Last Sunday of the month Santa Monica Mtns run 2013 -- aka The EOM Drive.

[RMurphy]

LATEST UPDATE:

Sunday, February 24, 2013
Meet at 9:00am, "driver's meeting" and route discussion at 9:30am, roll out at 9:40am

>>> NOTE: Winter meet time currently in effect.

Vons on PCH
at the corner of Sunset Blvd and Pacific Coast Highway
17380 Sunset Blvd
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
we meet toward the west side of the lot nearest the Starbucks


EOM Drive 2013 dates:

Jan 27 postponed!! Feb 3
Feb 24
Mar 31 (this is Easter Sunday)
Apr 28
May 26 (this is Memorial Day weekend)
Jun 30
Jul 28
Aug 25
Sep 29
Oct 27
Nov 24
Dec 29

Hi all. It's 2013 and time to announce the dates for the Santa Monica Mountains EOM run, a.k.a. Last Sunday of the Month Run.

This is a spirited drive in the morning on the last Sunday of the month every month, weather permitting, as kind of an End Of Month (EOM) ritual.

Who: Car lovers
What: Spirited drive with lunch in the middle
When: Last Sunday of the month every month, weather permitting. Starts in the morning (8am or 9am depending on the time of year), ends about 2pm-ish.
Where: Malibu, Ca -- Santa Monica Mountains
How: In your car
Why: Because it's fun


FAQ:
What should I bring?
It's always bring your own sunscreen, drinking water and a full tank of gas. If you have a passenger, make sure you have some Dramamine just in case your passenger is prone to motion sickness on winding roads! Got walkie-talkies? If you happen to have two-way radios (aka walkie-talkies) bring them along because we use those to keep larger groups together and in case of road hazards.

What time do you meet?
See the "Latest Updates" section of this post for the exact meet time. It varies depending on time of year due to temperature, traffic, and daylight.

Can I skip the driver's meeting?
DO NOT SKIP THE DRIVER'S MEETING IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME OUT. I can't stress this enough. The Safety Nazi speech is there to let you know how we run this thing, help keep you out of trouble, tell you the best ways to deal with the occasional problem that comes up, keep you from getting lost, and to address questions. Do NOT miss it or you could wind up doing something that messes this drive up for the rest of us.

Where do you drive, will we stop for food, will there be bathrooms, what should I expect?
We meet up, socialize for about 20-30 minutes while we wait for everyone to arrive, have a quickie driver's meeting (aka Safety Nazi speech), then drive some cool roads that lead us up to the top of The Snake. We pit there for pics of cool cars, possible Leno sighting, and scenic views, then head to lunch via some more twisties (usually the Pavilions shopping Center near Point Dume at about 11:30; there is a Subway sandwich shop there, a pizza place, pastries shop, or you can bring something light to eat with you). After lunch we do an extended drive from the vicinity of Encinal Canyon through the Santa Monica mountains and ending eventually at PCH in Malibu at the bottom of one of THE coolest little driving roads known to man (or woman). Drive typically ends around 2pm-ish. Make potty breaks at the meet up point and at lunch. There are NO restrooms at the Snake or elsewhere along the drive.

How many people go?
Turn-out for the drives varies and can be anything from 5 cars to 20 depending on how the planets align.

Is it only S2000s? Can my friend bring his Camry wagon (it's really fast!)?
This is a non-denominational group of car lovers. It just so happens that the person who began organizing it owns an S2000, so frequently the majority of cars on the drive are S2000s. We welcome all cars, creeds, nationalities, etc. One of our smoothest drivers owns a CR-Z hybrid. That stated, it's important that you recognize certain cars simply weren't designed to handle to performance car standards and no matter how good of a driver you are, if you are in a Camry, then chances are you are going to have a problem. You won't be able to corner or brake well so I seriously suggest you re-think bringing the family cruiser unless you are fine with the idea of reading the route sheet yourself and arriving at the various points several minutes behind the rest of the group.

Can I keep up? Is my car up to this? Am I up to this?
This is a very spirited drive (not a cruise), but we keep it safe. No crossing the double yellow, be mindful we are sharing the roads with other cars, bicycles, motorcycles, joggers, and sometimes even the local wildlife, coming to complete and full stops at all stop signs and red lights, keeping top speed near the posted limit on the straightaways, and just generally not being stupid. Nobody wants to crash or get a ticket, but we do want to enjoy what the S2000 or any performance-minded car was designed to do best.

A word of caution: if you are habitually crossing the double yellow line or looking like you are struggling to keep it safe, someone in the group (probably the lead car driver or the organizer of the drive) will likely ask you to please adjust your driving (or your car) such that you stay within your lane during the drive. There are some risks not worth taking, and crossing double yellow, spinning out, or impacting stationary objects (or -- god help us -- other moving objects!) is NOT something we want to see on this drive.

