Car enthusiasts were welcome to join Z. Team Yossi for a "Bay Area Cruise" into the Moraga backcountry outlining the East Bay Regional Park. Our intentions were to have fun in the trademark positive, uplifting ZTY spirit and nothing could be better on this cool, lazy Saturday. As a united street team, all eyes were on us and we attracted a plethora of attention, in fact, a bit too much as it turned out (it always does). California Highway Patrol (CHP) set a helicopter on us as it was reported there was a group of "racers engaged in spirited driving" across HWY 580, 980 and HWY 80. At Emeryville's Bay Street freeway exit (this is before the new 2005 Bay Street shopping infrastructure was built), we were met by CHP officers coming in the opposite direction of traffic, up the off-ramp. We were aiming to lunch Korean BBQ at the Market across from Pacific Park Plaza. To count all the commotion: two CHP cruisers, two CHP bikes, and a CHP helicopter. We were quite lucky, though! The Bay Area CHP were professional, realistic, and understanding. "(Pointing up at the sky) You can run, but there's a helicopter watching you from the air." Koji's Buddy Club B16B VTEC-powered hatchback and Choko's stroked, individual-throttle-bodied Integra Type R were the only cars to get ticketed, and even then, with minor infractions such as a lack of front license plate. To note how mainstream Import Racing was in 2001, a CHP officer asked if we raced on the track and offered that Koji's hatchback would benefit from a roll cage for structural rigidity and further, suggested the addition of seat belt harnesses. Cool, huh? Note the youthful CHP officers and the sporty officer doing push-ups to see if Koji's hatchback had met California's strict CARB-legal requirements (bonus: it indeed had its catalytic converter intact, street legal for the streets of the Westsiiide). - Wilson Tai wilson@zteamyossi.com Saturday, September 22nd, 2001