November FIRST SUNDAY DRIVE (FSD) 11/2/08

[starlord]

November 2nd will be our next "First Sunday Drive" and we're planning it well in advance, so those that want to attend can go, and those that don't have plenty of time to come up with good excuses why not ;)

Who wants to go? The Mercedes-Benz Club of America will be sponsoring the drive again which means we'll have our usual gang of smarts, classic SL roadsters, and modern benz' with us.

I'll post run start and route info as soon as we get it from Robert Schilling (he organizes the FSD runs), let's get a good group together to show our support!

First Sunday Drives (as to the title..) happen on the first Sunday of each month. Most of these are sponsored by the MBCA while others are sponsored by our local/regional smart club.

Well, it's coming up pretty quick here, November 2nd!

This month is going to be a South Bay run - The drive is long, with only one quick restroom break, so we will be very punctual in our departure time. Please be sure to arrive at the start no later then 9:30 to get signed in. As usual, someone will be at the start before 9AM so feel free to come earlier to have a coffee and socialize. Our pre-drive brief will start at 9:50 and we will be on the road at 10AM!

[circusgurl]

Hi, this will be my first Sunday drive - is it still on?

[tivoboy]

what are the detes on this sunday drive?

[Alchemy R]

I'm interested!

[starlord]

This just in...

We will have a fabulous ride in the Santa Cruz Mountains! We will be starting in Saratoga and ending in Portola Valley with lunch in the beer garden of the Alpine Inn. Fair warning - this drive will NOT be for the faint of heart or the easily car-sick. It will, however, be a combination of some of the twistiest, curviest, most scenic roads in the Santa Cruz Mountains!

That said, if you live near San Francisco, on the Peninsula, or East Bay, it is going to take about an hour to get to the Saratoga starting point in the South Bay.

SF/Peninsula folk, we can meet up along the way, I suggest somewhere along I-280 South, say the parking lot near Golf Course drive could be a good spot or in Woodside near the Pioneer hotel (since we started there last month, there's gas across the street and coffee/etc. at that little store down the road)

East Bay folks, you probably want to meet up at the IKEA in Emeryville, or some big visible parking lot, then head down 880/580 towards Saratoga. It's about an hour's drive to get down there (or you could pay $4 to cross the bay bridge and meet up with the SF/Peninsula people and we all caravan together)

South Bay folks, you have it easy this run! Soon as I get the exact starting point I will post it here -- sorry for the delay, Robert promised to finalize everything by Wednesday 5PM -- you still have lots of time to get ready though ;)

[starlord]

FIRST SUNDAY DRIVE
Saratoga to Portola Valley - Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Sunday, November 2, 2008

DIRECTIONS TO THE STARTING POINT:

Starbucks Coffee
12960 Saratoga Sunnyvale Road

From Highway 280: Take the exit for De Anza Boulevard and drive west. De Anza Boulevard changes its name to Saratoga Sunnyvale Road as it crosses Prospect Road.

From Highway 85: Take the exit for Saratoga Sunnyvale Road and drive west.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE DRIVE

Depart the parking lot turning Left on Sunnyvale Saratoga Road and drive
1.4 miles.

Right on Big Basin Way/Highway 9 and drive 13.4 miles.

Continue (straight at the stop) on Big Basin Way / Highway 236 and drive
8.6 miles.

- The road along this stretch is narrow and very twisty. Be careful and
have faith. Smarties have FRS/GMRS radios set to ch 4 subchannel 2 (4-2!) for banter and road conditions along the way.

Arrive at the headquarters for the Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

- We will make a quick stop here to use the restrooms. In the past, we
have been able to park very briefly as a group along the side of the road
but we need to stay close to our cars if at all possible. If you want to
spend some additional time here, park in one of the paid lots and catch up
with the group later.

Depart continuing on Big Basin Way / Highway 236 and drive 7.8 miles.

Left on Highway 9 / Central Avenue and drive 0.2 miles.

Right on Bear Creek Road and drive 9.0 miles.

Left on Skyline Boulevard / Highway 35 and drive 16.3 miles.

Right on Page Mill Road and drive 8.5 miles.

- Previous drives have had us driving up the hill on Page Mill, but this is our groups first decent of the grade. Be careful on the turns, watch for
cyclists in both directions and enjoy one of the best views of the bay.

Left on Arastradero Road and drive 1.9 miles.

Left into parking lot of The Alpine Inn.

- If you reach the end of the Arastradero Road at Alpine Road you have
gone 20 feet too far!

Arrive at our final destination and the official end of the First Sunday Drive – The Alpine Inn.

Weather permitting we can order burgers and beers and grab tables outside in the beer garden. If it is raining, damp or foggy we can grab space inside or you can branch off on your own to grab lunch close by.

To return to your regularly scheduled Sunday – turn right on Alpine Road and drive 1.9 miles to Highway 280.

[paul c]

Count me in.

Originally Posted by starlord

FIRST SUNDAY DRIVE
Saratoga to Portola Valley - Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Sunday, November 2, 2008

DIRECTIONS TO THE STARTING POINT:

Starbucks Coffee
12960 Saratoga Sunnyvale Road

From Highway 280: Take the exit for De Anza Boulevard and drive west. De Anza Boulevard changes its name to Saratoga Sunnyvale Road as it crosses Prospect Road.

From Highway 85: Take the exit for Saratoga Sunnyvale Road and drive west.

But, I'll get there by going SOUTH, not WEST, on De Anza Boulevard.

[starlord]

Ah yes! That's right, it does assume you hit it from one direction doesn't it? please adjust instructions accordingly depending on which direction of travel you are going ;)

Also, don't forget about the time change, daylight savings.. is it back an hour at 2am Sunday!? well, if you do get there and you're an hour early, at least there will be people hanging out enjoying their coffee!

I will be there rain or shine. Not sure what the weather is going to be, but yes I have done this run in the rain before and it was still a blast! hehehe..

[starlord]

Thanks everyone for a great run today, though we only had 3 smarts and about 10 or so Benz' (most of them classic SL's, of course!) I had a blast, and lunch was pretty tasty afterwards at that little shack bar/restaurant the Alpine Inn.. I was having so much fun I didn't realize the video camera was off for most of the run, LOL.. here's a quick little teaser video from today as posted on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/v/dVOQzx5_2Io

I would have pics but I forgot to put a battery in the camera (doh!) hehe.. looking forward to next month's drive in the Delta area, expecting a big turn out for that one, lots of smart owners in the Sacramento area! Ah, yes I already started a new thread for that one, check the forum list for the "sticky" -- Cheers!