Volume 18 Issue 8 August 2008 What s Inside Page 2 Club Events. Welcome To Our New Members! Page 3 Abe Drives A Miata. Last Days of Freedom Page 4 100K Club. Drive-In Drive. Page 5 Club Sponsors. Back Roads... The Official Newsletter of the Indy Miata Club by Roger Burrill, President I want to apologize for not getting last month s Back Roads letter done before Nancy and I left for Myrtle Beach on vacation. I was working some long hours so I could take a few days off and went brain dead when it came to writing July s newsletter. That was the technical difficulty listed in last month s newsletter, your president went brain dead. We had a good vacation in Myrtle Beach. One thing we did notice was that some of the Miata owners down there use duct tape instead of replacing their tail lights when they are broken. I can t imagine even putting duct tape on our Miata! I didn t get a chance to tell everyone that hosted a rally in June how much we enjoyed them. I would like to say that lunch in a Covered Bridge and Dinner Tailgating at Bonge s Tavern were both great events. Nancy and I agreed it was a lot of fun and we were glad to see such a big turnout of people for each event. A big thanks to Bob Wiley for the Run to the Falls and to Tom Lewis and Laura Shilts for the Summer Solstice at Bonge s Tavern. The time and effort it takes to do the routes is well worth it as long as there is a good turnout. Another big thanks goes out to Ken Rabbers and his fiance Joan for hosting their "Last Days of Freedom" Rally on July 19th. It was a beautiful July day with the rally starting in Plainfield and ending in Greencastle. Although I am from Greencastle and thought I knew most of the roads down there, I have to say there were a few surprises for me. The food at the Putnam Inn was absolutely awesome. We want to wish our best on the wedding in August or October! (Inside joke). Not sure how you tie tin cans on a Miata, but I am sure they will find a way. The thunderstorms finally caught up with us on July 12th. That was the Saturday night we had the "Drive Around Drive In" Rally scheduled. Rain was in the forecast, but a few of us hung out at the Avon Frost Bite for Ice Cream and just as we thought we had possibly cancelled the rally too soon, it just poured down rain. Good call, Steve! Steve and Kathy Crouse were kind enough to reschedule the event for Saturday, August 23rd. Don t miss it, as this might be your last chance to go to a Drive In since they seem to be disappearing. The Brickyard 400 mingle was just four cars but we had a good time, and chatted quite some time into the night. The club has a busy August coming up! There are a couple of new items on our calendar in case you haven t looked lately. On August 16th Dan and Lisa Lahrman are hosting the "Eastern Back Roads Run Fun" Rally. It starts in Richmond and winds around the country roads of Eastern Indiana and ends up in Batesville. We don't get out to this side of the state often and there are some real gems of roads out there, so this is sure to be a fun event. Don't forget to register on the event page of the club web site. This helps our Rally Master plan for the number of cars. As mentioned earlier, August 23rd is the rescheduled "Drive Around Drive In" Rally hosted by Steve and Kathy Crouse. Check the web site for all details as usual. Zoom-Zoom to page 2
2 Open Road August 2008 Indy Miata Club Officers 2008 President Roger Burrill president@indymiata.org Vice-President Jim Quearry vicepresident@indymiata.org Treasurer Steve Crouse treasurer@indymiata.org Membership Director Mike Selvy membership@indymiata.org Events Coordinator Tom Lewis events@indymiata.org Secretary Nancy Burrill secretary@indymiata.org Publications Sara J mcbride 4249 Springwood Ct. Indpls., IN 46228 317-291-8993 editor@indymiata.org The Open Road is published monthly for the members of the Indy Miata Club Inc. The Indy Miata Club assumes no liability for any information contained herein, or injury or damage resulting from use of this information. The ideas, opinions, maintenance or modification tips expressed are to be used at the reader s discretion. Individual contributors and/or the editors express no approval, authentication, or endorsement. Thank you for reading this. Back Roads...continued On other club news we are having another MMG meeting on August 9th for committee members, volunteers and club members. We will be running the Covered Bridge route for the MMG and do some route and direction critiquing. Here s your chance if are not able to attend the MMG to run the rally route, help fine tune the route and have some fun! Our MMG committee members have been very busy pulling things together for our event, so thanks to all for their very hard work. I have been in the club for about 4 years and can t remember having a summer with so much activity! Remember to check our web site for lots of pictures from prior events as well as the ones to come this month. Gas prices just keep going up and it seems that our little Miata s are the cheapest way to enjoy the countryside. It could be worse. We could be a SUV club.ouch! Until next month, keep the sunny side up! Dog Days Of August? Not For Us! August seems a long ways away when you look at the club calendar in January. Empty spaces where there should be rally dates. It's time to take another look at that calendar, because August is here and there are things to do and rallies to run! Join Dan and Lisa Lahrman as they host their first Indy Miata Club Rally on Saturday, August 16, 2008. We'll be starting from the Lahrman's home turf of Richmond, Indiana and follow the twisty Miata roads to Batesville, Indiana where we'll enjoy lunch at an historic venue. This Fun Run will be approximately 2.5 hours in length, following roads that many of us have not yet experienced. After exercising our roadsters, we ll end our run at the 152 year old Sherman House Inn in Batesville ( www.sherman-house. com ). And since this is strictly a Fun Run, the only expense you ll incur will be the cost of your lunch. Well, and of course the gasoline! Dan and Lisa have asked that we register for this rally BEFORE August 11th so they may provide a head count to the Sherman House Inn. If the group is large enough, the Sherman House will prepare a special menu for us; otherwise, we ll be ordering off the menu. So please register early for this event! We'll meet at the Burger King at 2824 Chester Blvd., Richmond, IN. This is just south of I-70 at the Chester Rd. /US 27 exit (Exit #151A if approaching eastbound from Indy; Exit #151 if approaching westbound from Dayton). There are plenty of gas stations in the area. Times: 9:45 AM - Meet and Mingle 10:15 AM - Driver s Meeting 10:30 AM - First Car Off Where to register? Http://indymiata.dustbunny.com/events/ A personal note from Dan: If you want a great breakfast, come early and eat at Carver s, which is just a few doors away. You ll probably see the Lahrmans there! Welcome New IMC Members Membership Director Mike Selvy is pleased to introduce our newest members. Jeff and Darlene Evans, Tom Austin, Milton and Lynn Cuppy, and Marty and Jane Weaver have all joined the Indy Miata club. If you see our newest members at an event, please introduce yourself!
