There are lots of great automotive events to fill your calendar, but if you are a MINI enthusiast there is one that must not be missed – MINIs on The Dragon.

Held every year in the beginning of May (next year it’s May 1st to May 5th), MINIs on The Dragon (MOTD) is one of the largest regional MINI events of the year and the perfect time to be in North Carolina – everything is in bloom, the summer heat hasn’t set in, and the bugs aren’t swarming yet (save for the myriad of beautiful butterflies). The scenery throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains is some of the most breathtaking in the country and the roads throughout the region are incredible – tons of twisties, challenging switchbacks, and very little traffic. I think that they are some of the most amazing driving roads on the East coast.

This was the tenth anniversary of MOTD, and a new attendance record was set – 1,115 people and 722 MINIs. When Barb and I arrived at the Fontana Village Resort for the orientation session, we immediately went into “full grin” mode – there were MINIs everywhere! And out on the roads around the resort, it was unusual to see a car that was not a MINI. The town of Fontana Village normally has a population of 868 people – over the course of four days, we more than doubled that number.

The orientation session is a good idea for any newbies, and probably a good idea for veterans as well. They show a short video of driving The Dragon that’s shot from the back seat of a MINI convertible (http://vimeo.com/18611072), and it gives you a good idea of what to expect. They discussed safety information, tips on driving The Dragon, and other things to keep in mind – like “enjoy the ride, stay on your side”. The Dragon has 318 curves in 11 miles, which gives you a a sense of what kind of driving experience you can expect. The road is challenging, and the driver cannot sightsee – full attention and awareness is required at all times. Drivers will encounter other cars and lots of motorcycles, and there is a chance that not everyone coming your way will respect the “enjoy the ride, stay on your side” mantra. But if you pay attention and respect The Dragon, you will have the ride of your life.

Like the orientation, the entire event was very well run, the facility was top notch, and along with many organized driving events there were plenty of things to do. There was a dinner to open the event, a dinner at the end of the event, a wine tasting, a pinecar derby (all of the cars were MINIs, of course), a radio controlled car event (there were RC Minis and MINIs), a well represented vendor area, detailing demonstrations, karaoke, fireworks, and a brew swap (my favorite non-driving event!).

But the driving events were what we were really there for. There were more than a dozen organized runs – some had lunch, dinner, or ice cream destinations and some were just pure driving. The runs were designed for fifteen to sixty MINIs, depending on the routes if there were destinations, but it seemed that you could just tag along on a run even if you weren’t signed up for it. Most people drove in a “highly spirited” manner – that’s what these cars are designed for and it’s what they do best. And on those roads, a MINI really shines. I’ve run my car hard, but it got more of a workout in those four days than it ever had – and it took everything I threw at it with complete composure. I’m even more amazed by how well that car handles and how sure-footed it is in the twisties. Another complement to the car’s handling abilities was the fact that Barb loved it from the passenger seat, and while she made good use of the roof mounted grab handle, she was at no time nervous or scared that something bad was going to happen.

People tend to talk about the Dragon and what a fantastic road it is, but there isn’t enough talk about all of the other fantastic roads in the area. There’s Route 28, referred to as “Hellbender”, that runs about 60 miles South/South East from the Dragon to around Franklin, NC. We mainly stayed on the western part since that road connected us from Fontana Village to our B&B, but it’s a wonderful road with lots of twisties as well as some nice sweepers and interesting elevation changes. There’s also Wayah Road, which people say is kind of an unknown, with all of the above as well as some long straightaways for really stretching the MINIs legs. I think there were sections that were posted at 50MPH, but it was kind of hard to read the signs at the speeds we passed them!

We got to experience Hellbender, Wayah Road, and a number of other great roads on Saturday when we did an all day run named Blimey’s Tiny Tour of Terror. This was a 200+ mile all day run. We started off from Fontana Village and stopped for breakfast at the Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort at the North Carolina end of the Dragon. After breakfast and a quick driver’s meeting, we ran the Dragon, headed over to the Cherohala Skyway, went through Robbinsville and stopped for lunch at an all you can eat pizza joint (yup, all you can eat!). From there we drove Wayah Road to Franklin and then back to Fontana Village. About fifteen MINIs did the run and everyone was totally jazzed. Many people on the run have done it every time they’ve come to the event, and for some of them it was their fifth or sixth year.

When we packed up to head out on Sunday morning, we decided to take our time and run parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which of course is another road not to be missed. The scenery is beautiful, there are tons of overlooks for pulling off and enjoying the vistas, and a great road for either cruising and winding down or having more spirited driving adventures. For us it was mostly the former, having done hundreds of miles of great driving roads and having had hundreds of great memories from one of the country’s premier MINI events. Before we left North Carolina, three of the four couples that were staying at the B&B made reservations for next year.

Here are a few of the pictures.