BMW CCA Rattlesnake Chapter

The Rattlesnake Chapter will be holding its September Board Meeting this Thursday the 2nd.  In addition to current events, the meeting will focus on Event Planning for 2011.   I encourage all of you to come get a slice of Pizza and discuss what we should be doing next year.  Day tours, weekend tours, track days, movie nights, and technical sessions.  All ideas are welcome.

What:      Board Meeting
Where:    Roundtable Pizza
               3300 West Clearwater Avenue
               Kennewick, WA 99336-2733
When:     6PM

Mark Blankenship – President

The Oregon Chapter of the BMW CCA is hosting an event weeked at the Maryhill Museum August 21 & 22.  The event includes driving tour and Art Festival Saturday morning / afternoon, Shakespear play Saturday Night, and on Sunday the ultimate event: Club only access to the Maryhill Loops Road a private 3-mile road ascending with 25 curves which was the first paved road in the Northwest .

A terrific event right in our backyard.  For more information and sign up contacts please see the link below.

http://bmworegoncca.com/club-news-events/touring-events-festivals/maryhill-rally-tour/

http://www.bmwccavegasdrivingevents.com/

Hosted by seven Pacific Region Chapters, this 3-day Driving Events weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has something for everyone.  Drive one, two or three days.  Novices start with a Car Control Clinic and graduate to a High Performance Driving School, intermediate drivers can opt for one or both days of the Dick Good Memorial Driving School.  Or maybe you are ready for an advanced Driving Course, which takes you well beyond a regular HPDE curriculum.  Perhaps it’s time for you to try for the yellow shirt by taking an Instructor Training School.   Do you have a teenaged driver? – Tire Rack Street Survival is what they need.   Not enough excitement for you? … we have BMW CCA Club Racing for you to watch too.

Scheduled for October 1 – 2 – 3, 2010

A quick reminder to everyone the next Board Meeting is August 5.  The meeting is scheduled for 6PM at Brickhouse Pizza in West Richland.  Attending Board Meetings are great way to stay involved in the club and ensure the governance is meeting the needs of the membership.  Hope to see you there.

Just a reminder, we will be getting together for donuts and coffee at Columbia Valley Luxury Cars on Saturday July 10, at 9:00 AM.  Come for a visit, look at some cars, and catch up with your fellow members.  Love to see you there.

Mark Blankenship

The evolution of the spring season continued with Rattlesnake members rolling north to participate in the Inland Empire Chapter’s annual Riverdance Drive on May 22.  The morning meet up at the Airway Heights Wal-Mart parking lot greeted members with cool temperatures but bright sunshine promising a warmer afternoon.  Perhaps the temperature was fine for others, but this author was still chilled after spending two top-down hours of 45 degree temps at interstate speed.   Still it was nothing that a good coat and a pair of gloves can’t handle.  Alright, the heated seats get credit as well…

 Folks gassed up cars, gassed up on coffee, and gassed up on BMW talk as additional participants continued to roll into the parking lot.  A diversity of cars were present including an E60 535xiT complete with 6-speed manual and family dog, E53 X5 4.4i in striking Imola Red, a R53 MINI Cooper S, an E21 320i and an E36 318i with Euro M3 motor transplant.  Conversations were easy leading into the pre-drive briefing with members exchanging car histories, expounding on the potency of modifications, and, of course, engaging in the perennial debate of run-flat vs. traditional tires.  Chris Brown (President of Inland Empire Chapter) closed the morning with route directions and a briefing after which it was off to the cars and the driving began.

 The route began Westbound on State Highway 2.  Dark clouds with veils of rain spanned the sky to the north of us and when compared to the route map, foreshadowed a cautionary adventure.  This section of the drive was rather lackluster but this is often the case of motoring drives in Eastern Washington where one has to invest time and mileage in flat and straight roads, on through dry-land farms to reach the hidden twisting gems of tarmac we crave.  And turning north on State Route 21 at the town of Wilbur proved to be a justified reward to our prior cruising.  This road is great stretch switch-backing on its self as it drops elevation down to Roosevelt Lake and the Keller ferry landing at its base.  Drivers opened up throttles, scrubbed tire sidewalls and blitzed down the hill.  I love the smell of hot brakes in the morning.  Waiting for the ferry, folks enthused over the switch-back route discussing moments of late-breaking heroics and snapping the perfect down shift.  Waiting for us at the head of the ferry line were Puget Sound Chapter members from Wenatchee bringing the total chapter representation to three and the total car count to fifteen.

 Once on the north side of Lake Roosevelt the topography quickly changed from plateau and scrub brush to mountains and evergreens.  And the evergreens were being well fed by the dark clouds seen earlier from Highway 2.  Convertible tops went up, lights came on, and wipers started swishing.  The rain kept falling as the route moved onto Bridge Creek Road and started its ascent up the mountain pass.  A few miles in the rain tapered off and we were greeted with dry asphalt turning this section of road into the driving highlight of the trip.  The tarmac on the west side of Bridge Creek Road is reasonably well maintained with a wonderful mixture of sweepers, hairpins, straights and switchbacks.  Corner camber was well engineered leading to heightened grip and bigger smiles.  Fuel economy suffered.  From the summit, the road continued toward our lunch destination at Twin Lakes Washington.  One word of caution on this section of the route near Twin Lakes: as of May 22 the county had not yet repaired the road of winter pot-hole damage.  Drivers bobbed and weaved their way through as best they could but several pot-holes were struck.  I for one thought for certain I had bent a rim, or worse. A true testament to the quality of our OEM parts that all was well following a strike so violent it sounded as though a bomb had gone off in the footwell.  It still makes me cringe to think about it.

