New Farm Park – Laidley Run.
Sunday 14 January 2001.
Our first run for the year saw our support level start off where we left it at the end of 2000. Near 40 Minis and 70 plus people turned up for breakfast at New Farm Park on a typically sunny Brisbane day.
Tony Formosa, Andrew Wright and Spencer Cundy fired up the barbie to present our normal high standard cuisine while members caught up on what others did over the Christmas break.
With breakfast over and following a briefing by Tony and the handing out of the maps, over 30 cars headed for Laidley via Mt Glorious, Wivenhoe Dam and Loowood.
The trip over the mountains was one of the best Mini runs we have had. Apart from the roads being built just for Minis, everyone stuck to the club rules and kept an eye on the car behind. The result, we all arrived at the check points as a group instead of several groups.
The boys in blue were very active on the mountain roads booking anyone who dare cross the endless double white lines. None of our group got an invitation to the annual police ball but there were a lot of other folk a bit lighter in the pocket. I guess you must have luck on ones side at some stage!
The run down the mountain was just as exciting with the drum braked cars getting just a little hot in the wheel department judging by the smell in the air. The disc brakes were not exactly cold either I might add. The temperature on the western side of the hills jumped about 5 degrees as we headed through the country roads to Laidley.
Here we were meet by a small group from the Mini club in Toowoomba. Tony again put his chefs hat on and dished up Hotdogs for lunch. After much talking about Minis and more Minis we headed back to Brisbane via the highway.
It still amazes me that people do not like getting past by a Mini. Like the bloke in the blue Ford Fistiva. Tom McQuilken and I were travelling together when we pulled out and passed him as he was doing under the speed limit. Then with a look of anger on his face he overtook us. He pulled in front of us at the bottom of the Mindin Range. As we started to climb the range he again slowed (what else would you do in a Festiva) so I pulled out and passed him again. The look on his face was priceless but I would have liked to have seen it 30 seconds later as about 10 Minis had joined Tom and I and we all passed him going up the range.
All in all it was a great start to the year, but next time we will visit the Laidley area in winter.
February 2001
