The Central Coast branch of BMWCCA had their final 2012 outing on Saturday, December 1. We were fortunate enough to avoid the rain, and took it fairly easy on our drive over Black Road towards Lompoc via Harris Grade Road. We then headed South on Route 246 to Solvang and lunch at the River Grill, located at the golf course.After an outstanding meal we toured the Solvang Motorcycle Museum only a few blocks away. It is an a vast collection of historic and racing bikes that Virgil Elings has put together over the last 20 years. The technology is amazing, with many bold experiments attempted to gain the advantage in pursuit of racing glory. There is information posted with most of the bikes, with very honest reviews in cases where the engineering turned out to be suspect. I am not a two-wheel guy but plan to go back for another visit - too much history to absorb in one visit.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Solvang Motorcycle Museum
Monday, November 12, 2012
28 October Drive
From Dennis: Here are a few pictures from the drive, one of our best. Two hours of hard driving and excellent food at the Hunter Ranch Grill.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Saturday Morning Donuts & Cool Cars
Taken 1 Sept. 2012 during a visit with Dennis Harrold. Just about every Saturday morning a bunch of old guys with time and money on their hands meet on Oak Park Blvd and James Way in Arroyo Grande to look at and talk about.....cars. Old cars. Newer cars.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
For Car Guys.
From Tacoma Ron.....hadn't heard of them but they were real. There are links if you search, at least one with a dyno run to 5000 rpm.
Dennis
Friday, May 18, 2012
Laguna Seca ALMS race 12-13 May 2012
The race was not quite as Formula 1, but worth it. The track is very accessible - you can walk around if six hours of concentration on the race feels overwhelming. Besides, you can view the race and take pictures from virtually every location around the track.
The BMW corral was very well organized, placed near turn five. There were many vendors, booths of VW, McLaren, Chevy, Cadillac, etc., but unfortunately, BMW wasn’t present.
I would highly recommend the event for race aficionados who do not want to travel far or pay a pile of money for a real race experience. The cost of the ticket was $50 per person plus $15 corral pass per car. Compare this to the typical $500 and up for an F1 race and the experience feels even better.
-Damian Kachlakev
Photos by Damian Kachlakev
The BMW corral was very well organized, placed near turn five. There were many vendors, booths of VW, McLaren, Chevy, Cadillac, etc., but unfortunately, BMW wasn’t present.
I would highly recommend the event for race aficionados who do not want to travel far or pay a pile of money for a real race experience. The cost of the ticket was $50 per person plus $15 corral pass per car. Compare this to the typical $500 and up for an F1 race and the experience feels even better.
-Damian Kachlakev
Photos by Damian Kachlakev
Thursday, May 3, 2012
News!
May 19th - There will be an informal (unofficial) drive after the Donut Derelicts weekly show in Arroyo Grande in the OSH lot on Oak Park. The cars start leaving at 9:00 so plan to get there earlier and look them over. There is always a good selection of hot rods with a few exotics as well, the Ferrari Daytonas of Tom Elerding and Richard Cole often participate.
Please let me know if you plan to attend - this event is not sanctioned by BMWCCA and will not be insured. We may decide the route on the spot, but Foxen Canyon from Santa Maria to Santa Ynez for brunch is trending well early.
June 3 - The new Spring date for the San Luis Obispo Concours to be held near the Madonna Inn. A link with information on the activities and all the details for the weekend: http://www.sanluisobispoconcours.com/ They have offered space for a BMW Corral for $10 per car in addition to the $10 general admission. Once again, please advise if you are interested and I will make arrangements for the corral.
Take a good look at the website as there are a number of activities over the weekend, all for a good cause, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County.
In other news, I may not have a BMW on the road by then (the '72 CSi is still in the garage). We purchased a new Mazda 3 hatchback and the red 330i will be sold, my wife much more comfortable in the Mazda.
We had a great turnout for the Pozo drive, 20 people in 14 cars. In addition, some youngsters from the Cal Poly Driving Club joined us at the start, although they were driving a different route. One of them rode with us in his early CS coupe, a black beauty. A very nice fellow - if anyone caught his name please let me know, as I would like to make contact with the Poly group. I saw a silver Z3 that came to an untimely end where 229 tees into 58, the young driver trying to look cool with a very large CHP officer looming over the roadster, assessing the situation. It appeared he ran off the pavement and into some brush at speed, the front end seriously deranged but not from impact. I don't know if he was part of the Poly group, as there were lots of folks out that day including a LARGE number of motorcycles.
Cheers, Dennis
Please let me know if you plan to attend - this event is not sanctioned by BMWCCA and will not be insured. We may decide the route on the spot, but Foxen Canyon from Santa Maria to Santa Ynez for brunch is trending well early.
June 3 - The new Spring date for the San Luis Obispo Concours to be held near the Madonna Inn. A link with information on the activities and all the details for the weekend: http://www.sanluisobispoconcours.com/ They have offered space for a BMW Corral for $10 per car in addition to the $10 general admission. Once again, please advise if you are interested and I will make arrangements for the corral.
Take a good look at the website as there are a number of activities over the weekend, all for a good cause, Hospice of San Luis Obispo County.
In other news, I may not have a BMW on the road by then (the '72 CSi is still in the garage). We purchased a new Mazda 3 hatchback and the red 330i will be sold, my wife much more comfortable in the Mazda.
We had a great turnout for the Pozo drive, 20 people in 14 cars. In addition, some youngsters from the Cal Poly Driving Club joined us at the start, although they were driving a different route. One of them rode with us in his early CS coupe, a black beauty. A very nice fellow - if anyone caught his name please let me know, as I would like to make contact with the Poly group. I saw a silver Z3 that came to an untimely end where 229 tees into 58, the young driver trying to look cool with a very large CHP officer looming over the roadster, assessing the situation. It appeared he ran off the pavement and into some brush at speed, the front end seriously deranged but not from impact. I don't know if he was part of the Poly group, as there were lots of folks out that day including a LARGE number of motorcycles.
Cheers, Dennis
Monday, April 30, 2012
The Great 2012 Pozo Ride
Twenty-one members of the Golden Gate Chapter of BMWCCA enjoyed a long ride through North San Luis Obispo County on Sunday, April 29. The route started in Santa Margarita, headed Northeast on highways 58, 229, 41, and 46, then turned West on Bitterwater Creek Road for the return trip to Pozo.
The Pozo Saloon turns out a great burger and the sides are also very good. But it's better suited when you're not in a hurry.....or returning from an intense two hours of driving in need of a caloric transfusion. Overall we had a great time and met some new folks, notably Kent DePalma in his beautiful blue 850i coupe.
The photos were contributed by Rich Bacon, Derrick Salas and Dennis Harrold. Copy by Dennis Harrold. Blog editor Frank Cowan.
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