MTMA Bucks County PA Fun Run & Shooting Range Meet: Saturday, October 24, 2009

jersey_emt

Member
:
04 MSM #1089
MTMA Fun Run and Shooting Range Meet @ Bucks County, PA

After the success of our first Bucks County Fun Run this year on August 8th, MTMA is proud to announce that we will be holding a second Fun Run on Saturday, October 24th.

MTMA (Mazda Team Mid-Atlantic, http://www.mazdateam.org) has been inactive for some time, but I am working hard to change that. To help get things moving again, I am looking for local Mazda owners and enthusiasts to take on the positions of the MTMA Team Leaders in New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. A Team Leader of Pennsylvania has already been chosen. You must be a resident of the state in which you would serve as an MTMA Team Leader. I need people who will take immediate action to bring the club back to being the active organization that it once was. Please get in touch with me if you are interested in being a club officer.

To all others living in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware who wish to join a local Mazda enthusiast's club, membership in MTMA is 100% free, and all Mazdas are welcome. Our main source of income is selling club-branded gear like decals, t-shirts, mugs, etc., so we are able to offer a basic membership at no cost. Contact me for more information if you are interested.

Anyways, on to the MTMA Bucks County, Pennsylvania Fun Run! If you wish to attend this meet, please reply to this thread stating so, and I will add you to the list.

=================

GENERAL MEET INFORMATION
This meet will consists of two parts. The first will be a 45 mile long cruise through the twisty backroads of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There are some great roads in the area, and everyone who has been to one of these runs in the past has had a blast.

After the run, we will head over to Ready Aim Fire in Bristol, PA to shoot some guns! Ready Aim Fire (www.rafire.com) is only fifteen minutes away from the start & end location of the run in Yardley, PA. If you don't own a gun, they have plenty of rental guns available for very good rates ($10 to rent a handgun). Normally, renting one lane at the range is $20 per hour, but depending on the turnout, we may need multiple lanes. I will be looking into a group rate if interest is high. If you've never shot a gun before, or if you are afraid, that is not a problem. I'm not an expert shooter by any means, but I can definitely show you the basics. There are some local MTMA members that are regular shooters too. The staff at the range will also help you out if you feel more comfortable doing it that way. Ear and eye protection is included when you rent as well. Even if you are afraid of guns and have never even touched one, you should come along and give it a try, or at the very least, come and watch the others shoot. Until recently, my girlfriend was absolutely terrified of guns, but when I convinced her to go to this range, she ended up shooting 50 rounds out of a .22 LR handgun -- something anybody can handle as it is a very small caliber and there is barely any recoil at all. She walked in afraid to even touch a handgun but walked out knowing how to use one after having a great time shooting 50 rounds from a very 'tame' handgun. It really is a lot of fun even if you have never shot before.

DATE: Saturday, October 24th, 2009
Schedule:
2:00PM - Meet at the park & ride
2:30PM - Head out for the run
3:45PM - Finish the run, stop back at the park & ride
4:15PM - Head over to Ready Aim Fire
4:30PM - Arrive at Ready Aim Fire
After that is is up to you. I will be at the range until around 6:30PM or 7:00PM. If you want to leave early, or stay later, that is fine.

If rain is in the weather forecast either during the run, or before the run, but not long enough before for dry roads, the run will be postponed. We will still head over to the shooting range even if it is raining, as it is indoors. I will make the final decision based on the weather forecast on Friday, October 16th by 5:00PM.

INFORMATION
The 'Fun Run' meets are a regular gathering of local MTMA members and prospective members who want to have a fun ride around the twisty backroads of Bucks County, PA. The cruise is about 45 miles long with plenty of twists, bends, hills, and curves. We'll be meeting up at the Park & Ride in Yardley, PA off of I-95 right on the NJ/PA border at 2:00PM on the day of the meet.

The cruise will start promptly at 2:30PM. If you are running late, you must call and let me know; otherwise we will leave without you! If you don't have my cell #, just PM me and ask. This is required because several times in the past, we waited on person(s) who posted that they, "absolutely, without a doubt, 100% are going to be there", and then did not show up and did not even let me know that they weren't able to make it. So, we sat around for 20-30 minutes before finally taking off. Now, I don't mind waiting for that amount of time, but only if you call me and let me know that you are stuck in traffic or otherwise going to be late. It's not fair to make the others wait for someone that said they were definitely coming and ended up being a no-call, no-show.