3 Open Road August 2008 A Miata Is This President's Vehicle Of Choice! Elwood members of the IMC participated in Elwood's Memorial Day parade. Tom Stone sent in these photos of Abraham Lincoln in his car of choice, a Miata! Of course, Miatas weren't around when the real Lincoln was President, but obviously this one is a very wise man! Photos courtesy of (L) Tom Stone and (R) elwoodindiana.org Last Days of Freedom Had Good Weather And Fun Good weather ensured a good turnout for Ken and Joan's "Last Days of Freedom" rally.they found great Miata roads and a great place at the Greencastle Inn for participants to eat and talk about the rally and other subjects. (L) Ken and Joan - Rally Masters! (Above) Gary and Linda Marconi inspect cars. (Lower L) Roadsters on the rally. (Lower R) Full house at the Greencastle Inn.
Open Road 4 August 2008 IMC 100K Club The Miles (And Fun) Just Keep Rolling By! by Steve Crouse Cathy and I purchased our 1999 Miata on March 4, 2000. At that time it had 20,208 miles on it. Today, it has over 152,500 miles! That's only 16,500 miles per year for the eight years we've owned it. Isn't that what you would expect for your primary automobile? After all, I was putting 1000 miles a month on it, just driving to work during the first five years. Then you have to add the several vacations we've taken in it, mostly to the Smokies and Deal's Gap. One of these trips included an extension to Atlanta, where we did both business and pleasure during the two weeks we were gone. I would have to say that this has been the most trouble-free auto we've owned. Otherwise it would have been replaced by now. I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. We're looking for 200K on that odometer! Steve and Cathy with their "Miata smiles". Steve and Cathy adding miles during the Covered Bridge Tour. Drive Around / Drive-In Drive, Take Two! Rain, rain, stay away! Steve and Cathy Crouse have rescheduled their Drive-In rally for August 23rd. The event begins with dinner at Indy's Family Restaurant in Martinsville. The restaurant is at 2210 Burton Lane, the intersection of State Road 37 and Burton Lane. We should gather for dinner between 5:30-6:00 PM. Come on in, have a seat and order when you arrive. If you would like menu information for the restaurant, check their web site, www.indysrestaurant.com. Check back as we get closer to the 23rd, in case some changes are needed. Following dinner, we'll take a drive on some new roads, and previously used ones, in Morgan County. The drive will take about 2 hours. The rally will end at the Cinema 67 Drive-In theater, about 1/4 mile east of the intersection of State Road 67 and SR-231; about 3 miles west of Gosport. We should arrive at the theater between 9:00-9:30. The showing should begin about 9:45. The admission for the theater will be $6/person. They will be showing a double feature, check http://www.cinema67.com for the movies they'll be showing. In addition, we will have a reserved parking area, up front, at the theater for our group. Plan on bringing folding chairs so we can be more comfortable, and FM radios since the theater sound is broadcast over FM. You may also want to bring snacks rather than purchase from the refreshment stand. Don't forget to register on the event page at http://indymiata.org!
August 2008 Hubler Mazda South Open Road 5 Official Sponsor of the Indy Miata Club The 2008 Miata is here! Stop by and see the all new roadster! More zoom-zoom than ever... "We have the full line of Mazda Miata accessories!" Looking for MazdaSpeed Parts? They're exclusively at Hubler Mazda South! Hubler Mazda South Hubler is Indy's only MazdaSpeed dealership. 1274 US 31 South, Greenwood, IN 46134 Located 3 miles south of the Greenwood Park Mall (317) 885-7379 Cleaning Indiana, one car at a time! You are proud of your car. Let us help you to keep your Miata looking great. We offer services ranging from a "Wash and Vac" to a "Full Service Detail". Most importantly, we'll also give you guidance on how easy it is to keep your Miata looking great after it leaves our shop. We invite you to stop by, take a tour of our new shop, and let s just talk about your car. Indy Miata Club members receive a 10% discount. Stop by and say Hi! Jim Schliebner 4265 West 96th Street 317-514-2659 http://www.jimmybuffit.com Don't forget to visit the club web site for up to date information and more! http://indymiata.org
August 16- Eastern Back Roads Run Fun August 23- A Drive Around / Drive-In Drive Rescheduled! 2008 Scheduled Events September 26 and 27 - Midwest Miata Gathering December 7 - Holiday Party Sold Out! September 13 - Moto GP Mingle Don t forget to register for any event listed here on the event page on the club web site! http://indymiata.org Official MMG2008 apparel and other goodies are now on sale! To deck yourself out in the latest hip, keen, cool and groovy fashions, surf on over to: http://www.cafepress.com/mmg08