Kelowna Trip 2005

to the 7th Annual MX-West - MX-3 Precidia Meet

Recalled by James Gosteli

Here we are again, getting set for another trip to BC for our annual MX-West Meet. This year we are only going as far as Kelowna, which shaves a lot of time and money off our trip.

Day 1 - Thursday (Departure Day)

We met up at a fuel station on the Western edge of Calgary. Our group was again only 3 MX-3s. Darcy with his Red BP powered RS, Mark with his Black GS, and myself with a White KLZE GSR. Many people couldn't get the time off from work. Stacy was leaving a day later than us, so we would meet him in Kelowna at the meet. We were lucky to have Darcy with us since he broke his ankle a week before our trip. Since it's his clutch foot, he won't need it much on the highways. After a while of last minute prepping and fueling, we finially hit the highway at 7:45am. Yes, it's early... but this way we can avoid any major traffic in Calgary as well as Kelowna.

Leaving the Calgary limits

The Rockies in the distance

Full speed ahead

Mark following close behind

The mountain cruise went quite well. We had a little bit of trouble finding a quiet channel to use on our FRS Radios. At one point we ended up on the same channel as workers in a construction zone we were passing through. I'm sure Mark's comments on the construction works were well heard by all of them.

After a couple hours of driving, the four of us made a brief stop in Golden, BC to cure the after effects of some coffee. Darcy's ability to shift gears without clutching was improving more and more. Luckly he has a 4 cylinder. I find shifting without the clutch very difficult on a V6. Soon we were on the highway again and heading for Revelstoke.

Pit-stop in Golden, BC

Tracy are you sneeking around again?

Heading for Revelstoke

Darcy would have more than a broken ankle if one of these logs fell on his MX-3

Upon arriving in Revelstoke, we soon felt the rath of elevated gas prices. I always fuel up with Premium since that is what the KLZE requires but paying $1.119per Litre was quite nasty. Oh well, perhaps a Natural Gas or Hydrogen conversion kit will be added to our project lists.

Arriving in Revelstoke

Gas is expensive in BC

Cruising south of Sicamous

Video of going through a tunnel

Darcy was trying to show us how far he could go on a tank of gas and was refusing to fuel up until Kelowna. His fuel light came on just before Vernon but he was so sure he would make it to Kelowna. We eventually convinced him to grab gas in Vernon so that we didn't have to fight through Kelowna traffic to get gas later. Once we stopped in Vernon, I realized that my new TPS sensor bit the dust on my KLZE. Nothing lasts long with the heat under that hood. Fortunately it's nothing too serious but lets hope that's the only thing that goes wrong. Darcy's started to make a loud squealing noise when engaging first and second gear. It was a terrible blood curling metal on metal sounds. It sound like it could be a throw-out bearing, but there's no way to tell unless you really look. Since his car still appeared to run fine, we desided to just carry on. Mark took this oppertunity to card a nearby MX-3 with the club's business card. Who knows, maybe we'll see them at the meet. Once Darcy's car was fuelled, we headed off for our final desination, Kelowna.

James accelerating by, just before Kelowna

Our destination at last

It feels so good to be in the sun

Reviewing pictures and videos from the trip

As expected, the sun was shining and the temperatures were warm and pleasant in Kelowna. We hit the city at around 2:00pm and traffic was already busy. Since Darcy and Mark's checkin time at the North OUC was at 3:30, we had some time to kill. We desided to head to my aunt & uncle's orchard and figure out what's happening.

My aunt and uncle's place was lush and green as usual and Lady the dog was happy to see us. We reviewed some of the pictures and video from the trip to see how things turned out. The plans for the day were pretty much open. Darcy and Mark were going to head off to finalize their accomodations and Tracy and I were to meet up with Kevin Gee and his Sister from Surrey for some Golf. Later that evening Kevin, Tina, Tracy and I met up with Taras and his girlfriend Anna for Sushi. We got there a little late and had to make it a quick dinner since they were closing soon. They were pretty much shooing us out the door after our meal. Tracy and I headed back to the orchard to call it a night.

