The 20th
Anniversary of the
Miata MX-5 is sponsored by ONDAGO
DJ and the Moose Den B&B.
1989
AKMC
2009
|
The 20th
Anniversary of the
Miata MX-5 is sponsored by ONDAGO
DJ and the Moose Den B&B. |
|
ABOUT US The Alaska Miata Club website is owned by the AKMC.
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Thaw Out Runs (TORs) This is usually the first drive event sometime in April when all Miatas are legal to drive the streets again. Unfortunately, the snow usually still dominates the roads so, we invite everyone to bring their OTMs (Other Than Miata) for a cruise to Portage Glacier and have lunch at Chair 5. The Thaw Out runs are to see each other after the winter and practice Caravan safety. Topics at lunch range from new toys and ideas for the upcoming season and the season schedule. April 17, 2004 What does BMW, Nissan, Mercury, Subaru, and Mitsubishi have in common? Well, these were all the makes that were present at the Alaska Miata Club Thaw Out Run. Questionable weather for the first official run of the season opted for members to use their OTM vehicles for the run. Members present were Steve, Ron, Jon, Jeff, and Mike. Marilyn met us at Barnes and Nobles but could not attend the run.
Our destination was to Portage Glacier then to Chair 5 for lunch. This was a perfect idea by Ron as it was only a few hours of touring which allowed us to practice caravan safety both following and leading. Many ideas and topics were discussed to include membership issues, new driving format for runs, club paraphernalia, motor sports, and the upcoming season. Take a look at the forum to see all these topics in detail.
If you are wondering what you may have missed? It was probably the "weirdest" run in our young history as this was the first run without any Miatas present (No Miata Content). But this says a lot about the people who participated in this years Thaw Out Run. It is the spirit of the members and being together to share and start another wonderful season. Don't worry, you can join us at the next event which is a little auto crossing. 2005
The sun was out but it was still too cold for the top to be down. We had a good turn out. Fellow members Ron, Noel, Steve, John, Chief (Randy), Spyder (Jon), Mary Ann, Alex, Darlene, and Mike were present. That is 6 Miatas and 3 OTMs for a total of 9. There were 3 M2s, 3 M1s, the Mitsubishi, a Ford, and a Chevy. Portage Glacier was a quick non-stop jaunt. Usually we discuss caravan safety for the Thaw Out Run and this year was no exception. A white Honda blatantly tried to pass the entire caravan crossing the double yellow line to do so. Motorcycles were out doing their thing, freezing like me. LOL.
Chair 5 did it again. With a little triple parking we got the whole caravan in the parking lot. The gourmet burgers were delicious as always. It was a bit cold in the restaurant but the warmth of the company slowly came into play. The talk of Miatas and the upcoming SCCA Test N Tune was only a few of the topics discussed. Thanks again to those who made this such a pleasure. Be safe and I will see everyone on the next cruise.
2006
Ten AKMC members showed with seven cars for the Thaw Out Run. There were two OTMs and 5 Miatas. Four of the Miatas were first generation M1s. It was a sunny but still chilly as tops were up except for one. Thanks to Marilyn for a safe caravan lead with KAZOOM. Nice to see Jeff and the BMW, Jesse and the wife with the Evo 9, Bill and the wife with PINUP, Bruce and Theresa with BLUEBIRD, Pete and Tristan from Fairbanks with the '96 Montego Blue, and Mike and Eric in JENNY. We wished more members could have joined us as the caravan looked good but would have been better with more members.
Marilyn took us to the visitor center side of Portage Glacier this time to mix it up a bit. We took pictures and it was a first time for some of our members. It was even colder at Portage so after a quick stay we drove back to Girdwood for lunch at Chair 5. The food and company was good with lots of conversation but I think I will have to reserve seating as an AKMC norm. We are just too many these days.
2007 Thaw Out Run
This year's Thaw Out Run had 7 members. Jeff, Mike, Bruce, Pete, John & Josh, and Marilyn (taking pic). Pete drove down from Fairbanks in his Toyota Tercel. There were three Miatas, KAZOOM, BLUEBIRD, and OZINGA. Two OTMs included Jeff's Baur Bimmer and John's Subaru Forester which met up with us en route.
The Thaw Out Run is the first run of the season. Safety is discussed and the convoy is practiced to Portage Glacier with lunch at Chair 5. It was a bit cold and we couldn't see anything so we didn't stay long at Portage. What was really interesting was seeing two red Miatas passing the opposite way. We "waved" at Gale's Miata and to another red M1 with the top down. We spoke with Bruce as he told us that he will be leaving next month back to Australia. Surprisingly, he will ship BLUEBIRD and possibly do a steering wheel conversion. We also remembered Noel and Ron who recently left for Seattle, who will always be charter members of the AKMC. |
