let the adrenaline subside. :devil: I actually like to stop a bit more b/c I get a bit antsy in the car so I don't mind waiting at all. It's a good way to talk to the guy in front or behind on driving styles and things to work on or what the heck just happened. :lol: But definitely like the idea of letting people know the level of the drive and where to run and what to expect.
That is good info about the system you use for your drives. That's the kind of info that helps make drives less intimidating for new people. Why don't you think something will ever happen with the Cincy or Cleveland groups? I remember a couple of drives where people from Cleveland would meet us at a certain point of the drive and continue on with the group. No reason that you can't reach out to them and try to set something up. Your last comment is similar to my new take on drives. I'm not going to spend a ton of time pre-driving routes anymore. I'm going to pull a route from my folder of drives (some are mine, some are others), maybe make a couple of tweaks, pick a day that works for me, throw out a quick invite, and show up on the planned morning with some printed copies (but ready to go on my own if need be).
"Folder of drives"? Is this a proverbial folder or is this a real folder? Can you share this proverbial folder? haha I would love to go on drives with you all. I am new to this forum and I think that sometimes it quality over quantity. Look forward to meeting you all. Also is there a 'how to' on this forum? because I am confused by the acronyms like MOTD...
There was a point when a couple of us had thought about starting a website for people to share their drives (route notes, maps, potentially GPX files). It was going to be similar to the following link but more car specific. Ohio Motorcycle Roads & Rides - Best Ohio motorcycle routes for planning great Ohio motorcycle trips | Motorcycle Roads and Rides | MotorcycleRoads.com The idea fizzled away (needed to do more research on legal liability), so now I just have a folder saved on my laptop with different route maps that I have either come up with on my own or re-typed from different drives that I have gone on (I would need to edit a couple of them to remove any reference of the original event name/host before sharing them).
I love this site. I added a couple to the list. I use it to find routes and then string them together in a run. There will even be a few roads from it on an upcoming Ohio run. I had a client years ago that had a site just like this one when there weren't any like it. When you plan a run there is always the risk of something happening and lawyers getting involved. Sad but true. Lawyers take the fun out of everything. "It's not your fault for choosing to go on that drive and over driving your ability. It's the guy who plan it."
There is this app that does exactly that! It's called 'MINI Motoring'. It basically tracks you using your GPS and it allows you to save fun rides and share them with the community. I think that would take the responsibility out of the equation.
Garmin has a free program for their gps that allows you to create and share routes. I did a test of it over this run and it works great. I've programmed in what I want to do at the Dragon.
The Library at the top of the forum has a lot of info for those kinds of things. MOTD is Minis On The Dragon, the event that's coming up soon. And I would like to apologize for not being able to attend the drive, I've got a few maintenance issues that I need to attend to, and they're going slowly, alas. (also I'd just got back from driving to New York, which drove home the need for said maintenance and wore me out)
Thank you, Zapski! I will check that out. That's a bummer, What is going on with your car? I have a love hate relationship with working on my car. When is the next run that you all are doing? I am thinking about making a jaunt down in Hocking Hills this week. Cheers