The Official West Coast Caravan from the North thread

Originally Posted by Spectre

Count me in for the South Bay crew. And this time I get to attend with a BMW.

Send an email to baybimmerz@hotmail.com and ask to be added to the mailing list (http://www.baybimmerz.com/AboutUs/ContactUs.htm). Last year the Pacific Northwest folks spent the night in Pleasanton and left with the East Bay folks from Stoneridge Mall. We joined up with the South/North bay folks at the In n' Out in Gilroy and the combined caravan continued on from there.

An FRS radio is strongly recommended for the caravan and for the road rally by the way, so if you don't have one, buy one.

count me in for the caravan. Im supose to work on friday-sunday and I cant get it off. oh well im willing to risk the job for bimmerfest 04 like last year me and a couple other Ms will be joining at about salinas.

Does this caravan ride up together in one big nice group or does it break apart like other caravans ive been involved with. I swear i thought a caravan was supposed to stay together in a tight group but once we got on the road you wouldve thought it was a rat race. everyone trying to get there first instead of together. It wasn't fun at all

Originally Posted by munchdwn

Does this caravan ride up together in one big nice group or does it break apart like other caravans ive been involved with. I swear i thought a caravan was supposed to stay together in a tight group but once we got on the road you wouldve thought it was a rat race. everyone trying to get there first instead of together. It wasn't fun at all

Well, we try to stay together. This caravan had at least 50 cars last year. You just can't get 50 cars all on the freeway at once unless you have a police escort to stop the freeway traffic so we can all swoop down the on-ramp at once.

What happens is that we tend to clump into groups of about 10 cars or so. The groups get spread out over several miles of the freeway, so that sometimes the front cars can't hear the FRS radios from the last cars in the caravan. We re-connect the group at each stopping point (usually an In-N-Out Burger).

But at least in each group of cars, we stick together in a tight group and don't try to leave each other in the dust too much We run a "pick" now and then to hold up a recalcitrant sunday driver so that the rest of the group can get around.

Kurt

It's a little early yet to commit, but I may be able to meet up with you guys in Gilroy, depending on what time you'll be rolling through there. I'll keep an eye on this thread as we get closer to the event!

Originally Posted by RKT BMR

And a second stop for us south bayers, at the In-N-Out, eh?

Oh David, you know we will be making a stop at the same ol' place, In & Out in Gilroy.

When we have it all together, I'll post a "new" thread here and Evites will be sent out to all that are on the Bay Bimmerz mailing list.

Everyone get the word out about Bimmerfest '04!

What I like about "our" caravan, is that it's "all" models of BMW's, not one particular model and that is nice to see.

Originally Posted by RKT BMR

Oh, and Keith, Cliff, et. al., I promise not to make the trip on slicks this time so you don't have to worry about having to peel me off the road on the way back

Man, those bald pilots, in that rainstorm, was the most squirrely (and quite terrifying) driving experience I think I ever had!

I've got a nice set of S03's with plenty of tread on the RKT now... They seem to really have exceptional wet traction too. Woo hoo!

Good idea.......

What about the guy (I believe it was in '02) that had the silver M coupe, you know, doing 140 with rubber flapping off his rear tires and when he pulled over, we pulled over to see his whole inner side of "rear" tires were nothing but thread!
When Carl and I saw this, we both went like this and we still had about 100 miles to go!
I thought Carl was going to the guy!!!

Originally Posted by Spectre

Count me in for the South Bay crew. And this time I get to attend with a BMW.

You wouldn't happen to be that crazy S.O.B. driving that Acura CL Type S last year, would you?
Just curious.

Originally Posted by Keith

What I like about "our" caravan, is that it's "all" models of BMW's, not one particular model and that is nice to see.

Not to mention the most excellent companionship

Staying at the Ramada again this year Keith? We need you!

Originally Posted by Keith

What about the guy (I believe it was in '02) that had the silver M coupe, you know, doing 140 with rubber flapping off his rear tires and when he pulled over, we pulled over to see his whole inner side of "rear" tires were nothing but thread!

And I am extremely grateful for him. He single-handedly defined the idiot-procrastinator-get-some-new-tires-moron down so far that I was comfortably off the list

Originally Posted by RKT BMR

Not to mention the most excellent companionship

Staying at the Ramada again this year Keith? We need you!

You know it, I made my reservations in December, for the weekend of April 24th.
Then Jon, oops sorry, the Bimmerfest Team, made the "official" announcement for May 1, so I changed them.
Soooo, as the Osmonds one said, here we go again, like we did before, nuff said!
Geez, I'm showing my age, once again

Guys checkout the pre-fest thread.


Thanks Chad

I haven't been on the board in a while. I feel like a "stranger." Will I be welcomed still?

I'll be there this year and will either join the caravan coming out of the PNW, or pick it up with the Sac/No.Cal. folks. One way, though. Looking forward to it.

Originally Posted by RKT BMR

Oh, and Keith, Cliff, et. al., I promise not to make the trip on slicks this time so you don't have to worry about having to peel me off the road on the way back

Man, those bald pilots, in that rainstorm, was the most squirrely (and quite terrifying) driving experience I think I ever had!

I've got a nice set of S03's with plenty of tread on the RKT now... They seem to really have exceptional wet traction too. Woo hoo!

Man, I remember seeing you in my rearview mirror when that happened... scare the sh*t outa me. Craziest thing i've ever seen anyone recover from. Hey guys, do you remember the red Nissan Sentra on the way down? That was insane. Hopefully we don't run into anyone like that again

Originally Posted by Thrasherlife

Man, I remember seeing you in my rearview mirror when that happened... scare the sh*t outa me. Craziest thing i've ever seen anyone recover from.

