Thank goodness abuzavi pulls us back to civilized conversation after a few dozen deviant posts...

Yeah, I think you've mentioned that you love your MCS.

How did the Marathon go? Did the weather cooperate?

When my fam-o-four took the cabrio for the weekend to MOTD (which has a bit less space than the coupe) we had a GREAT time - I DID have to invoke packing controls, and I DID have to put on the cargo platform. But it's all good.

And yeah, these cars are an absolute joy to drive. I'm still finding excuses to drive on business. And triple digit speeds can be had on the interstates in this country - they're just a little more exciting with the cat&mouse game you have to play... But it's a blast... using semis for cover, etc.... real-life Smokey and the Bandit stuff, but with cars that don't become hovercrafts at 90 like that TransAm...

 

Marathon went well. I think I had done no more than 22 or so miles on any given run before that, and yes, there's a difference in those last couple of miles. I had folowed a very deliberate training plan for 18 weeks, and I ran a lot of hills to try and build some muscle to carry me through those last few miles -- it must have worked, because all that hurts this morning are my thighs -- and they just burn.

Luxembourg is a great city, too. Been there a few times over the years. Fantastic mix of old and new -- from classic Baroque style buildings, to hip new shapes that seem a modern update to Frank Lloyd Wright's ideas. The route went all over the place -- through small neighborhoods, though parks, through the oldest parts of the cites. And being a nice sunny day (and nice cool evening), everyone came out to cheer the runners.

So, yeah. It was good. I'd cautiously offer that I enjoyed it -- I more like that I did it, than I enjoyed the actual doing of it, if that makes any sense. Running that far does suck, but it has its rewards. Like chocolate and beer.

And watching a new episode of Heroes.

 

Yep - I get the same story from probably 90% of the first time marathoners I know - "glad I did it, it sucked, but glad I did it. Might do another..."

Then I have a couple of friends who went completely endurance running crazy in their 30's and have run 10-20 so far, and are toying with doing ultramarathons... freaks...

I'll have another Krispy Kreme hot glazed donut, please...

 

Readers of my wife's website have started to vote for my doing the Ironman triathlon in Hawaii -- as good exercise for me, but as a nice vacation for her. I already have the Presidential VETO stamp in hand on that one....

Today is Tuesday. Marathon was Saturday night. I start running again today -- 3 mile each of these three days, and six on Saturday. Here's to hoping my thigh muscles don't fall off of my thighs!

 

But my mama taught me that you can tell your turkey's done when the meat falls off the drumsticks...

 

Hey, Paul, that wind thingy is awesome. You got game, man.

And, for what it's worth, I got stuck in traffic today. It's going to break your heart to click on that and to see what I mean.

 

Glad you like my thingy. All the girls do.

Regarding traffic, I don't think I've called you this yet...

SCHWEINHUND!!!

And to not be rude to the other folks in the room who have NO IDEA what we're talking about...

abuzavi's wifey is a very good quilt artist.
I design and build kinetic wind sculptures.

I brainwashed her and convinced her to give up one of her awesome quilts (called "Seaweed?"):


in exchange for one of my crappy sculptures (a small blue/puple fade AeroVortex):


My powers of manipulation are stunning.

 

True dat, Paul, true dat. You manipulated yourself into giving up a very nice wind thingy....

 

Got my MTH Tuner file loaded yesterday at Grassroots Garage. WOW.

I'm glad I drove the car for a month with the pulley but without the MTH so I'd appreciate it. After the pulley install, I definitely had a lot more power than before- but the car felt IN NO WAY "refined" - just like a bunch of raw horses/torque had been "bolted on" and was at my disposal - but definitely didn't have a smooth feeling like the whole car was engineered and tuned as a unit. The MTH tune makes the car feel like A CAR if that makes any sense - not like a bunch of performance parts bolted together. It may have a bit more power and torque at points in the curve than before, but the BEST result is that the delivery of power feels TOTALLY smooth as you rev through the gears. Like you're driving a really nice, uh, BMW or something...

Still has wonderful intake howl/whine, exhaust thoatiness and burble, all the good stuff. Just wonderfully smooth on top of all that... Really is like a different car yet again. Three mods really gave me that "different car" feel (each in different ways): The USS, the pulley, and the MTH tune.

I'm a happy camper.

 

I'll wait until CAI and exhaust changes to get it done. Have not ordered my USS yet -- I am delinquient.

Just got back in from a week in Mallorca, off the coast of Spain. Not many Minis there, and ZERO of them were S -- which, on an island with no autobahn, makes sense.

