The MINI community is a like second family to me bringing me together with the greatest and NOT NORMAL individuals far and wide together.

Its been 3 years of MINI Madness with my JCW and nearly 2 years since I started my blog.

I brought my JCW unwittingly knowing I would travel across the UK & International to meet with fellow MINIacs.

It was a life changing event when I did MINI UNITED 2012, which gave birth to my blog and created my passion for all things MINI.

Along the way I have gained new friends and followers alike who cant wait to meet me, read or see what I have been up to.

It is the passion of the MINI community which has kept me going through the happy times and the sad ones.

I am truly grateful to call you my friends as all of you are like family to me as your comments and message have always put a smile on my face.

Late 2013 I came across this LITTLE but LARGER than life MINIac called LilCoopr on Instragram.

I have always thought I was the only MINIac writing about his adventures but little did I know this Canadian candy has been at since 2005 ps I do like a bit of competition – www.lilcoopr.com

I began speaking to Christina and it was apparent the MINI Passion ran deep as swapped stories on how it all began and our current MINIs. As we Skyped away and sent each other dumb witty messages on every social media platform possible, it was strange to feel such as a connection with someone I had never meant before. Every time we talk its like an occasion some what reminiscent of when you catch up with an old friend but any communication begins that ‘HEY Ali!’ which always puts a smile on my face : D

Sometimes I would look down to see how long we had been talking to find we spoke for 4 hours or my phone battery is literally dying with 4% battery life left.

I wish I could record half of the conversations we have as hilarity ensues every time we talk.

I wasn’t happy about MINI UNITED not happening in 2014 which I can forgive given the release of the F56. This lead on to the discussions of when would be the next one? Psssst MINI make sure its in Germany as I want to go around the Nurburgring and hit the autobahns

To my amazement Christina has been to virtually all of them expect one!!! She missed out on 2005 in Misano, Italy because of university exams. This means I have physically walked past her a few times without knowing back in 2009 and 2012!!! Its truly is a MINI World.

Here is what makes it even more mind-boggling, she stood a meer few feet away from while Paddy Hopkirk spoke about his Monte Carlo win.  She has actually interviewed GP Garry (one of the members of the fast five) at MINI UNITED 2012 about his infamous speeding ticket in Monaco.  I must have been off somewhere else but I did see someone in quite distinctive pink clothing hmmm

Personally I only work in black. And sometimes very very dark grey

This lead to the discussion of me having the urge to go on a MINI Adventure and wanting to go to the US given 50% of my followers are from the US. I thought there would be no other better way to meet them than on a road trip in a MINI.

Christina told me all about MINI TAKES THE STATES from the destinations and MINI Mates she has made along the way. I was SOLD and the planning began for the trip in 2014 with registration, flights, hotels etc.

This is gonna be another trip of a lifetime being surround by MINIs & MINIacs!!! In all honesty who wants to sit on the beach, relax and get a tan. Right?

Can this top MINI UNITED 2012???  I drove on the greatest roads within Europe with arguable the greatest MINIacs ever??

But don’t worry I wont be alone as Christine and Phil of the Fast Five will be joining me to fly the flag for the UK on this trip

We will be more like the 3 amigos this time as only 3 of the fast five will be in attendance

I have partnered with White roof radio to do MTTS 2014,  I will be riding shotgun in a selection of MINIs throughout the road trip.

What is White roof radio???

The World Famous White Roof Radio is Don Burnside, Todd Pearson, Gabe Bridger, Nathaniel Salzman and Chad Miller. Every week they get together and talk about MINI Cooper news and information like they like to do.

Basically its a Podcast about all things MINI which goes live every week with the latest and greatest MINI news. There always seems to something GP related or the topic steers towards that…

The podcast was started by Don Burnside because he wanted to contribute something to the MINI community above and beyond his personal motoring blog and being more curious than the average bear, Don Burnside (db) decided to jump on the podcasting bandwagon.

He started with an awful tour of his site, followed by a not-quite-as-bad review of online music services. But something was missing.

Enter Todd Pearson. He had the same idea about doing a podcast. He actually heard db’s first 2 and had done 1 on his own. He emailed and asked if db would be interested in joining forces. Of course he did! But he was right in the middle of figuring out how to do the intro for #2. So, he ignored him.

Got #3 all finished up with quite a few positive comments. Then db went ahead and contacted Todd about doing that joint podcast he mentioned.

They did #4, which caught the attention of ace MINI news guy Gabe Bridger who kindly posted a link to their first joint effort and shortly thereafter was the first guest of the podcast.

The rest, as they say, is history.

