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Oh your poor MINI fancy neglecting him for all those months "an odd wax and titilation" thats no better than visiting your cousin in prison the week before xmas just to satisfy your own sense of loyalty.
Winter was great as I was living down under in sunny Sydney till the end of January. Missed most of the truly abysmal British winter weather but still got plenty of snow and cold! The roof came off on the Cab for the first time (in 06!) in the second week of January and has been off regularly since. Went for a spin into North Yorkshire's fine countryside and B road littered hills yesterday (not in the MINI sadly) and had a great dya out. Summer is here allegedly so get the roof down and get out there
Mini Convertible Drivers... roof down or walk
DAD'S: 05 Mini One Convertible... Chilli Red... Black Roof... Cooper S Alloys... Roof down 24/7
MINE: 52 Nissan Micra 1.0 Tempest.... Blue... Engine... Four Wheels... Top Spec
Set off at 4pm, drove via some nice back roads to Lorton, Loweswater, Crumock water & then Buttermere for hot chocolate, next over Honister pass (awesome approach to the top of the pass, windy road and visibility for at least a mile!! ) down Borrowdale and onto Swinside Inn in Newlands valley.
Lovely Steak & Ale Pie then back in M4NDA over Newlands pass (approach to the top of Newlands Pass even more awesome!!!! ) and back down to Buttermere. Retraced our route chasing the setting sun all the way!!
It was so good to get her out on the bank holiday if even a little late , but................ bank Holiday Monday evening and all the madding crowds are on their way back to Manchester/Liverpool/Newcastle or from wherever they have come from and the roads are again mine.....al mine muoahahahahah
I don't let weather prevent drives out, both are out all year round, rain, hail, snow or shine It has to be said that is much much better when the sun shines, which it has done heaps the last few days
Our winter was mild but our spring is still a bit cool. Still, the weather is very nice and clear, beautiful convertible weather. I can't believe all the other convertible owners out there and almost all still have their tops up. They're probably the same ones that'll have the top up and the AC on in July!
My old winter wheels (X-lites) are now my summer wheels so I spent some time with Simple Green soap trying to get 4 winters worth of grime and brake dust off them. Mostly did the trick. Cleaned up the interior as well, but then had the kids in the back seat so will have to do it again...
Having a blast in spring. Looking forward to shorts and sandals though.
Harry
MINI Cooper Cabrio: now the car with go cart handling really feels like an open go cart! "... the only man that can come home at 3 am in the morning without getting into trouble with his spouse is the owner of a British sports car!" -- Phil Bailey
Don't forget the 2 hours of scrubbing dead insects off the front of your MINI for every hour of driving though!!
MINI - absolute perfection to drive, shines up beautifully, then 10 mins in winter and she has a dirty bum, and 10 mins in summer and 100+ bugs splattered on the nice clean paintwork / windscreen / chrome! Lol!
Wouldnt swap her though, even if it does take a couple of hours a week to keep her looking pristine!!
Yesterday was 5 hours of gentle (ish) driving with the top down and no heating on - it was a fantastic bank holiday Monday.
Finished with a trip down a dual carriage way in torrential rain still with the top down and grinning like someone from an assylum. The MINI manual is right, you don't get wet at 40Mph with the roof down, but at 75, well thats a differnt matter. The spray starts to creap up the drivers door window and over the top.
Needless to say MINI had her interior leather wiped clean this evening, and a minor squeak fixed.
Change it for another car - NEVER
Still suffering with a slightly burnt forehead, ears and nose - pass the suncream
Just 100 bugs, more like ******* trillions
Must admit I totally forgot about that factor in my initial thread, obviously April is a bit of a utopia at the moment
But thats why I had her diamondbrited cos I love her so much
let me cover Switzerland.
We had an exceptionally harsh winter this year. Loads of snow over and over, I guess I could match Ingrid but fortunately, I found a warm and dry garage for my MINI driving the MINI on snow is fun. After three winters, I'm still impressed with its performance. I never got stuck or something, it's even hard to make the car skid intentionally.
The worst part of winter is the salty roads though. I cleaned my car twice every week and it has never been clean for more than 5 minutes. One little drive and it's all dirty again.
Last weekend I swapped my winter tyres for summer tyres, I prefer the ride with 17s somehow, and to drive with an open sunroof or the windows down. I hope it won't be snowing again, really looking for some warm evenings now - and it looks good, I just had dinner on the balcony.
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) down Borrowdale and onto Swinside Inn in Newlands valley. 
. I'd forgotten about them. I'm depressed now 
. I'll have to go for a drive to
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