I had washed and cleaned Tess before heading to the island, and it was awesome to pull a nice, clean car out of the garage last night. Big-ol-smile on my face. Might need to make a drive this weekend, just to find and kill some bugs.

And Paul -- did you see that someone has put out a call for a Minis In The Alps? Your Dragon might just get spanked.

 

Anyone looking to spend Labor Day weekend in Europe? I think this whole Minis in the Alps thing might actually happen....

 

I was taking the kids to Legoland today. Knowing that it would be about 140 miles each way, I topped off the gas tank (adding 45 liters to a 50 liter tank) and headed out.

The first hour was uneventful -- lots and lots of construction, with lots and lots of speed cameras. I try to be a good German driver; I obey the signs and speed limits religiously. The Germans don't mess around with them; they're generally there for a reason, and if no reason exists, there is no speed limit.

Reason 1: I have the OEM Nav. I have the 2007 DVD. With help from Henry, I have the speed cameras added to the DVD. That long stretch of construction, peppered with speed cameras? No issue for me. Man, I like my MCS.

When the construction ended, I pulled off at a rest platz to hit the latrine and let the kids stretch their legs. While there, my son asked me what that whistling sound is. You know, the howl when you get going fast. I told him it was air getting caught up in the front of the car when we get going fast. "So, we're going too fast, that's the problem" he asked. No, I explain, it's just a byproduct of the design of the car. Race cars do it, too.

Reason 2: So he asks, "Oh, so when it makes that whistling noise, you're driving at racing speeds." Yeah, something like that, I tell him. I am sure that the grin on my face was pretty big at that point.

Getting going again, I saw behind me no traffic on the autobahn, and a nice, long onramp to get onto the autobahn.

Reason 3: So I punched it. I wound out the gears -- five high-rev shifts that had the car screeming. DSC kicked in as I slammed it into third -- third! Could be the car, could be the Alta 15% reduction pulley I installed. No matter -- I roared out onto the autobahn (which was empty) at full throttle and with an enormous smile blanketing my face.

We made it to Legoland, and had a great day there. We've got year passes, so we go there often enough. We stuck around until about 1830, and headed back, getting back onto Autobahn 8 in the direction of Stuttgart.

And for those of you who drive that stretch (hey, you never know...), there's that section where the east and weat bound traffic are split, due to the steep grade. Going down it, I was being good boy and doing the posted 120 km/h -- about 75 mph. Coming to the bottom of it, I could see wide open, flat road ahead of me for miles, with little to no traffic and what could only be described as ideal driving conditions. It was as if the road came off of a mountain and onto the Bonneville Salt Flats.

And as I waited to pass the road sign marking the end of the speed limit, who comes zipping by me at what had to easily be 120+ mph? A black Mini Cooper. I just about soiled myself.

Reason 4: So I took off after him. The roads and conditions were the best I think I had ever had in Germany, and I've been here for more than a decade. Driving 75 mph is annoying; driving 90 is in traffic. I'm happy in my '06 MCS doing 110 to 120 mph on most days and in most conditions, but have done 130 mph before under the right conditions. Today, I hit 140 mph, and I never did catch that MC. Passed a Carrerra S. 5750 rpm, and there was throttle left, too. Twice what all y'all are suppose to do back in the States.

Reason 5: At 140 mph, the whistling / howling sound stops. It must be what it's like to break the sound barrier. I turned off the radio, the AC, everything -- even the kids were quiet -- and just soaked it all in. It was an awesome experience.

Of course, at that speed, I was going through fuel faster than an SR-71. When we had left Legoland, the OBC told me I could make it home and have 40+ miles to spare. When I eased off the gas and slowed from 140, I was going to come up 20 miles short of my house.

Egads. What had I done?

I adjusted my driving style and foot pressure, to try and maximize my mileage. I watched my shifting, eased up on the hills, and looked for that speed -- that sweet spot -- where my mileage went up the most.

Reason 5. And that sweet spot seemed to be between 90 and 95 mph. Slower got me nothing -- I wasn't using all of the gears. 4000 rpm in 6th gear seemed to be ideal. When I pulled up a the house, the OBC had worked itself out enough to tell me I was good for another 18 miles -- a vast improvement. Somehow, though, I don't think a poiceman would ever understand were I to offer that I was doing 90 to 95 mph, just to be nice to the environment.

Now, you can hate me for this, and that's fine. I've got it good -- I know that. But the MCS is just that good. Spinning the wheels, going into third gear? Breaking the sound barrier? Happiest when cruising between 90 and 95 mp? Yeah, the car is that good.

I love my R53.

 

RE: Abuazis last post.

That my friends is the pure definition of motoring.

 

Lucky SOB.

