Our annual run over Mt. Hamilton is dedicated to remembering and honoring absent friends and family. Please join us to remember those who can no longer ride with us. Then enjoy our annual picnic with friends to learn who the new Officers are and what Runs you requested for the coming year.
View from the Lick Observatory Grounds
(Details about the annual picnic are near the end of this post)
Your Host(s) for the Event
Pat & Michelle Lewis
Run Route
https://maps.app.goo.gl/wYK5gkjBgAau6Qry9
Run - Register via MotorSport Registry
Mt. Hamilton Run for Absent Friends:
https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/mt-hamilton-run-only-norcal-minis-399148
Run Details
Join the club for its annual Absent Friends run which concludes with our Annual Picnic. During our Annual Picnic we announce the 2025 Officers and Runs you voted for. On this run, it is customary we remember our past members and friends who are no longer with us by driving our fun cars on some great roads. Then we conclude with food and fun at the end of the run.
We will head up Alum Rock Ave to visit the twisties leading up to the Lick Observatory on top of Mt. Hamilton. Due to limited parking at the Observatory, and their policies against groups parking at the upper observatory parking lot, we only stop if you urgently need to use the restrooms and you plan to break off from the group. We will continue past the Observatory, over the mounting, stopping to regroup in the San Antonio Valley -- along Mines Road towards Pleasanton.
Hairpin turns leading to the observatory
We will finish up in the parking lot of Amador Valley Community Park, located at 4301 Black Ave, Pleasanton. The picnic grounds are towards the rear of the park behind the swimming pool (believed to be closed in September).
Looking down Mines Road for the regroup and before The Junction
These roads are fun to drive. They are also unforgiving should you stray. Increasingly cyclist frequent these narrow roads. We will pace ourselves accordingly. Those wishing to take this at a challenging pace are encouraged to do so on their own.
Meet-up Time / Departure Time for the Run
9:00 am / 10 am
Meet-up Location for the Run:
CVS Parking lot
3475 McKee Rd.
San Jose, CA 95127
(in the unlikely event Security mandates the club leave the CVS lot, we’ll move across the street to 438 Toyan Ave as our backup meetup point, but only if forced to leave CVS).
Please be sure to gas up and use the restroom before our driver's briefing in front of CVS.
Annual Picnic Details
Annual Picnic - Register via MotorSport Registry
https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/annual-picnic-meeting-only-norcal-minis-980998
Location for the Annual Picnic:
Amador Valley Community Park
4301 Black Avenue, Pleasanton, CA 94566
(we are located behind the aquatic center) look for the NORCAL MINIS flag.
Meet-up Time / Departure Time for the Annual Picnic
12:30 pm / 5 pm
Additional Run Details
Please bring your radio, fully charged, turned on, and tuned to Channel 7, Subchannel 21 CTCSS before you arrive at the start. If you don’t have a radio, ask for a loaner at the driver’s meeting. For radio recommendations, please see https://www.facebook.com/legacy/notes/728353274556164/.
Be sure to turn the “VOX” voice-activated setting OFF, or we will hear the wind from your AC, your conversations, and any noise in your car broadcasting to everyone.
Make a pit stop before the drivers' briefing. We will be driving for a while through twisty hills, so plan ahead. There are restrooms in Lick Observatory, but we are NOT welcome as a larger group. You will need to break off and catch up later.
Hilly California backroads can be rough, especially after winter storms spawn new and bigger potholes. There is one tricky spot at a patched washout on Mines Road, but it is safe to navigate at a reduced speed. We will call it out on the radios. Most of the route is smooth with a few backroad sections that are a bit bumpier than others.
There are stretches where local wildlife may be seen on each side of the road. At some point, these animals may decide to cross the road, so please watch out for deer, wild turkeys, etc. trying to get from one side to the other right in front of your car. Cyclists are increasingly present and practice their right to stay in the middle of the lane for everyone’s safety. Obey the laws. Pass only if safe to do so.
We ask that you turn on low-beam headlights - not Auto - to make us more visible to other vehicles either ahead or behind us, including your fellow MINI drivers!
Headlight Switch: Full Manual On