Found the above route from Milpitas to Sonol from BAMA (Bay Area Miata Association, click on route pic for the page). I wanted to go for a drive in my M Roadster and this one was perfect. It fit my requirements that it be: close to Milpitas, Twisty, somewhat scenic, and not too long since I'm running on about half a tank of gas.

I decided to go during a brief lull in work. A bit before 5PM, I printed out the map and started on my way. Finding the route wasn't too hard and as soon as I saw it rise into the hills, I broke out into a grin. First time driving the twisties in the mountains...er...hills.

For a little while, I had fun shifting like crazy between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears and applying the brakes liberally. The only thing I succeeded in doing was convincing myself that 1) I pee my pants before this car ever comes close to losing traction and 2) I need better rev matching speed. Once I got up into the mountains a bit, I stopped on the side and took a couple of pictures. No great photo ops to get the M soaring out among the hills but here's one of my first stops. Felt obligated to take a pic of the sexy behind of my new convertible.

Saw a barbed wire fence running along side me that came to an end at metal gates. Beyond the terrain was a cute lake that I had to get a shot of. In the spirit of adventure (oh yes, I'm toughing and roughing it now, hiking up and down a mountain trail using only my own power, and the power equivalent of 240 horses), I climbed over the fence and got a shot of the lake (the picture to the right). More purty pics. Views of the same lake and rolling hills. I suppose my appreciation of this small bit of beauty is in no small part bolstered by my fascination with my new car. Much gid was had by me today.

Ah yes, another obligatory car shot, this one straight out of the Z3 fanboy repertoire. Nevertheless, as it had been so good to me on the twisties earlier this day, I thought it deserved a glamour shot all to itself. I had, by this time, hit the junction with 680 and decided that it would be more fun to go through the hills again rather than risk traffic back down 680 to Milpitas. There is a stretch of Calaveras that is almost straight (the yellow lines appear again) after the hills and before 680 with lots of stop offs for what seemed like access ramps to nurseries (of the sylvan variety). Stopped off at one of these and knelt down really low like a fool.

Two more obligatory in-car while-driving shots. One of the view out the passenger side (not terribly exciting eh?) and one of a beautiful clearing on the side of the road that I had to try to get as I passed by. Both shots too high but kudos to the digitaru kamera for fulfilling my whims despite being held by a none too steady hand. I was amused by this sign on the way back through the hills. I didn't really pay attention to it the first time, but now it made me smile again. I also reviewed somethings I learned: 1) The fun of shifting like a madman is quickly replaced by the thrill of being able to stay in 3rd for almost the entire run and just throw the car left and right. 2) Throwing the car left and right is great if you can actually see the road ahead of you. Otherwise, going slowly around a blind turn save unnecessary skips of the heart as you see an suv barreling towards you with disturbing alacrity. 3) Despite what cops might think, drivers of Z3 and M Roadsters are probably going to be more careful on this road than others (doesn't necessarily mean slower...). If you baby your car, you don't want to kill it and a courtesy honk around blind corners seems, if annoying to oneself, only fair. Unfortunately, riced up civics with Z3 fenders don't really care and will fly through those blind corners even though you just honked twice, causing you to realize once again that your brakes are AWESOME! (but scaring you in the process...) 4) Finally, critters cross roads much more on rural roads like these. Since there are fewer cars, perhaps, they are more bold. Unfortunately, courage doesn't necessarily equal speed and I saw my fair share of roadkill...

Well, first drive done and I'd say it was a succcess. My stupid grin I wear on my face whenever I have the top down got bigger and bigger, with detours of mutations around tight corners. I remember saying that I don't really like driving at one point. That was before I got in an M Roadster. I've got to find more paths to explore. This was too much fun.