September 01, 2004

Nakusp Run, September 25 - 26, 2004

Just a reminder that if you are planning to stay overnight in Nelson and want to stay at the Prestige Inn with the group, please contact me ASAP so I can hold rooms.
My nephew manages the Prestige Inn and Conference Center (right on the lake) in Nelson and has offered us a preferred rate of $99.50 a night. It’s still prime time for them and their regular rate is $179.00.  I’ve booked a room for myself and will book rooms for anyone else interested in staying there. You can check it out at www.prestigeinn.com. Please let my know ASAP if you are interested. You can email me at ------------------- , call me at -------- during the day or at -------- in the evening.
Thanks,
Kurt Neumann

A Letter From Larry and Shelley

Larry & I would like to thank the Okanagan Valley Miata Club for the past 3 years of events &  good times. Because of other commitments we will be stepping back from the club events.  We will, when we have time, come to some of the meetings & maybe to some of the events. We will need a volunteer to take over the club meetings & also someone to take over  for the membership. Thank you all again.
Til we Miata  again,
Shelly & Larry Stephens

Backroads To Bavaria

We will be leaving Kelowna early afternoon around 1 pm on Friday October 1, 2004.  Actual spot to meet will be decided later.  We will stop at the Penticton Tim Horton's to pick up Penticton members

Thunder Mountain Drags

Three Miatas competed at the Friday Night Green Light Drags last week. Some very close racing with Dutch coming out the winner, even taking out some of the V8 entries! Unfortunately Dutch had some mechanical problems and was not able to get as many runs in as he would have liked.  Matt has sent some photos:

Website Construction

Jim do you have any info from the last meeting I would like to post it on the web site also I am trying to get pictures and info from the last 2 Sun Runs, I need pictures and Info. I would also like to create a contact list of who does what in the club. Ideas Ideas Ideas. Anyway Have a great day.
Lex

Please lets help Lex out.  He is creating a great club website but it is no good without some input from out members.
Send news, pictures, classified ads, stories etc.
Thanks,
Jim

September 22, 2004

At last we have some top down weather again!  Hope it will last.

Monthly Club Meeting

Thanks to everyone who attended this months meeting at Bev's. Although we don't have an "executive", we all manage to take on the necessary task and keep things rolling. Thanks also to those who volunteered to take over some of Shelley's tasks. We will post a list of contacts for various club duties on our "New" website in the next few days. If you have any questions, one of these members may be able to help you. The web address is: http://okmiataclub.bizhat.com.
Club Coordinator:   Matt Scaife
Treasurer:             Bev Bedard
Webmaster:          Lex Cousins
Newsletter:           Jim Dennison
Membership:         Pete Hahn
Our monthly meeting dates have now changed! Meetings will now be on the 4th Wednesday of the month. Next month the meeting date will be October 27, 2004. It will be at Al & Helen Blowers home at 7:00 pm. Al's address is: ------------ off of Gordon Drive. This map should help, although I think the star is at the wrong end of Eso Court.

Our Last Nakusp Hot Springs Update

The Sep 11 run was called off due to the number of participant cancellations. Too bad, but we are definitely going on Sept 25.  It's a great Miata drive through the Monashees, along Arrow Lake and then up the twisting mountain road to the springs.  Checkout the hotsprings and the area at www.nakusphotsprings.com. As of today we have 11 people signed up for the run and room for more:
Please bring whatever lunch you will need to keep you from starving between breakfast and supper. Breakfast is at Mingles (a good place to eat) at 8:00. For those not wanting breakfast, please be at Mingles by 8:45. We will meet Jim and any other north Okanagan participants at the OUC turnoff/shortcut to Highway 6 (where the Aug 08 run terminated) at 9:30. Our next stop will be the BC Hydro rest area on the north side of the highway just before Cherryville and then it will be off to the Needles ferry.  If the Mingles breakfast didn't fill you up (unlikely) there should be time for a snack while waiting for the ferry, or on the other side (rest areas on both sides). Then it's onward to Nakusp where we will meet Terri and John (who live in Nakusp) at Wilie's Pub for the run up to the springs.
Bring bathing attire, a towel and a small padlock (for the locker) or a bag for your clothes (which you can take to poolside).  Soaking time is optional. Some people will be returning the same day, some will be going on to Nelson for an overnight stay (check with Kurt at --------------------- for accommodation) and Brenda and I will be staying at the springs.
See you Saturday morning!
Pete
 

Backroads To Bavaria Update

All Kelowna and north Miatas will be meeting at the Chamber of Commerce/Tourist centre parking lot. It is located on the corner of Ellis and Harvey (Hwy 97). We will be leaving there at 1:00 pm sharp! It is approx 4 hours to Leavenworth. The welcome reception at the hotel is from 3 - 8pm. We will make a quick pit stop at the Tim Horton's in Penticton to join up with Penticton members.  Don't forget your passport, golf putter, bathing suit and camera!
Sunday there are no activities planned, so we have all day to wander back home.  Perhaps a side trip to the Grand Coulee Dam via some country back roads?

Doug and Penni Mitchell Are Moving To Grand Forks

To all concerned:
We're on the move as of September 18th. 
Penni & Doug Mitchell

Doug and Penni will be missed. They were always a enjoyable addition to many of our events and runs. God luck in Grand Forks! This could be a good excuse for a trip to the boundary country. Maybe Miatas get a deal on gas! 
Jim

Merritt Autocross

 Racing in Merritt as told by Matt Scaife

Wendy, Sera and I left Kelowna at 7:00 am with our 10AE and our Flamingo business van (three in a Miata is a bit cramped). Catching up with a group of racers in Westbank, we traveled in a six race car convoy - plus the flamingo van. The trip itself was quite foggy with snow falling lightly up on the Coquihalla connector. Several racers were nervous driving through the fog and snow with their nearly slick race tires on their cars. There was a little snow in the ditches but nothing staying on the road, fortunately. We caught up with Ron Dupont in Merritt. Originally he was to travel on Saturday and get a hotel so he would be fresh for racing Sunday morning, but as it turned out he ended up leaving Sunday morning like the rest of us.
With over 40 drivers at the event, Ron, my daughter Sera, and I were the only Miata drivers. The racing started out with dry weather  and that lasted about 10 minutes. It proceeded to get damp with a very light rain lasting all day. Just before lunch it got really, really wet. Fortunately I was one of the first Stock class drivers to race and consequently had my fastest run of the day on a dry track. Sera in Stock class and Ron in the Outlaw class weren’t so lucky. It was damp for Sera’s and Ron’s first two runs. Sera managed to improve on each of her runs, but Ron was not having a good morning as his slick race tires would not give him any grip - he was having trouble just staying on the track. By the end of the day, I was fortunate to be able to win the stock class by a three second margin thanks to my dry run. Sera managed to improve her times all day. Her runs were all on a wet track, but as the track dried towards the end of the day she managed to beat several others in her class. Ron was finally able to get a respectable time in his class, but was not as fast as some of the others because his race tires were  not up to the task. On hot sunny days Ron is very quick, but his tires do not work at all in the cold damp conditions we encountered in Merritt.
Overall it was a lot of fun as it usually is and very worthwhile.