HUDSON BAY or BUST Road Trip II 2/18-2/23

[bakerjc]

Quote: Originally Posted by jcsinnh

However, the remark about the windshield would be like, what, sending in phony Medicare claims?

Looks more like one of them pesky MINI stress cracks. I'd make a fuss at the dealer, shoddy parts and all.

[blake]

Thanks to David for envisioning this great trip!

I had a little more temperature change (from -30 to 75; a 105 Farenheit degree swing).

Yes, performance tires do drive on snow and ice, but I would prefer NOT to do this again! (use the performance tires; I would gladly go to the bay in the dead of winter!)

Even though Ductape flipped his car, I may beat him in repair cost. The studs I put on my car are called Spikes-Spiders. They are fairly expensive and I was told by the seller that they have put them on MINIs and would be fine for the trip. They started damaging the car after about 40 miles of driving (knocked the wheel well trim off). I had no intentions of turning back for Georgia after coming so far (my round trip was 4,400 miles).

On the way back, I stopped to gas up in Pennsylvania. By that point my windshield washers were working and I needed to replenish the the reservoir. When I popped the bonnet, I was floored. The spikes damaged a lot more than a couple pieces of trim. I stopped by Hank Aaron MINI and they sent me to a body shop. The estimate was $2,500. Ouch! The bonnet even had a 4 inch hole worn in it!

I don't know if my insurance will cover this. I firmly believe the manufacturer of the spikes should pay, but I doubt if they will without a lawsuit (the cost (time and money) to sue may not be worth it).

Even knowing the damage, I would not hesitate doing the trip again! (but, in the future I'll pick up some snow tires before I go)!

[DUCTTAPE]

Quote: Originally Posted by blake

Thanks to David for envisioning this great trip!

I had a little more temperature change (from -30 to 75; a 105 Farenheit degree swing).

Yes, performance tires do drive on snow and ice, but I would prefer NOT to do this again! (use the performance tires; I would gladly go to the bay in the dead of winter!)

Even though Ductape flipped his car, I may beat him in repair cost. The studs I put on my car are called Spikes-Spiders. They are fairly expensive and I was told by the seller that they have put them on MINIs and would be fine for the trip. They started damaging the car after about 40 miles of driving (knocked the wheel well trim off). I had no intentions of turning back for Georgia after coming so far (my round trip was 4,400 miles).

On the way back, I stopped to gas up in Pennsylvania. By that point my windshield washers were working and I needed to replenish the the reservoir. When I popped the bonnet, I was floored. The spikes damaged a lot more than a couple pieces of trim. I stopped by Hank Aaron MINI and they sent me to a body shop. The estimate was $2,500. Ouch! The bonnet even had a 4 inch hole worn in it!

I don't know if my insurance will cover this. I firmly believe the manufacturer of the spikes should pay, but I doubt if they will without a lawsuit (the cost (time and money) to sue may not be worth it).

Even knowing the damage, I would not hesitate doing the trip again! (but, in the future I'll pick up some snow tires before I go)!

Blake,

Let me know if you need a character witness (and no comments guys on how I am a character) Being in the car with those spikes was intense. Like having TWO Magnaflow mufflers! Had anyone driven that before saying they were MINI compatable I would have been shocked.

I'm glad you made it home, and I'm especially glad you enjoyed yourself. It was great meeting you, and driving over to Chisasibi with you and Annette for the day. And I'm especially glad we discovered the 'run-a-way Cree lane'. One can never be too observant when traveling

I have an excellent picture of you and Ross forthcoming!

d

[yellowmininy]

Sheesh, Blake, you coulda gotten a lot of snow tires for the repair costs! I give you a lot of credit for making the trip, though. I guess I should have lent you my snow tires, or at least my all seasons!

[LePew]

Heading to Hawaii this weekend. We're planning some quality driving time circumnavigating the Big Island and especially through Volcanos National Park.

Unfortunately we haven't been able to source a MINI for this trip yet. We might be stuck with a MINIvan instead

We will be writing a full report on our "fire and ice" quest soon. "Compare and contrast the James Bay Road with the Kilauea Access Road..."

[snid]

Quote: Originally Posted by blake

I firmly believe the manufacturer of the spikes should pay, but I doubt if they will without a lawsuit (the cost (time and money) to sue may not be worth it).

I'm guessing that they're safe (the manufacturer, that is). A quick search shows this

Quote: Originally Posted by http://www.spikes-spiders.com/faq/

Q: How fast can I drive with the Spikes-Spider traction elements on the tires?

A: They are rated for maximum speed of 30mph. If conditions allow you to drive faster, it is easy to stop and quickly take them off.

Did you keep it under 30mph when you had the spikes-spiders on?

[GMINI]

Quote: Originally Posted by ice

I am happy to read that you are all back safe. I am envious that I was not able to be with you. I had my right shoulder reconstructed and I F'd up the surgery pulling a tree from the road. I look forward to more stories.

I am so sorry to hear what happened to your shoulder. That's the pits!

Best wishes, Ice.

[minirally37]

Those spider spikes were making some pretty awful noises illl have to agree with you on that one ducttape. We passed him when he had them on and thought there was something really wrong with your car. and we ( LePew and I) realized it was just your studs.

