TGGRRR (Ali)

I think it was Steve luxor

That was fast!

HEY!!! There weren't any flowers there :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: I may have done some waving while driving :wavey:

Don't have to ask me twice!

I'm sad, I was looking forward to hanging with you and Scoopie :s: :thumbsdown: :y: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling:

That's a great idea Craig. Hmmm what to get at Whole Foods? Ali

That has to be the longest distance tagging

This is all really interesting. I am always a bit confused when the driving gets more spirited as to how to enter a corner, when to downshift etc.

You're right Rick! I just find in everything I do, I study technique. It's what I do. On the run this weekend I found I was able to use some of my new steering techniques and it was helpful, felt more stable as I went into the turns. Ali

I felt the same way after my first run. It changed my driving style forever and moved my threshold for what hard driving is too. Sorry I didn't get a chance to say hi, I meant to, but there were so many of us

I'm looking forward to this. I'll be calling in reservations probably Thurs night and then give them a final count on Sat afternoon. So please RSVP if you think you'll be there. Ali

We really need to get you to the Dragon

It wasn't the same without you Alan.

Here's a link to some of the pics I took on Flickr, I also put them on FB I'm not FB friends with everyone so this way you can see your pics here. I did get a few action shots in the turns that came out pretty nice. Ali

Those are great pictures, thanks so much for sharing with us. Ali

I had a great day and the restaurant was great too. I got so excited at the Gluten Free pizza crust!!! A real treat for me. It was fun playing

I'm sooooo excited about tomorrow!!!! :ridinghorse: :party: I will have Mark as a passenger so I won't be :thrasher: out in the car like usual. Well maybe a little... I'm also looking forward to lunch :eating: We're going to have a blast :motor::motor::motor::motor:

Mark gave me a list of little stuff Squeaky brakes (I guess they're really getting loud) a window that won't operate properly His grill is just broken in areas and it's never been hit (not sure if they'll cover that). Mark has a sweet deal, when Max has to go in, I give him Tigger and I bring Max in for him. When Max needs a good polish and wax, I do it. I like it

I'm trying to understand this stuff, but I know on the Dragon 30 years of instinct will kick in and I'll steer and brake like I do. It's still interesting to study technique Ali

I can do any day that the government is shut down. But on Monday I'm taking Max to Passport, so Mark will take Tigger to work.

Hey that's not MY Man Card, I posted the Emoticon Man card I think shopping for manly things should count

Jim, it was you that told me about the brakes vs clutch. I couldn't remember who it was. I think with brakes vs clutch you also need to consider the grade of the road. If you're on a downhill, you can burn your brakes a lot easier, so you would probably be better off shifting down. My understanding is the lower hand position is more stable. Your arms are more stable with elbows down then elbows up. With the push pull method I feel like I have more control. My arms never cross which makes sense to me.

That's so cool. I bet Baxter had a great time!

Ok, so I need to distract myself from the government closure. My latest obsession is steering techniques. But I'm also wondering about braking techniques in the turns. I was taught hand over hand turning in High School, but I now realize that is not the best way to steer. Last year at the Dragon I heard talk of shuffle steering and push/pull steering. So I did my own research and thought the push pull looks like it gives the most control. Then I realized there are basically two schools of thought on that. Hands high (2:00 / 10:00) or hands low (5:00 /7:00). So I have experimented with both and yapped with Craig about it. I like the lower hand position better. Mostly because in the upper hand position instinct kicks in and I keep doing hand over hand, but from the lower position I remember that I'm trying push/ pull. Given this obsession I have watched carefully on Top Gear. Jeremy pretty much does hand over hand with his hands mostly at 3:00/ 9:00, Richard does the push pull method from below, and I can't really get a good look at James. They never show the stig in a turn but his hands are always at 3:00 - 9:00. So then comes decelerating into a turn. I have mostly heard don't use your brakes use your engine and down shift. Then at the Falls Color Run, one of the guys said that brakes are cheaper then engines and he uses his brakes. Now I'm sure with this there are probably better times to use your brakes and better times to use your engine. I tend to be very literal and try to do the same thing all the time. So what do you guys do? Thoughts? Ali

That's so funny. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what you were saying. I take that route very rarely, I just had to go from DC to Reston. Last time I took it, I ran into another MINI, it was all stickered up and there was much less traffic. We played and had fun passing and following each other. That's a nice JCW you've got there. I hope you'll make it to the run tomorrow