The run usually takes a little over an hour to complete, and ends back at the Park & Ride, where we will line up for some more photos. Printed directions for the course will be given to all in attendance. They also can be downloaded at www.mazdateam.org/documents/fun_runs/bucks_county_pennsylvania.pdf. All Mazda owners and enthusiasts are welcome to participate.

After the run, we will head over to the shooting range to shoot some targets.

We should be done with the run by 4:00PM, and we should be finished at the range by 7:00PM. Depending on the turnout, afterwards, we may head out to dinner at a local restaurant, or we may just part our ways right after the run.

FUN RUN SAFETY & RULES
1. Keep a safe distance from each other. Do not tailgate. If we are going too slow for you, then just deal with it for the time being.You will be given a copy of the directions if you want to take the drive faster by yourself at a later time.

2. There are some residential areas throughout the run where houses and buildings are close to the road which have 25mph speed limits. Safety is first, and we will be obeying the speed limits in these areas.

3. Use common sense at all times. No burnouts, attempts at drifting, etc. Public roads are not the place for this. You are representing the club on this run, even if you are not currently a member. We do not want to attract any negative attention from local residents.

4. That said, we will be taking things fairly quick, so be prepared for some 'spirited' driving. People that do not feel comfortable taking sharp turns higher than the posted recommended speed (not the speed limit, the speed posted on the yellow signs) will want to stay towards the back of the pack. If you find that you are having trouble keeping up with the car in front of you, signal your hazards, pull off to the side of the road, and let the faster cars pass. Do not feel embarrassed if you need to drop to the back. It will be more embarrassing if you exceed your own abilities trying to keep up with the faster drivers up front.

5. On straights and slight curves, for the most part we will stay fairly close to the speed limit to avoid negative attention. However, there are some areas where we will temporarily 'kick it up a notch.'

6. If your car is significantly lower than stock you may want to think twice before going on the run. There are a lot of elevation changes, and people with extremely lowered cars have had some trouble. Use your own judgment when driving; participation on this Fun Run is at your own risk, and I or MTMA accept no responsibility for any damages.

7. Car-to-car communications will be done via FRS/GMRS two-way radio. This will help keep the group together, and will help us regroup if we are separated due to traffic control devices (stop signs, traffic lights, etc.). Anybody with a radio: If you see any car or group of cars begin to lose the pack, immediately radio in the information to me so I can take actions to keep everyone together.

SHOOTING RANGE SAFETY AND RULES
All safety rules at Ready Aim Fire's indoor shooting range must be abided by to the letter. If you have never handled a firearm before, please let me know. Myself, or someone else at the meet who has shooting experience, or someone working at the range will gladly walk you through everything, stressing safe firearms handling at all times.

DIRECTIONS
The Park & Ride is located at the corner of Taylorsville Rd and Woodside Rd in Yardley, PA. You can enter that intersection into most online mapping services (Yahoo! Maps, Mapquest, Google Maps, etc.) to get turn-by-turn directions. Here are some general directions from the major highways in the area. Feel free to PM me with any questions you have about how to make it to the meet.

From NJ/North: Take I-95 into Pennsylvania. Take exit 51 (the very first exit in PA, right over the bridge) towards New Hope. The Park & Ride is on your right at the first light.

From NJ Turnpike: Take exit 7A to I-195 West. See directions from I-195.

From I-195: Take I-195 West to the end. Keep to the left, and I-195 West will turn into Route 29 North. Continue on Route 29 North past Trenton. Follow the signs and take the exit to I-95 South. Cross over the bridge, and take the first exit in PA (exit 51 towards New Hope, right over the bridge). The Park & Ride is on your right at the first light.

From PA/South: Take I-95 North towards New Jersey. Take exit 51 (the last exit in PA). Keep left at the fork, and turn left onto Taylorsville Road. The Park & Ride is on your right at the first light.

From Southern NJ: Take I-295 North to the end. I-295 will turn into I-95 South. See directions from NJ/North.


QUESTIONS
If you have any questions about anything concerning this run, feel free to post a reply or send me a PM. Anyone is more than welcome to come to both the fun run and the shooting range, or only to one or the other. Please let me know what you are planning on attending as soon as possible, so I can secure a group rate for us at the shooting range.
 
It's on the calendar....now let's see if I can finally make it to one of these things. lol
 
its far down the road but i should be able to make it, ill have to check my work schedule once i get back to school
 
Back