[MinorRoadsKill]

DuctTape, you may have done this on purpose, but when you left me the thank-you note in my kitchen in Ottawa, did you notice anything about the wedding registry envelope you wrote it on?

The envelope was from The Bay, aka Hudson Bay Company. The Company of Adventurers is the oldest company in North America, one-time owners of half of what is now Canada. The Hudson Bay Company was established by the great explorers, Radisson and Groseilliers, also the town and street respectively that we stayed on.

I didn't pick up a souvenir in Radisson, and Blake deserved the antlers from the little caribou incident, so I thought I didn't have anything to keep. But I think I'll keep the envelope.

MinorRoadsKill

[MinorRoadsKill]

After blowing my driveway, I found a big black plastic piece of MINI, several feet long and at least a foot wide. It's likely from a front assembly that wanted to remain in Canada at the last possible moment and thought it could dodge the draft or just preferred our way-cool temperatures.

I know you guys have dropped other big hints that I should get a MINI, but this isn't the way to do it. I find it easier to enjoy whole cars, thank you very much, and excuse me if I am pretty picky about getting them all at once, pre-assembled.

I appreciate the extra souvenir, but next time you guys really ought to clean up after yourselves. This explains why you ingrates ran off just before I woke up. I think I'll put it on Ebay.ca for $1000. (but in Canadian $, so you better jump before the greenback resumes its tumbling).

I'm sure it's not from my Kentucky-built Honda, since the piece has a sticker on it printed in German. My German is even worse than my French, but I think it says:

"Achtung" (Warning)

and then some instruction plans on how to take over the world. Definitely MINI.

MinorRoadsKill

[lokiducky]

Yes, Roman's car is GREEN, and I should of remembered since I saw it before it turned gray (on i87 when we first met up).

Blake, I actually guessed the distance you had to drive more or less accurately in my article (my estimate was 6500 km), which they'll publish god knows when on Exweb. I might have to review it one more time, but for now I'm assuming that was the greatest total distance covered by any mini driver. How many days on the road all together? Was Blake driving 30 mph on the St. James Road? Close enough. I can't describe the difference between being in ducttape's convertible going at a brisk pace (hmmm-hmmm), and being in the bimmer bringing up the rear at, well, pretty close to 40 at least. Same place, two different worlds.

I was just looking at some of my tape footage, and there's some good stuff there. I was just learning how to use this new 3ccd camera, but besides the few inevitable mess-ups it looks much better than I expected. I'd love to put together a short movie, does anyone have footage of the st james rd? (i know at least one person told me they did, I just can't remember who) not the driving so much (I have that) but more stuff like the pit stop at 381, Radisson, the signs (like the one in Matagami of the distances to Radisson and elsewhere), and of course, Chisasibi, the plane ride (Ross puking, now that would be great!), the Northern Lights, etc. I could insert some of it and obviously you would then get copies and be in the film credits (all the participants names will be mentionned also, in fact, if i can get them. if someone could put those names together in one place, or has them already, please e-mail them). If anyone wants to participate in the movie just send me a dvd copy of your footage. If nothing else, we will then have a good record of the first mini mid-winter arctic run:

noah sudarsky
516 East 13th St.
Apt 7
New York, NY 10009
noahnoe@mindspring.com

[LordWinslow]

Quote: Originally Posted by yellowmininy

Sheesh, Blake, you coulda gotten a lot of snow tires for the repair costs! I give you a lot of credit for making the trip, though. I guess I should have lent you my snow tires, or at least my all seasons!

I have used chains before on my old pickup, never a good experiance with them. For the cost of the chains I could of got a better offroad tires. You got off lucky tho, luckly you didn't throw a chain (well spike in your case) the damage would of been a lot worse. Good luck with your repairs, and glad you had fun up there. I was stuck in Winnipeg, freezing too, working my butt off...

GW

[MinorRoadsKill]

Noah, does your software allow you to add stills when editing? If so, you're welcome to any of my pictures, which should be organized by tomorrow (of course, I said tomorrow yesterday).

BTW, it's James Bay Road, not St. James Road. James was a King, and no saint at that.

As for my puking, since I was occupied, I briefly had hoped someone else had captured my experience for me, but then thought I was pretty wacko.

MinorRoadsKill

[MinorRoadsKill]

It appears that ArcticMINI.com hit the zone servers at midnight, so most people should be able to see it by now. For now, the test page has a couple of my photos.

I'm looking for suggestions and submissions of photos, articles, journals, whatever. I'm especially hoping for a tutorial from DuctTape on how he perfected his manoever, complete with diagrams.

http://www.arcticmini.com

MinorRoadsKill

[LordWinslow]

Quote: Originally Posted by MinorRoadsKill

It appears that ArcticMINI.com hit the zone servers at midnight, so most people should be able to see it by now. For now, the test page has a couple of my photos.

I'm looking for suggestions and submissions of photos, articles, journals, whatever. I'm especially hoping for a tutorial from DuctTape on how he perfected his manoever, complete with diagrams.

http://www.arcticmini.com

MinorRoadsKill

Poor David is never going to live this one down...

GW