I have spoken to Don over the last few years so its gonna be weird finally meeting after talking to him by email and online

But fear not you will be able to spot me from a MILE away with my infamous black hat and my dashing good looks accompanied by my apparent sexy English accent

Don’t shy away from saying Hi to me as I will be more than happy to talk and see your MINI too

My first question will be ‘Manual or Auto?’ so be ready to answer correctly with Manual ; )

I will be bringing some custom MINI Swag with me so keep an eye out for some random freebies

Sadly my love of my life aka The Misses aka The Dark Knight aka my JCW wont be joining on the MINI BIG Adventure due to the cost of £3,000 to ship her over

Make sure you are subscribed to my Facebook, Instagram and Youtube channel as we will be vlogging, post images and videos of my trip from start to finish.

Our Facebook & Instagram account will be regularly updated with images and info of what I am doing

All that is left now is for me to touch down in San Francisco to go all the way!!!

10,000 plus miles, 18 states, 15 cities, 2 infamous MINIacs, 1 MINI and 1 epic road trip

MTTS Coverage

JCW Adventures – Facebook

JCW Adventures – Youtube

JCW Adventures – Instagram

Lilcoopr – Facebook

Lilcoopr – Youtube

Lilcoopr – Instagram

The post The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES 2014 appeared first on JCW Adventures.

People always ask me why I do talk about my JCW so much??

Its just a CAR get over it?

Why is it called the Misses?

What makes your MINI so special?

Well here is your answer!!!

You are not buying a car for A to B your buying a lifestyle and a community. We don’t care about the colour of your skin, your background, religion or where you from. All we want to know is what mods have you got?

The places you have been with your MINI and the MINI adventures you have been on

What club are you in? Does your MINI have a name? Have you been to MINI UNITED??

We travel hundreds of miles and even across continents to meet!! All just for our love of all things MINI

Each adventure turns into a fond memory that is a story to tell when your old and cant go any faster

Yet that moment will always put a SMILE on face as soon as someone mentions it

We are NOT NORMAL when see another MINI headlight or rear lights as we speed up or slow down to check each other out

When see another we wave, give a thumbs up or give that nod of approval

We are so MINI MINIac that if we see another MINI parked up, we park next to it

You should never bully another MINI as we run in packs

A MINI is more than a means of transportation but a member of the family as some have name yet others are know nick names or number plates

We share our HIGHs and LOWs with our MINIs but when we unlock that door and start it that engine all those woes disappear as we are HOME with a FRIEND

The greatest people I have ever met have owned MINIs and if wasn’t for this automotive master piece I would have never met them…

They were just strangers then friends and now they are FAMILY who have taken me to my greatest heights and supported me all the way through my triumphs and troubles

Even though some MINI MATES are far far away we still hold a connection which is beyond all boundaries and limits as we are connected by our MINI LOVE

Our lives have never been the same since as we are truly MINI

So try to keep up!!!!

Next Blog Post: The BIG MINI Show

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The post MINI NOT NORMAL: My MINI Story appeared first on JCW Adventures.

My JCW faired well in the snow with me driving it everyday in -5 degrees weather on normal tyres. She started first time, defrosted quickly in the morning and passed a few cars doodling at 15mph with a few pops & bangs in the snow : D

Sadly I was messing around abit too much and caught the kerb on the back wheel causing it to bounce off the Kerb leaving a shiny silver kerb mark on my Black R112 rim

I feared the worst I thought I had bent the rear control arm or suspension. Off I went to the MINI Accident repair centre to get my JCW assessed. She is tough one but my suspension was out so a full KDS Alignment was needed.

What is KDS? Kinematic Diagnosis System is where by MINI punch in your Chassis number into the system to pull up the full specification of your MINI including all the options installed. They will set your suspension back to what it was at the factory and alter if options are fitted later down the line that will affect the balance of the vehicle. Therefore all MINIs have a different setup to each other e.g. a MINI with a sunroof will have a different alignment to one without.

It was well worth the £120 as the ride and handling was transformed and it felt even sharper. Hats off to MINI Oldbury Accident Repair centre

Enough doom and gloom!! Back at MINI UNITED 2012 i met this MINI couple – Rob & Liz and members of Merseryside MINI club who were a great laugh and discussed the GP 2 at some length. Rob talked about the route including the Stevalo pass and driving through the Alps and that he would heading the Nurburgbring in his WC50 shortly after MINI UNITED.

Rob told me about his club and wanted me to join in with their fun so I signed up for My 1st Run of 2013 would be the Dragon run which included the infamous EVO triangle. He let me know on a little secret of his that his WC50 would be traded in for GP2 so I was happy to see him & Merseyside crew again.