As I posted in the other thread - thanks for writing such a wonderfully detailed account of this that I could dream a bit and live vicariously through you, my brother.

And it makes me feel a little less reckless about some of the speeds I achieve in the wide open spaces around these parts... I, too, have noticed that the car really wants to go faster than is "legal" in most places in this fine country. I'm glad at least one of the Mystic MINIs has the chance to prove that true.

I just want you to never forget us - back here in the USA, paying our taxes and working to support your indentured servitude over there in the land of good bier, strudel, wursts and no speed limit....

And, since you don't hear this enough, THANK YOU for what you do to serve us, and consider this motoring joy a small reward from the guy upstairs (since I had nothing to do with it)...

But hate ya? Nah. Envious? Nah, you deserve it. Wish I were you somedays? You bet - except for that Baghdad part.

 

And, I can't stresss this enough, the driving conditions were ideal. There's no way I push go that fast under other than ideal conditions.

And feel free to hop a flight. Come visit, tour some, see the Alps, and drive the autobahn. If you have a list of things to do in this life (something like 43 Things), consider adding "Drive 140 mph on the autobahn" to that list.

I also suspect that I will have other glowing testimony, after Labor Day and the Minis in the Alps adventure. More cowbell!

 

That's me on guitar. And Abu on the, well... guess.

Was in no way implying that you were reckless - I know you know what you're doing. I'm careful not to exceed the "safe" speed here as well - whatever that happens to be in the conditions.

One problem I've found with going an appreciable fraction of the speed of light is that when you slow back down to, say, 70mph, it feels like you're absolutely CCRRAAWWLLIINNGG. And that feeling doesn't go away soon.

And Blimey pulls like sled dog against the harness, wanting to go fast again...

Oh yeah, and love the Legoland. Even the Southern California variety. Big Lego household, here. I'll bet we've spent as much on Legos over the past 8 years or so as I have spent on Blimey mods so far. We made a special cross country pilgrimage a couple of years ago - while we saw other neat things like Vegas and the Hoover Dam and Petrified Forest and Indian ruins and the Grand Freakin Canyon, the highlight of the boys' trip was.... Legoland... (which was a surprise side trip).

 

2004, after my second stint in Baghdad, I went back to CA. Made the drive with the family down the coast, and ended up in San Diego. Yeah, we did a day at Legoland, but Sea World stole the show. Of course, they were honoring the military, so entrance was free (!) and through connections, we got in to spend some time with the dolphins -- petting them, talking to them, the whole nine yards. Kids were speechless. Meeting Shamu would like have produced convulsions.

Have been to three of the Legolands. I guess when we go to the UK for the Mini tour, we'll hit that one, too.

 

I finally got around to pulling the headrests off. I have no idea why I waited so long to do this. I knew, months ago, that I would like the car better without them. Just didn't do it.

It totally changes the view from inside the car. Reminds me of driving the old timer cars -- the deuce coupe, the 911, even the old Bug I had.

Think about it. Try it. You might even like it.

 

I kinda like the saftey that a head rest offers, I think I'll leave mine in place. Don't want to wind up in a vegitative state because some fool rear ends me or worse.

 

You know, I've heard that argument before. I suppose I should go read up on it some, because the logic just isn't there for me. If it's there to prevent whiplash, then it's really inefficiently designed. And if cars need that, there are still so many that would have what appears to be ineffective or inefficient looking designs.

I dunno. I need to think about it. I really like it, that's the problem.

 

That's the beauty of free choice.

 

Got mine. Washed the girl, and slapped this on her ***.



It just doesn't straight translate into German. The concept is foreign -- with the autobahn, why would one need an interceptor vehicle?

 

I think that would get you in trouble stateside. It looks really cool though.

 

People seem amazed when I tell them that it sports 200 hp.

Not sure why they are amazed. Maybe I need to replace the "S" with KOMPRESSOR....

 

Lookin' HAWT.

Love it.

Just got back to the land of affordable connectivity after being in and around Alaska for almost 2 weeks... A couple of days in Anchorage, a 7 day cruise (Princess) from Whittier to Vancouver via Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, and a couple of days in Vancouver. For anyone considering this (and anyone NOT considering this) it is HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended... some of the most stunningly beautiful locations easily accessible on planet Earth... I'll post some pics on my blog later this week... one of the highlights was a 10/10 kickazz guided Jeep drive (me driving and whole family including wife howling in delight) up and down some narrow twisty rocky potholed logging roads along the ridgeline in the mountains above Ketchikan. The 4x4 version of the Dragon... awesome... (I was the only one who could - or was crazy enough to - hang with the lead guide when he was having fun... apparently others on the tour had NOT done Midnight on the Dragon... )