Itty Bitty Bessie the MINI had a terrific time at Mini United ’09. We drove on the Silverstone track, flipped some 180′s, picked up hitchhikers, hung out with Mike Cooper, got beaten silly by Austrian MINI challenge drivers at Foosball and met a ton of great people. Thanks MINI and MINI USA for bringing this all together and showing us a great time. We’ll have photos up next Sunday. Meanwhile, we’re hanging out in London for a few days. Get email updates…

Leaning into the curves. The adrenaline pumping. The speedometer rising. The steering wheel sliding through my palms. Blood spattering the leather. Pain rising as I grip tighter to reduce the loss of blood. And here I thought my fourth trip round the Milwaukee Mile would be dull. View Photos…

Somehow I managed to slice open my hand when jumping out of my car for a quick photo op just before we were called to drive onto the track. With the fast-paced, streamlined coordination of the event, I couldn’t very well halt the festivities to search for first aid. Instead, I buckled in, searched and found a kleenex, then drove round the Mile.

In other firsts, a friend of mine joined us on her first Milwaukee Minis event with her barely week-old Sparkling Silver ’09 MINI named Stella. Luckily for her, we didn’t get up to speeds to violate the usual break-in instructions. Welcome Heidi & Stella!

Also, a shout-out to our ice cream escapades fan, Model A owner and friend from Canada. I’ve forgotten your name, since I have one of those terrible memories. Drop me an email!

Bessie and I took our navigator on a wild ride trailing our MINI Cooper friends. The vibrant leaves were flying as we whipped around the curves of the Kettle Moraine. We took in a farmers market for refreshments and finished in Delafield for lunch. The poker hand we were dealt was pitiful for any real poker game, but we did manage to get a door prize. View Photos…