We joined the 2012 Blue Ridge Parkway Tour for the last day and a half of the three day rally and now our Roadster is a sophomore at 1222 miles! This was also our first ever MINI event. Some reactions. The organizers were meticulous with their planning. The 40 plus MINIs were divided into three groups of varying skill levels. Radio communication with leaders was a great assist. Participants were wonderful socializers and full of MINI stuff. We experienced the thrill of seeing a parade of MINIs and that in itself made the trip memorable. It has been a number of years since we drove the BRP, but this time the effects of deferred maintenance was evident. Some ugly potholes, faded line striping and signs, vegetation overgrowth, to name a few. That did not detract from the gorgeous scenery or the great weather. Forgot to mention a nice feature of the tour. Participants were invited to provide their volunteer services at one of the pulloffs. Deer brouse protective tubes were removed from young seedling trees by Tour goers and stockpiled for later removal by Park personnel. Everyone participated. Congratulations to the Tar Heel Mini Motoring Club for hosting this annual event. (I have not downloaded my pics, otherwise I would show some.)
Attendance was down some this year, but it's still a great event. Jeff Causey, J.D. Cole and the rest of the Tar Heel staff did their usual great job of panning. I couldn't make all three says, as I've done in the past, but getting up at 3 AM this morning and motoring across Virginia to meet up with the group in Roanoke was well worth it! If you have some time next year, put this event on your schedule! You won't be sorry!
Glad y'all could join us even if it was only for a portion of the event. JECO, yours was the first Roadster I've seen out in the wild. And Dale, that was some true dedication you showed to get out there for Sunday. I'm hopeful that the potholes toward the northern end of the BRP will be addressed soon. I'm pretty sure the Park has plans for that section. The section of the BRP that was closed last year around Doughton Park (from Hwy 21 to Hwy 18) was in wonderful condition. Likewise, the repairs that were made to the road surface in the tunnels toward the south end were a welcome addition (even if we couldn't see it through the fog, you could feel the smoothness of the road). It was nice to finally get in a run without any detours (and no construction zones either). That said, the lawn mowing issue was definitely noticeable. In case anyone was not aware, the Park service has temporarily halted their roadside mowing activities due to a death involving one of the mowers. They are reviewing their safety procedures and precautions for changes before resuming.
Sounds like a fun tour. I actually first heard of the BRP on Top Gear. Looks like a real nice road(even if the speed limit id a bit low) Glad everything is OK, when I read the title of your post I though someone had broke into your MINI.