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Mud Run 5 Post-Event

by Ginger Carney

Posted April 23, 2013

Dave Bonfield must be a conjuror because it certainly was magic that we had a dry, sunny day for our first drive of the 2013 season. Of course we had to have windows up and/or heaters on, and we all were dressed in sweatshirts and jackets, but the sunshine was bright and the air fresh.

We started the day as planned at Don Miller. Dave and Lynn began the meeting by greeting everyone. The new members were welcomed and introduced. Don presented the first "President's Service Award" to Mike and MJ (Mary Jo) Schweiger in acknowledgement of all they have done for the BMC. He then introduced the officers and reminded us of all of the up-coming events. He also announced that the Operating Procedures manual had been updated and approved by the Board of Officers by a vote of 5-4. Bruce encouraged other members to join him and Julie in planning their September event. Presenting information on their "Miatas on Old 51" tour in July, two members of the Rotary Club of Beloit invited us along, promising margaritas at the end of the event. Dave introduced Craig Weinberger, sales manager of Don Miller Mazda, who reported on the latest news from Mazda. Dave & Craig had a humorous back-and-forth Q & A reminiscent of that old Abbott and Costello skit (Who's on First). We gave Craig a hearty round of applause for not only hosting the event but also providing a very nice lunch: a delicious fried chicken buffet and the most excellent chocolate/raspberry cake. A few Club members checked out the newest cars on the lot or did a test-drive. Lin Carlson had a variety of Miata apparel displayed for purchase. The hot item for the BMC women continues to be the sparkly Miata logo on tee-shirts. The Rock also found a new home

And so the drive itself began. While this was labeled the "mud run", luckily we encountered only one small patch. The rest of the roads were dry, albeit sometimes sandy, and we had fun zooming the straight-a-ways as well as the switchbacks all around the Dells/Baraboo area. It seemed that not only were we anxious to get out, so were our cars! We stopped for a break at Hooty's Pump House near Devil's Lake, where the cold beer and other beverages tasted really good. Our second break was in Rock Springs. Finally, after passing "deer-like" critters in the fields (Dave's description), open fields, turkeys and cows, we arrived at River's Edge Resort Pub and Grub for dinner. The proprietor of River's Edge has always welcomed us with cheerful wait staff, reasonable prices, and personalized placemats - this time in blue ink.

Thank you to Dave & Lynn, to Julie & Bruce Gerner - sweeps-extraordinaire, and to Don Miller for a zooming start to 2013.