It was an absolutely perfect day today here in Los Angeles. Not a cloud in the sky, low 70s (F), with a nice balmy breeze. Windows down and feeling very much alive. I was driving home late in the day today and as I came upon the entrance to my parking area I suddenly sped up. Or perhaps Trixie, my Cooper S, sped up. Either way, neither of us apparently wanted to stop driving. Next thing I knew I was on the 10 West, and then on PCH, heading towards Malibu. It was time for her first serious canyon run (and mine too). I decided to drive Mulholland; more than one person has told me this is great for a spirited drive, but I don't know how it compares to others in the area.
After a nice jaunt along the coast I arrived at Mulholland around 6pm and started heading up the canyon. The sun hung low and everything was taking on golden hues. I switched off the
DSC, which may sound strange while heading into a labyrinth of curves, but sometimes the
DSC scares me. It reacts in ways I don't expect, so I figured I'd take my chances and see what she could do without any extra help. Soon I had my radio off and was listening to the sweet melody of the supercharger whine as I whipped around the corners as fast as I ran through the gears. I was a bit cautious and nervous though, as I had never driven this route before and had no idea what monstrous curves awaited me around the bend. And there were definitely a few that caught me off-guard, especially with bits of gravel from rockslides making navigation a bit more dicey. Fortunately the road was almost deserted, save for an old pickup truck and a lone motorcyclist. Many of the curves had no railing whatsoever, and there was a certain thrill in having to rely solely on my driving ability to keep from spilling off the edge. Even with the A/C on the whole time, Trixie never felt short of breath. The Cooper S was made for roads like this. Who needs Magic Mountain?
I headed back down the canyon, which had the safety of not being against sheer cliffs, but required me to watch my speed a lot more. Still, the view coming down, from what little I could spare to focus my eyes on, was breathtaking. The settling rays of the sun seemed to permeate everything with a tangible glow. As the sun was setting I arrived at the bottom and turned back onto PCH at a leisurely pace, letting Trixie have a well-deserved breather. I looked down and saw the odometer hit 4000 miles. I smiled. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate.
....
There's two things I noticed on performance. One, I was only able to break her grip on the road a couple times. Although I probably wasn't pushing her as hard as regular canyon drivers here do, I was very impressed at how agile and dependable she was, especially considering the terrible runflats she came equipped with (which oddly seem less reliable in normal city driving). It really underscored for me what great handling the MINI has. Second, a couple times when I was descending the canyon I had to break really hard coming to a tight curve, as in, putting the brake pedal to the floor, it felt like she had nothing left to give and I noticed a kind of grinding vibration through the brake pedal. Perhaps I was just asking more than the stock brakes could give, but it was a bit unnerving. Hopefully it's not a mechanical issue. Going up the canyon I tried to save the brakes by downshifting a lot and letting the gears slow me down. I'm still having trouble getting the hang of heel-and-toe, though.