Welcome to the Snowball Run Report.

There are three things I know about Colorado:

1. The weather is unpredictable.
2. Picking a date two months in advance is a crapshoot.
3. Nobody is crazy enough to drive a nice 2002, Pantera or M3 in the snow and on sanded roads.

Okay…So 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. Click below for the full story.

Best Laid Plans

After several days of negotiation in July, the date was set for a beautiful day in September for a drive. Martin planned what turned out to be a scenic and twisty drive through the mountains west of Boulder. And then the forecast hit. The first snow of the season was forecast for our weekend. And I thought Mother Nature liked BMWs!

“Let’s talk about the weather” was the mantra for the days preceding the drive. 19 replies and 87 views later the decision was made to GO FOR IT.

3 Surprises for Gary

Knowing rule number 3, “Nobody is crazy enough to drive a nice 2002, Pantera or M3 in the snow and on sanded roads”, I was certain the drive was cancelled. Checking the website in the morning my first surprise was that the drive was on, my second surprise is that my 7 year old daughter MacKenzie decided to join me. Surprise number 3 was that the tips broke off the rear Ansa muffler of my 2002 sometime after the last autocross. So, I made coffee for the road, found lots of coloring books for MacKenzie for the drive up, and grabbed earplugs for the LOUD drive.

What a wonderful sight driving up to the meeting area! There were 3 2002s, a Pantera and an E46 M3 awaiting my arrival.

Let the spirited driving begin.

Martin led the first leg in the LOUD car with the pack following behind. I think Martin picked up some pointers at the driving school and was pretty comfortable with my car. The pace was “brisk” heading up the pass. Beautiful scenery, lots of on and off camber turns and elevation gain made the uphill portion a blast. Every car we met pulled off to let us by and we were at the top in no time at all. Oh, did I mention there was snow at the top? MacKenzie was able to recover from her mild carsickness and pelt Barry with a couple snowballs.

Sand and Traffic

The downhill run was a little different. There was a little more sand on the road, and traffic backed us up for the last couple miles. The pace, however, was still “brisk”. I had a “4 wheel drift” occasion when I chose my line without considering the sand on the road. I know Mike locked up the brakes at least once. The downhill portion included more switchback curves and a stop at the lake for further pictures.

How about a Barbeque?

Once everyone arrived at Martin’s house, we were given quite a treat! Good beer, great food and wonderful conversation. I am always amazed how interesting BMW people are, and how many plans we have for our cars. Thanks Martin, you put on a fabulous party!

This is where the “guests” had the most fun. MacKenzie and Martin’s daughter Grace had a blast, while our K9 visitor, Wiggins, had an opportunity to stretch his legs and show off a little.

The driveway car show allowed us to find out what new technology looks like (okay E46 isn’t the latest technology, but it’s not 30 years old), and Italian engineering at its finest. The E46 M3 was LOADED with serious go-fast Dinan parts, and underneath the trunk insert in Barry’s Pantera lurked 427 cubic inches of Ford’s finest. Of course the fuel injection, air-fuel mixture gauge and other upgrades on Jim’s 2002 were impressive as usual, as well as the beautiful total package of Mike’s 2002. I never got an opportunity to take a close look at John’s 2002, although it sounds like he’s done some major work to it and it looks great. My car gets the award for loudest car of the day.

In Conclusion

Thanks to everyone who attended (dogs and kids too)! If you couldn’t come this time, try to make it next time. Even if your 2002 is not “ready”, we welcome M coupes (hint, hint, Michael), E30 M3s (Phil…are you there?), and any car you may want to bring, although we prefer German cars that are at least 30 years old.