 Thoughts of vehicle carnage quickly evaporated upon arriving at the Twin Lakes Log Cabin Café for lunch where a menu of American favorites awaited us.  Following lunch folks milled around the lake-front cabins taking pictures of the landscape, the lake and the cars.  Tops came back down on the convertibles and drivers mounted back up for the quick blast further down the hill to our second ferry ride of the day.

 After crossing Lake Roosevelt for the second time we then picked up State Route 25 and buzzed southward hugging the eastern side of lake.  Views up and down the lake were impressive here with the sound of thunder rolling down the valley.  One last quick stop in the town of Hunters and all said their goodbye’s with the Spokane folks heading east toward Springdale and the Wenatchee and Tri-Cities folks continuing south on 25.  Only positive things could be said of the route, the food and camaraderie shared. 

 Rattlesnake Chapter folks in attendance were Mark Minor with his wife, two sons and E46 M3, Steve and Deb Dunnivant with their new E92 335xi Coupe, and myself with my E85 Z4.  We hope to see you next time. 

 And a note to those who use your trip computer for determining when to stop for gas:  Just because the mileage is working out OK doesn’t mean the trip computer is accounting for the headwind that has yet to arrive.  There was a bit of NASCAR style drafting behind Mr. Minor’s M3 rolling into Pasco and I was pleased to find an additional 5 miles after the fuel remaining computer “flat-lines”.  A bit of luck to cap off a wonderful day.

As in previous years, the BMW CCA Car of Your Dreams Raffle is back for 2010.  Think about it: Over the past five years, 40 prize-cars have been awarded to lucky BMW CCA members.  With chances like that, can you afford not to buy a ticket?  Buy a ticket today and you could win your dream car.  Each $25 ticket purchased gives you a 1 in 5,000 chance of winning.

We’ve got a great drive lined up for this Saturday May22.  The Rattlesnake Chapter will be heading up to Spokane to participate in the Inland Empire Chapter’s annual Riverdance Drive.  This drive is one the Inland Empire’s signature events. 

There will be two Rattlesnake groups heading up to Spokane.  The first group is headed up by Steve Dunnivant and will be traveling Friday afternoon for those who don’t wish to get up too early.  They will be staying at the Hampton Inn Spokane 2010 S. Assembly Road Spokane, WA 99224, Tel: 509-747-1100.  This is near the airport and Airway Heights (you
can see this one from the Interstate).

The second group is headed up by Mark Blankenship and will be traveling north Saturday morning.  This group will amass at the Flying J Travel Plaza of the illustrious King City Truck stop just north of Pasco on highway 395 ( 2216 East Hillsboro Street Pasco, WA 99301-9512).  The convoy will roll out and put the hammer down at 6:30.  10-4, good buddy.

Description of event from Inland Empire Website:

This course takes us over some great driving roads and we will
see some beautiful sights. From view points over looking the Columbia river
and mountain scenery plus many more are waiting for members and friends.  We
will be taking a boat excursion over Lake Roosevelt (twice) on the free
state ferry to the Colville Indian reservation.  We will wind our way over
hills and by lakes, trekking towards a no host lunch at the Twin lakes log
cabin lodge cafe. After lunch we take another boat trip to return to
Spokane, A short hop later puts at an ice cream break in rustic Hunters,
lastly me make our way over some hilly twisty bits to are parting point in
Ford WA.

“Spotted Cards” are here.  Spread the word about the Rattlesnake Chapter by leaving cards in the door handle or windshield wiper of a “spotted” BMW.   At work, at the mall, or at the grocery store.  Anytime is a good time for Guerrilla Marketing.

Roll you mouse over “How to Join” and the Spotted Cards link will appear.  Simply add your name or alias to the card and distribute to other BMW owners in your community.  Help others find the Joy that is BMW CCA.

For those Rattlesnake Members interested in a Top-Notch national BMWCCA event:

PRESS RELEASE

Event: Vintage at the Vineyards
Date: May 28-30, 2010
Location: Dobson, North Carolina
Venue: Shelton Vineyards
Target Audience: Vintage BMW Cars and Motocycles
Sponsor: BMW CCA Foundation
Contact:        Bill Williams
billwill72tii@verizon.net
410.804.2267

May 28-30, 2010 – Vintage at the Vineyards – 7th annual gathering of vintage
BMW cars and bikes. The event is located at beautiful Shelton Vineyards in
Dobson, North Carolina. Weekends activities include scenic drives, wine
tasting, hay rides, live rock-a-billy band Straight 8′s and more. Friday
meet-and-greet for vintage BMW owners sponsored by BMW CCA Foundation. The
Foundation is also putting together a special display of prominent BMW
race-cars. Nearly 300 vintage BMWs on display last year! For more info and
link to registration, please visit the website:
www.vintageatthevineyards.com . Reg $10 per car. Festmeister: Scott Sturdy,
scottsturdy@yahoo.com