The skid marks hooked up with a few folks from Modesto ROC and FreDROC to do a run from the Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton back down highway 130 into Livermore. We had five cars from our club alone. Plus Jeremy's Dad and brothers in 3 Mini Coopers tagged along with us. Jeremy and I met at the Park and Ride in Rohnert Park around 8 AM. From there we cruised on down across the San Rafael/Richmond bridge where we met Steve Cherwon. The morning did not start well for me. I had my top up as it was on the cool side. I do not have my top gasket glued in place and a mile south of Rohnert Park it came loose so I pulled over to fix it. We took off again and I had forgotten to fasten my seat belt. I heard something banging against the outside of my car. Pulled off again and buckled up. A sign of things to come. We then made our way down 880 where we met up with Mike Berry and Eric Jackson. From there we stopped in Freemont to meet up with the Mini's. Nice looking cars I might add. We took off and were making our way up Mount Hamilton towards the Observatory. I was in the lead and once some slow cars pulled over and gave way to us--Eric, Mike and myself started racing up the mountain. We were going too fast as I missed one turn completely. My car was running flawlessly when all of a sudden I noticed a really bad miss. My car runs strong even on 3 cylinders but you can definitely hear and feel the difference. We got to the top where the others were waitng on our arrival. I was a bit concerned about my car so I popped the hood and checked for loose connections. Nothing obvious-so I chalked my miss up to a possible vapor lock. We greeted everyone, talked a bit and took some photos of all the cars. I believe there were eleven roadsters total with one 510, and three Mini's. We blocked traffic for a bit until we decided it was time to head down into Livermore. Gerardo was passing out cards as the run would involve some poker hands for prizes. We headed back down the other side of Mount Hamilton. My miss was still there and started to really bug me. Still it was a beautiful drive with lots of scenery. We arrived in Livermore around 2:30 PM and everyone decided to eat at the In-And-Out. Being concerned about my car running poorly and being so far away from home-I decided to forgo the eats and hightail it for home. Steve Cherwon decided to go with me just in case. I hated to leave but was really bummed about the poor performance of my car. I limped home running on three cylinders. I know my gas mileage was lousy. I pulled into the garage and started troubleshooting-pulling plug wires to see which one might be the culprit. Number two was not firing. Damn, now what? I pulled the plug on number two and the electrode was bent off to one side and literally crushed. I did a compression check and all was well. Put four new spark plugs in and took her out for a spin. She is back and running great. Moral of this story. Carry a set of plugs and a minimum of tools to troubleshoot problems. I usually do carry tools but did not this time.I am not sure what happened to that plug but it was the reason for my miss. Any way, here are a few pictures of the run. Enjoy--we certainly did except for my crappy running car.
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Heading south/east across the San Rafael/Richmond Bridge.
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Meeting Steve Cherwon on the Richmond side of the bridge.
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Jeremy's nice looking silver 2 liter. First time to run with us. Hope it will not be the last.
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Meeting up with Mike Berry and Eric Jackson athe the Winton xit in Hayward.
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Mike, Jeremy, Steve C. and Eric meeting and greeting!
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Heading towards Freemont to hook up with some Mini's.
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Jeremy's Dad's sweet looking Mini.
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Heading out towards Alum Rock Avenue.
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The road to the Lick Observatory.
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Eric and Mike following close behind.
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A shot of the valley from about half way up.
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A line of roadsters snaking our way up Mount Hamilton Road.
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A row of roadsters at the Lick Observatory.
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Another shot of the roadsters. A pretty good turn out I must say.
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A shot with the Mini's included.
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The lone 510. A very nice looking car.
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Leaving Lick down the back side of Mount Hamilton towards Livermore.
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Another shot of us heading down the slope. Some very beautiful scenery.
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Taking a break and getting another card for the poker run.
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Getting close to Livermore.
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Stopping in Livermore at the In and Out Burger to grab a bite to eat.
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Limping home on three cylinders heading west over the San Rafael/Richmond bridge.
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The cause of my miss. Still unsure what happened but I did a compression check and all is well.
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