As we were heading back up the mountain I realized there was a serious problem. All my lights were going dim and my gauges stopped working. That usually means the alternator. I knew my car's remaining time was very limited, so I raced up the hill as fast as I could but the car stalled out only momments later. I called up Kevin and Taras to see if they could give me a had. After a few times of Boosting, driving, stalling, boosting, driving, stalling, etc we eventually made it to my aunts place. We had to push the car the rest of the way up their long driveway. I thought there was no way I was going to get my car to the annual meet but figured I should worry about it tomorrow. It was pitch black out and there was no point in poking around in the dark.

Day 2 - Friday (Day Before the Annual Meet)

The next morning was car fixing time. I had no choice but to get my hands dirty and figure out what was wrong. After a while of diagnostics, it seemed the alternator was putting out no power at all. I desided to pull it out and get it bench tested, just in case. Darcy and Mark dropped in to visit and work on cleaning their cars. I asked Mark to give me a lift downtown to get my Alternator bench tested. Sure enough it was a blown regulator and I needed a new alternator. Tony (the guy at the shop) said he could work me a "special deal" and possibly get me a new alternator and battery by 4:30pm. I needed my car running soon so I just went with it.

Darcy pulled out his headlights, found a comfy spot and started polishing them up. It was also the perfect oppertunity for him to prop up his broken ankle. Mark's headlights were already clear and sparkling but he desided to do the same as Darcy. I couldn't be bothered with doing that. I had more important issues at hand.

Zoom Zoom Doom

Darcy adding some shine to his headlight

Project day

It's a polishing party

At around 2:30pm we desided to grab some food and head to the beach for a little sun. Darcy is a real trooper and goes hard core with everything (hense the broken ankle from volleyball). He wouldn't want people to help him or give him any special treatment because of his injuries. People would constantly give us dirty looks because he would struggle opening a door or hop through a rock garden for a short-cut. People were probably thinking,"How dare they not help that poor young man! What Rude People! Damn Albertans!" Employees at Walmart asked if Darcy wanted to use a wheelchair while in their store. Yeah right. He'd probably tell Mark to sit in the wheel chair while hops behind and pushes.

As soon as we got to the beach, just like last year, the clouds came out. They blocked the sun and make our relaxation a little less pleasant. We stayed anyways but were soon chased away by the rain coming in. So we headed back to my Aunt and Uncle's place.

By the end of the day I was getting worried. It was already after 5:15pm and still no call from the Auto-Electric shop. I thought for sure I was screwed but soon enough, my cell rang and I was told the Alternator came in. Mark and I raced back down to the shop to get it. A few minutes and $400 later I had new Bosch Alternator and Interstate Battery in my hands. Soon after arriving back at the orchard, Taras and Kevin dropped in to lend a hand. After an hour of cursing and swearing under the car to get the new Alternator installed Along with the AC compressor and belts, It was time to turn the key. VFFRRRROOOM! IT'S ALIVE!!!! All voltage readings from the car seemed to checkout, so I was back in business. =D

We all headed off to the White Spot for dinner. It's always fun to drive in a convoy of MX-3s.

Trying to get some sun

James' broken MX-3

Taras and Kevin stopped in

Day 3 - Saturday (Annual MX-West MX-3 Meet Day)

This was not a good morning. I think the waitress at the White Spot was trying to poison me or something. I felt sick to my stomach and was passing out all morning. I'm pretty sure that's the last time I go there to eat. I managed to gather myself together and go outside for some fresh air. Since I was running out of time to find a suitable car wash, my cousin suggested that I just get the hose and cleaning supplies out and do the car at their house. The relaxing process of cleaning and polishing my MX-3 always seems to make me feel better. After about 20mins of cleaning it was time to head to Kelowna City Park for the Annual Meet.

Click here to view the Annual MX-West MX-3 Meet 2005 section, recalled by Kevin Gee.