What about Law Enforcement (LE)?
Yeah, they are out there. They are *always* out there. It's their job. Some months more than others and you just never know when. If you are running something that screams, "HEY I'm heavily modded and cops love to ticket me," then you might think twice about putting everyone else in this drive at risk by bringing your LE magnet out for the drive. Yes, tickets have been given to members of our group over the last three years we have been doing this drive. Generally speaking, the cops don't hassle us if we aren't doing anything stupid. But that's not always the case.

Updates will get posted each month as to meet time and location. Those details will always be in this first post and all following pages are just discussion and pics and stuff.

RMurphy, you implied there would be some changes for 2013, like maybe a different route or something. What gives?
Yes, I did indicate there would be some changes. And there are. I won't always be the one leading this drive. I'm thrilled to announce that Cargo and Human668 are joining me in running/organizing this drive and will be handling a lot of the leading during 2013. I can't always be there every month, but I really want this drive to continue and so does everyone else. And I know the regulars who are always there will help with keeping things running smoothly whenever called upon to do so.

As far as route change, probably not for a few months. Of course things change without notice sometimes (heck, fires and mudslides and all sorts of stuff happen all the time!), but unless we see the new store opening up at Trancas Market (where Hows used to be) is a cool stopping point for lunch with better food options or better parking, then chances are we will keep the current route as it stands. We shall see.

Happy New Year!

[Notorious]

tagged

[RMurphy]

One week out bump.

And just a reminder of what this drive is NOT about. It is NOT about this:











And it's NOT about this:

Bad Driving Compilation - YouTube

Bad Driving Compilation - YouTube

Or this:

Lane Challenged Drivers - YouTube

Lane Challenged Drivers - YouTube

If you happen to see yourself in the above video... sorry.
.

[RMurphy]

Alan, Paul, and I pow-wowed on the subject and have decided the prudent thing to do is postpone. Supposed to be on and off rain for the next several days.

So...

January drive postponed due to rain.
New date -- Feb 3. If it rains Feb 3, we skip to the next already scheduled date.

As always, details in the first post in the thread.

[Temujin]

Will definitely try to be there this weekend. Been itching to get out for a run.

[shay2nak]

I have to swap out my exhaust & ecu this weekend. Hoping to make this one...finally.

[RMurphy]

Weather is supposed to be stellar. :-)

[RMurphy]

Mostly sunny and in the low 70s tomorrow, so they are predicting.

[RMurphy]

Meet at 9. Driver's meeting at 9:30. To all first timers: driver's meeting (aka Safety Nazi Speech) is mandatory. Don't miss it!

My dash cam is in place, got a full tank of gas, batteries for the radios are charging, route sheets printed. :-)

Even though there is some incredibly light wet-like stuff falling from the sky on the west side which is trying real hard to be rain, it's nothing to worry about and the previously postponed EOM Drive is still on for tomorrow.

[Temujin]

Might not be able to make it, woke up with a nasty fever and fatigue

[RMurphy]

Great day in the canyons. Nice group (I think we had 14 or 15 cars). Much fun. Nothing bad happened. Beautiful weather.

Saw a group of Fiat 500s that looked like something straight out of a Fiat commercial.

Special thanks to the first timers who joined us for the drive!

[Stale_Hotdog]

Any higher res pics? Looks like a nice turnout! I'll go to the next one for sure.

[Notorious]

Originally Posted by Stale_Hotdog

Any higher res pics? Looks like a nice turnout! I'll go to the next one for sure.

LIAR~!

[RMurphy]

Originally Posted by Stale_Hotdog

Any higher res pics? Looks like a nice turnout! I'll go to the next one for sure.

Alan took some pics. Here's a link to his gallery.

EOM Drive January 2013 - fearrange's Photos | SmugMug

[RMurphy]

A few more pics.

[RMurphy]

bump. next EOM Drive is this Sunday.

[RMurphy]

http://fearrange.smugmug.com/Cars/EO...7855462_vb4Ck5

Scenes from the EOM Drive and a few random cars we happened across during the day. We had 12 cars and it was a pretty smooth day. Debris kept us on our toes, but it wasn't the worst I've ever seen out there.

[Im_Not_In_San_Fran]

Yes our roads have a lot of debris this week!

LOL: http://fearrange.smugmug.com/Cars/EO...IMG_0179-M.jpg

I drop the top on my MRS in ~1 second, one handed, without getting out of the car.

[RMurphy]

Photos overloaded. More from here: EOM Drive February 2013

[RMurphy]

Scenes from a SoCal Sunday drive...