First Eugene Miata Driver’s Group Drive!
I am finally ready to post my first event for what I am calling the ‘Eugene Miata Driver’s Group’
I am recently up here from Dallas Texas and I am wanting to go on regular Miata drives with friends through the amazing Oregon country roads around Eugene, but there is only one drive per year in the area (Mike’s Land, Sea and Sky run in July). I want to do another 7-8 drives every year near Eugene. I had the idea last June, but it took me until now to get clear on various concerns (liability, etc) around leading Miata group drives. I was able to connect with Chris McCarty of the Willamette Valley Miata Club and he set me up with a liability waiver that I will get everyone to sign before we begin each drive.
I have about 8 drives mapped out and ready to go, and Chris sent me another bunch of drive ideas, so I have plenty of great runs we can do over the coming months/years. I plan on getting in 2-3 drives this dry season despite starting so late this year. Next year, the plan will be to do at least one drive per month in the dry season.
Let’s start with a simple and short drive for the first one:
Mapleton Loop Drive
Approximate total driving time/miles = 2 hours (92 miles)
Route:
* Territorial Rd South (5 miles on Territorial)
* Right on Vaughn Rd (10 miles on Vaughn Rd)
* Left on Noti Loop Rd (1 mile on Noti Loop Rd)
* Left on Hwy 126 (after 0.5 mile immediate right on Poodle Creek Rd)
* Right on Poodle Creek Rd (7 miles on Poodle Creek Rd)
* Left on Hwy 36 (Mapleton-Junction City Hwy) to Mapleton (38 miles on Hwy 36)
Stop in Mapleton to eat (Frank’s Place + ice cream, burgers, etc)
*Florence-Eugene Hwy (Hwy 126) back to Veneta (30 miles on Hwy 126)
Drive Notes:
We will have a short Driver’s Meeting before taking off to have everyone sign the liability waiver, to go over the Drive Notes, distribute walkie-talkies, etc.
We will accommodate both ‘spirited’ drivers and ‘cruiser’ drivers. I have several ideas on how to do this, but on the first drive, we will have a ‘Spirited Group’ that will go first and a ‘Cruiser Group’ that will follow. In addition to stopping to eat on the drive, we will stop for a short break multiple times, and we will wait for both groups to finish before starting again. That will keep the two groups close together. All drivers are meant to drive safely and to not break the law, and always be on the alert for deer crossing the road. I will lead the ‘Spirited Group’. Note that even the Spirited Group will drive at cruising speeds on the straight roads so that we can enjoy the beautiful country.
For both groups, the constant rule (other than safety) will be to always be able to see the car behind you. If you are running ahead of the car behind you after a series or corners, then slow down on the straights and let them catch up. If everyone does that, we will keep each group tightly together. Also, we will not be passing slower cars (for both safety reasons and to keep the group together), so I will sometimes slow down to 40mph or so on the straight roads to let slow cars in front of me get a big enough lead so that they don’t slow us down in the corners. I will slow down as well for any situations where I cannot see far ahead of me (i.e. going over a hill).
Note that I am planning on getting 3 walkie-talkies (one for first car in the 1st group, first car in the 2nd group and last car in the 2nd group), but haven’t ordered them yet.
Looking forward to going on these drives with the other Miata-nuts in the area and getting to know y’all over the years! Driving the Oregon country roads in our Miatas is too fun to not share it!
Also check out other Meetups in Veneta.
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