As always the JCW was made Shiney Shiney the night before and fuelled with Shell V Power and I headed to North Wales for the dragon run. The meet point would be a service station with plenty parking and places to Nom Nom breakie.

I rolled up to a nice selection of MINIs with the 1st & 2nd Gen GPs

A few minutes later Rob & Liz came in his new GP2  with Rob saying ‘Hey Ali, Nice seeing you, I would love to give you a lift but I have no back seats’ LMAO

With everyone together we headed to the Great Ome, Llandudno

There nothing like driving in a convoy of MINIs as every always stares and waves which is one of the many pluses of owning one

The road to Llandudno were great with the coast being on our right and not a pothole in sight

Up we went to the toll road to the top of the Great Orme was twisty with the cliff walls rebounding the sound of my JCW exhaust added with Pops & Bangs

We filled the carpark at the top with 27 MINIs all parked together and enjoyed the view out to sea

I got to speak to a few owners who i had never met but spoke with on the forums

DJ with his 1st Gen GP

I was surprised to realise his dad was the owner of the GP 2 which was brought from the same dealership and same person (Dawn) who I brought my JCW from

Jonta from Minis Unleashed with his sweeet British Racing green Cooper S with nice mods with coilovers and awesome four spots upfront

It was good seeing Kevin again after meeting him at MINI UNITED not as happy as he was to see my infamous hat again

We all headed back down and drove along the coast with the clear blue sky and ocean view aheading to Cerrigydundion

The roads on the way there were epic with the speed limit being higher and the scenery for some epic shots to be taken along the way

It was like skittles on the roads with virtually all the MINI colours and UK flag being drive on the roads. I say the road were amazing because they dipped and corkscrewed up when you come out the bend just like on the nordschleife. This reinforced especially when your chasing the MINI up front pushing them on to brake that bit later and get on the power sooner

I was grinning ear to ear appreciating my recently dialled in suspension with the JCW popping like MAD on each gear change. I managed to get pop on every change up to 5th  and i never heard my JCW  Pop & Bang so much EVERRRR!!!!

We stopped up at Betws-y-coed for some nom nom for lunch bringing this little village to a stop with everyone staring at us

We got all our MINIs all lined up in the car park as well filling up one whole area of parking hehe

I went into a cafe to get my lunch and tried to the vegetarian option which was chef special of vegetable pie with salad and handcut chips with real lemonade. I have to say it was very nice and filled me up nicely

During this time I got to speak with Steve & Ally who are owners of two 1st Gen GPs

They had been on a fair few MINI adventures with the GP and I was shocked to hear that the GP was their wedding car as well as the drove into the sunset for their honeymoon. Proper MINI die-hards with the GP winning a few concours awards and being in a few official MINI UK events as well

But its annoying when you never see a GP on the road and then 3 turn up at once

We all headed out to the infamous EVO triangle only to turn around 2 miles down the road because a local had crashed their car. It’s an reminder that you should always obey rules of the road and be sensible with manoeuvres and your spatial awareness as all it takes to think is 2 seconds and 1 second for it be game over.

We looked at the funny thing paper called a map and searched for a route we could go on to headed in the direction of the EVO triangle.

I am sure if going the other way would have been as good given I was in awe of the mountains, scenery and the epic winding asphalt as I managed to get some motion shots of all us heading into the mountains

When we got the EVO Triangle  we all parked up on the side to see a Frozen Blue M3 Performance Pack & Black 1M Coupe howl by. We all know why they came her for some proper Hoonage on the best roads with the UK

A few of you might be wondering why is it called the EVO Triangle

The EVO Triangle’s name comes from the writers over at the EVO Magazine. This route is what the writers use to test drive the cars for magazine features. The route has become very popular among driving enthusiasts, and seems to be one of the most talked about routes in the UK. The route starts on the A543 (just off the A5) heading North along tight sweeping bends and great scenery. You will then turn right onto the B4501 which takes you on some nice long sweeping bends with views of the Llyn Brenig Lake. This road then leads back to the A5 (going through the village of Cerrigydrudion) and back to where you started.

This perfection of asphalt is 20 miles long and ribbons like a dragon through the heartlands of North Wales with a steep inclines with tight challenging turns to work your suspension with every turn, torture to your tyres to limits of grip, boil your brake fluid and for you thirst after every gear shift to connect every turn with the exact steering and throttle input all of the feeling that I tamed this tarmac beast.