Wasn't half as much fun as being behind the wheel!

A true case of "live and learn" Seriously, though, I can say with no question that DSC saved my life -- when I was hydroplaning all over the place during that incident, there was no doubt, none at all, that DSC was doing a magnificent job of getting as much traction and stability as possible. Without it, I would have been spinning completely out of control. Instead, I was fishtailing back and forth, fighting to get things back to rolling straight. All that at -- what were we all doing in that downpour -- 75mph?

I milked that rubber well beyond reason -- got two years and 30k miles out of those tires. To be fair to myself, I had ordered the S03's from tirerack, and they were supposed to be installed thursday, the day before leaving for the 'fest. Tires didn't show in time, hence the thrill-ride.

Thrash -- you gonna make it again this year? Your dad too?

Originally Posted by RKT BMR

Wasn't half as much fun as being behind the wheel!

A true case of "live and learn" Seriously, though, I can say with no question that DSC saved my life -- when I was hydroplaning all over the place during that incident, there was no doubt, none at all, that DSC was doing a magnificent job of getting as much traction and stability as possible. Without it, I would have been spinning completely out of control. Instead, I was fishtailing back and forth, fighting to get things back to rolling straight. All that at -- what were we all doing in that downpour -- 75mph?

I milked that rubber well beyond reason -- got two years and 30k miles out of those tires. To be fair to myself, I had ordered the S03's from tirerack, and they were supposed to be installed thursday, the day before leaving for the 'fest. Tires didn't show in time, hence the thrill-ride.

Thrash -- you gonna make it again this year? Your dad too?

Yeah, i'm pretty sure we'll be there. We might need some new tires before we go this time. Can you believe he's already go 60k+ miles on the 01 330ci? I guess thats what happens when you drive 92 miles a day. Still runs like a dream though. I can't wait for bimmerfest again, last year was a blast and i met so many great people. I'm looking for a 98 m3/4 for me right now and am hoping to get one before the fest so i can drive that down. Once i have my own bimmer i will for sure be joining in more of the bay bimmerz activities. Talk to yall later.

Thrasherlife

We found a great rate at the SantaBarbara Inn on State street for 394.00 for two nights out the door. Normally this is a 240.00 room rate + tax. It's a charming place.

Originally Posted by ///DavidC

I should be joining up in/around San Jose and I'm trying to get my
friend here at work to join in with his new 330ci.

Does the Ramada fill up? I'm thinking that I'm going to look for a more interesting and/or upscale alternative and I'm wondering if I should expedite my search.

I missed last years bay area caravan, this year I can cut school tho since im a 2nd semester senior, it doesnt matter if i miss a day

We found a great rate at the SantaBarbara Inn on State street for 394.00 for two nights out the door. Normally this is a 240.00 room rate + tax. It's a charming place.

Thanks for the info. It's been a couple of years now since I wandered up/down State Street, my mother used to live a couple of streets over... I'm also looking at a place up on the Riviera that looks great but for this trip someplace livelier would probably be better.

Originally Posted by Thrasherlife

I'm looking for a 98 m3/4 for me right now and am hoping to get one before the fest so i can drive that down.
Thrasherlife

What the hell is an 98 m3/4? Do you mean a 1998 M3 four-door? That's called an M3 sedan!

Kurt

Originally Posted by Kurt Martin

What the hell is an 98 m3/4? Do you mean a 1998 M3 four-door? That's called an M3 sedan!

Kurt

Oh stop it Kurt, that's how they are saying it now.

Originally Posted by Kurt Martin

What the hell is an 98 m3/4? Do you mean a 1998 M3 four-door? That's called an M3 sedan!

Kurt

Thats right Kurt, a 1998 M3 sedan. I guess I have been spending too much time over at bimmerforums.com and I'm strating to pick up on thier lingo .

Originally Posted by Kurt Martin

What the hell is an 98 m3/4? Do you mean a 1998 M3 four-door? That's called an M3 sedan!

Common shorthand for M3/4-door. See below.

In the UK it'd be a "saloon"...

Originally Posted by ///DavidC

Common shorthand for M3/4-door. See below.

In the UK it'd be a "saloon"...

I love that.

I expect we'll have a pretty large caravan this year -- bigger than last year. We had some trouble coordinating last year -- things like getting on the freeway together, etc.

We should work out some logistics ahead of time so that we can maximize the success and fun of the trip. I'll start with a few items:

• An FRS radio is a requirement. If you don't have one, GET ONE! They're dirt cheap now, so there's no excuse. Even better is a 2W GMRS radio, which are widely available to the consuming public now, and are also getting pretty cheap, although if you want to be strictly legal, you need to apply for (and get) an FCC operators license. I've got one, and all it amounts to is an application and paying the fee.
• Waypoints should be planned out in advance. Last year, we made one additional stop after everyone was together, in Atascadero at the In N Out, for food and biobreak. This worked out okay, but getting back on 101 together was a real problem.
• Smooth logistics for getting on and off the freeway. Suggestions, please.
• Radar-equipped cars bracket the caravan front and back. It's helpful if we know ahead of time who's got the cop-busters, so we can defer to them if they need to move forward or back to keep the caravan safe.

Add your own thoughts, please. At this point, think of this as a free-thought exercise... We can consolidate and agree on some basic principles and logistics after the creative process has run its course.