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Indeed it is an awsome run. This is something Leo (M3) and I have been doing every year now for the past three years along with some other car buddies. In the past we've had road rocket motorcycles, Audi A4 and S4's, Leo's M3 and my Talladege -- up until now prior to its tuned state.
Sperryville is at the bottom of one of the entrances to the Skyline Drive in the Blue Ridge Mountains along Va. Rt. 211. Skyline continues as the Blue Ridge Parkway to the south. Mike (WASSAAB) can tell you about that leg to Ashville, NC a couple of weeks back.
The Sperryville run is probably about 15 to 20 hairpin turns, but feels more like 30 to 40 turns. My tires, quite frankly, were "done" before we started. I have Yokohama A-520's on order, alas, they did not deliver in time.
Chris Paden (CKpaden) joined us for a while at my house in an attempt to install most of the components of his Viggen Rescue Kit prior to our run. We soon realized it was much more involved and time consuming than we had alotted for. My father, just getting back from a trip to Scottland, was reliving old rally days from the 60's and 70's with Mike and Leo while Chris and I managed to swap steering rack brackets.
After a while though Leo and Mike were understandably getting antsy to go. Chris and I quickly wrapped up what we could got cleaned up and we headed out towards Cooter's in Sperryvile.
Having made the run several times in the past, Leo hung back on the 20 mile trek from my house to Sperryvile while Mike, Chris and I took off. I cooled my jets after hitting 110 to 115, Mike though was easily hitting 125+. Knowing that there's a state trooper station in the area, I kept hanging back, Leo more so, while Chris and Mike were tearing up the countryside.
Once at Cooter's, Chris had to head back home (half the day shot working on the VRK). So the Mike Leo and I made the run. Once making the run and going down the far side of the mountain, there is a ranger station where we usually stop to let the cars cool off. For whatever reason I (my bad...) made a quick turn-around and blasted back up the mountain not realizing that while I was down-shifting while following the camper trailer, Mike was riding brakes (him bad, but hindsite is 20-20 on both our parts). On the way down the front side (Sperryvile side) Mike started to realize his delema. I was out front, Leo in his M3 behind me, and Mike with little or no brakes behind him. Mike started laying on the horn to call attention to his problem which was when we pulled off to let the cooking rotors cool off.
Once cool we continued back to Cooter's to listen to some great Bluegrass music and have some fine Southern BBQ!
Rather than make another run on the mountain, I opted for leading them around the "neighborhood". About a 100 mies or so of back country roads which wrap back around towards my house. Much more fun (and safe, for the most part). We never got to the lofty speeds that Mike hit on the way to Sperryville, but as a wise driver once said, "If I can take a 30 mph curve at 29.9 mph, that's a great drive!"
On a couple of blind hil/curves we came upon what little traffic there was out here in rural Va. Can give you quite a start, but all rides handled the course I picked out with aplomb.
Beer and adrenalin pumping banter at my house was the end of a great drive!
Next time the Yoko's and the completion of the VRK will make the drive, for me anyway, that much better. LOTS of push with semi-bald Nitto's! Thank God for dry pavement, else I would not have gone this time.
'Nuff said, talk soon. Perhaps we can get a Bimmer driver (Leo) to post as well, ;-)
Jim M.
, Sun, 3 Jun 2001 12:13:14
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