2009 Arctic MINI Run Kicks Off

Sections: Events Feb 11th, 2009 15 Comments

Today kicks off the start of the 2009 ArcticMINI run to Attawapiskat, Ontario. 9 MINIs, a dozen people, two thousand miles, a train, and an ice road lie ahead of us for the next 8 days. I’m going to attempt to keep a Google Earth document updated with our daily progress, so please tune in and follow along as we tackle the Great White North!

The following link will open in Google Earth (if you have it installed); save the top-level “ArcticMINI 2009 Loader” folder to “My Places”, and it will automatically update once an hour (even though I’ll probably only be able to update once a day, in the evening, if we even haveÂ ’net access). http://bravo5.org/ArcticMINI/2009.kml

The following link will show the same stuff, but on Google Maps; it’s nowhere near as pretty, however.

http://maps.google.com/?q=http://bravo5.org/ArcticMINI/2009.kml

If you don’t already have Google Earth, go and get it; it’s free!

Here’s hoping the ice road doesn’t melt…

Written By: blalor

DUDE!

So, I wonder if this is that same rallye that happened a few years back that had one of the goofs, oops, I mean participants, rolling his MINI? He had a cabriolet and had thought it would be kool, ha, to leave the top down. At first he got sympathy here but as we all read his account of the accident it turned into a wolf pack of criticism.
DUDE!

Ah found it… Hudson Bay or Bust.

http://tinyurl.com/hudsonbay1

http://tinyurl.com/hudsonbay2

Must not be the same thing.
C4

Yes that was the same event. I think the roll over took place 3 to 4 years ago.
danf

Good luck guys!
GregW

Is this similar to the television program “Ice Truckers” where rigs disappear through thin ice? Perhaps they should use the MINI snowmobile made by Jesse James and Monster Garage instead.
DUDE!

I read the earlier, 2005, post over and didn’t see the criticism I had thought was leveled at the driver of the rolled MINI? Maybe it was over at another place like NAM? Maybe on my blog?

To all going, good luck and be careful.
http://www.gbmini.net Ian C.

Have fun, Brian, and make it back frostbite-free!
http://www.jwardell.com/mini/ Josh Wardell

Crazy as usual….good luck guys!
Francis

good luck Brian!! bring back some great pics!!!
Franz

With the right tires, the drive is reasonably safe. My wife and I went on the first Arctic Mini run 4 years ago. Our friend David flipped his cabriolet, but he was going a bit too quickly around a turn. He and his passenger were unharmed and the car drove home. The group had a couple other tire problems, but on the whole the trip went well. In fact, the Arctic Mini trip is one of my favorite travel memories. The MINI camaraderie, the exhilarating drive, and national geographic-like nature experience made for a fantastic trip. I wish I could be with them this year. If you ever get a chance to go on this trip in future years, you should go. It’s a blast. Good luck Arctic Mini gang.
C4

I think they are going quite a bit farther this year as previously the final stop was James Bay.
bluzeke

Mush on Brian! Keep reporting until the signal dies. Brrrrrrrrrrr…Ola!
http://bravo5.org/ blalor

Hey everyone! The trip’s going great, but not at all according to plan. We weren’t able to board the train from Cochrane to Moosonee because the yard workers couldn’t figure out how to safely secure our six MINIs to the train cars without damaging them. We’ve instead returned to Radisson, the site of David’s infamous top-down roll in the snow a few years ago. I’m happy to report that David made it safely up the James Bay Road in his Clubman S with no issues. :-) We’re having a blast and have seen some wonderful things, but I haven’t had ‘net access in two days, so that’s why the updates have been so slow. I’ll have some more pictures uploaded tomorrow, hopefully! Thanks for keeping tabs on us!
Dale

Hey George!

Brother Dale here, hope you are having fun? Got back from Florida with a good burn and the race car is progressing, will be ready to fire when you return. Shame about the railcars not being able to handle the Minis! Can’t imagine it was all that difficult other than the air temperature! lol Return safely and ready to work! Will follow the progress.
http://www.davidrose.us DUCTTAPE

Made it back and the trip was a blast. Interestingly, adding another 1200 miles or so going from the disappointment at Moosonee to Radisson didn’t matter one bit. No one pouted, frowned or complained. We simply motored on!

It was great seeing old friends again and meeting new ones. As usually, the locals were nicer than nice. The scenery and to-do stuff was brilliant. I’d go again :)

Pictures from all should be ready soon. Here is a link to the last trips pics. Except for ‘Four Wheels Up In Air’ (the French translations of a roll over), everything looks the same.

http://davidrose.us/DavidWebPage/Cabriol/HB2/HB2.html

BTW, Franz, we missed you guys!

David

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