thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

With the wind in their hair and their men safely at home, a group of women and their Miatas went riding on the open road Oct. 3.

This was the maiden voyage of the Madam Miatas, women who felt the urge to drive their sports cars rather than ride shotgun with the hubbies. Madam Miatas' home group is Mountain Miatas of East Tennessee, a club for aficionados of the two-seater roadster. The Miata was introduced to the market by Mazda in 1989 and is now in its third generation. Twin City Mazda sponsors the club, which is exclusively for Miata enthusiasts, not for other types of sports cars.

Georgiana Deane, activities coordinator for Mountain Miatas of East Tennessee, said Madam Miatas was formed to give the women a chance to go on "runs," which means in Miata language, "getting to the destination," without the men.

"We actually have more fun without them," Deane said with a laugh. "They don't know what to think, because they are used to having the cars. We do have quite a few women members who have their own cars, and a few couples that have two cars. The guys are always used to driving, and with this kind of ride, the women are driving. If they're not used to driving, they come as the passenger or navigator."

'Jellybeans'

On the first trip, which was taken Oct. 3 to the John Campbell School Fall Folk Festival, Brasstown, N.C., the group of 11 women in eight Miatas drew a lot of attention.

"The cars are like jellybeans," Deane said. "So many bright colors. We smile and wave -- it's very enjoyable."

The women, ranging in age from early 40s to mid-70s, enjoy friendship and camaraderie, but they also learn more about the car.

"One of the neat things about it was, when we got to one of the stops on the way (to North Carolina), one of the ladies said, 'You know, I really got into the road this time. I was letting the car do the driving. It's amazing what a Miata will do whenever you will let it.' She was learning to take the curves without braking every time," Deane said. "We're very, very careful of safety and going the speed limit, being comfortable with the road conditions. That's a very key factor. Unfortunately, a lot of women have not been trained in how to drive, or how to drive on roads with curves or less than perfect condition. This really teaches you how to do that."

Precautions

In addition to being vigilant about observing speed limits and being aware of road conditions, the women planned their route in advance and made sure every driver knew which roads would be taken, where stops would be made, etc. They also made sure the men had that information in case they ran into trouble and didn't get home when expected.

They started out at Twin City Mazda and took mostly secondary roads to North Carolina and back to Blount County. The lead car and the back car, as with any Mountain Miatas run, kept their headlights on, and members kept count so nobody got separated from the group. Deane said they had radio communication in case they lost cell phone reception on the mountain roads, and at least a couple of the women had Global Positioning Systems in their cars.

"We got there and back without getting lost," Deane said. "That was a great thing."

The maiden voyage was a rousing success, Deane said. "We will be doing more trips like this."