We all eyed up the tarmac that entered the woodlands and with a deep breath enter our machines pressing the sports button lifting off the safety nannies thus engaging the electronic limited diff as we didn’t want any interrupts of power

I had the perfect sparring partner up front as I would be chasing Geoff in his GP 2

So began the drive of my life with me chasing this GP 2 in my JCW and taking it to the limit to get every ounce of performance out her and slip streaming the GP to get right behind on each corner to keep the momentum going and keeping the turbo spooled up in its sweet spot

I have never been so focused and enjoyed a road so much within the UK and it was petrol head nirvana with me lynching for more! Constantly trying to get the racing line and getting the front end to kiss the apex coming in and out the corners.

It was challenge to keep up GP 2 as I could clearly see that he could get on the power much more earlier than me with the Kumho Ecsta V700 gripping the tarmac like claws and the Bilstein Coilover suspension eating up all the undulations like it was nothing with no visible sign of body roll at all. Plus he could get on the brake much later as those colossal 6 pot Brembos scrub the speed away at neck breaking force.

You clearly see the GP 2 has been setup dead on with its damping, rebound rates, braking and doesn’t waste any of the power from the engine which just goes to show power isn’t anything if it can’t be used

Later on the route I had to back off as I was getting brake fade only due to the fact my pads and discs were due in 2,000 miles so there wasn’t much bite left in them

When we finally came to a finish I was astonished by this piece of asphalt as my hands were sweaty, my pulse was racing and my pupils dilated. I felt a sign of accomplishment that I had come here and conquered that dragon of tarmac with my JCW pinging on cool down with the cool fans kicking in with added smell of brake pads.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

I looked down upon the valley that we came from and said i would be seeing you soon with a few performance tweaks to my JCW

It was an awesome day out with Merseyside MINI & MINIS UNLEASHED and I made a few more MINI Mates

Look forward to seeing everyone again on the MINI Events later on in the year

I got to say I really like Liz & Rob as they always made me fell welcome and they are MINI loonies like me with Liz being no slouch with her Super Soov Chilli Red JCW

They recently got engaged so I wish them all the best and many MINI more years of happiness

Cant to see the MMC crew again on another meet where ever it maybe

Videos:

Next Post: GO PRO 3: Black Edition Review

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The post MINI Dragon Run: EVO Triangle appeared first on JCW Adventures.

Always it was a long drive to Goodwood and i had been a few times that year with MINI UK themselves inviting me for MINI TO THE MAX event to trash around some MINIs and feel the new GP in action on the circuit.

MINI GP 2

The Goodwood Circuit was being opened just for us

This would be the Fifth Annual Goodwood Run for SNM but my 1st with the club

Little adam was with me this time and this would be his 1st time on the circuit

The roads leading to Goodwood are awesome sauce but make your car quite dirty : /

I arrived to Goodwood to the sight of a few familiar faces with 118 aka Ian, Phil K & Garry S

There were some new faces & whips – Craig with his Mellow Yellow Cooper S, Jane with her Coupe SD, John with his Cooper S, Ashley with a White Cooper S, Liz & John wih their Dooper Hatch, Stuart and his Red JCW Hatch, Jono with his Hyper Blue tuned Cooper S and Jason with his drop top Cooper S

When no one paying attention i managed to sneek my JCW to the front of the starting grid Mwahahhahaahhaha

As more and more MINIs arrived it started to look like skittles out there on the track

Here is all of SNM together

Here is everyone from Chequered line to the back

WC50 Vs Cooper SD

Mellow Yellow Cooper S

Sheldon & Mrs Mini

T K detailing R53 Cooper S

The Infamous Dinky

Sexy Sexy as usual Bambino

Supercharged?

We were 50 MINIs strong once everyone arrived : D

We were allowed to go around of a parade lap

On the 2nd lap i pulled to the side to film flybys of SNM

I was soo much easier going around Goodwood this time and i remembered Phil’s advice on the circuit to tuck in more to the end of the track

It was nice seeing everyone again and i was happy to see Bambino one of our members who won a MINI Oscar for his Infamous MINI BUG

Thank you Ian organising the event and to the other Ian the official at Goodwood for the chat and this possible for SNM.

I will see you all again at the Goodwood: Festival Of Speed & Revival later this year

I end this Blog on a sad note because GP 0219 – Licence plate VO06 DZE was stolen

If you see it tell the police and post up on the MINI Forums – TotalMINI, SNM, MINI Torque, Merseryside MINI Club, Cooper Register and MINI2

Next post: The Birmingham Job: Cars & Chocolate

SNM Goodwood Meet V Videos

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The post Goodwood Meet V appeared first on JCW Adventures.