● 7th Annual Druids' Run - Sunday 29th June *
04-07-2014 | 07:26 AM
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● 7th Annual Druids' Run - Sunday 29th June *
As you may be aware there is a regular driving meet known as the Ricky Run. We get up early and drive 65 miles along some wonderful roads, have breakfast, and drive back again. For the last six years, as a special event, to celebrate the longest day of the year, we got up up extra early (4.30am) to take advantage of the Early Rising Sun to enjoy some clear roads. It's a lot of fun with around 15-20 S2000s attending. Last year's thread is here
As part of the "Druid" theme, the route will broadly follow "Britain's Oldest Road", known as "The Ridgeway" from Ivinghoe Beacon near Tring to Overton Hill near Avebury - some info here: Ridgeway Information
We meet at Christ Church Chorleywood Car Park (click the link) which is on the A404 about 1/2 mile from J18 of the M25. The postcode is WD3 5SG. At junction 18, take the A404 exit to Chorleywood/Amersham, past the Shell garage on your right, then past The Gate pub, also on your right. The church is opposite the pub and the entrance to the car park is a sharp left at the end of the churchyard wall.
Time: please aim to arrive at 4.30am.
The drive: This year the convoy will run only one way to Avebury and then people can make their own way back - I do have a lovely return route which I can provide as as Sat Nav file if you like. If you do want a lie in, or don't want to do the whole thing, you are free to join us for one or more of the sections, though I can't promise anything on timings (see below for details). Parking and Breakfast: As we are parking at the National Trust Car Park, please note that there is a £7 charge for non NT Members. The machine apparently takes cards but can be flakey, so please bring cash.
Fuel: Please arrive with sufficient fuel for the drive which is 170 miles. As mentioned above, there is a Shell garage a couple of hundred yards from our meeting point, so feel free to fill up there but allow time to do so. A tank should be plenty enough for the whole drive, but there are a couple of opportunities to fill up en route if need be/you have FI. These are BP and Esso. Unfortunately, Shell Stations are few and far between but I recommend filling up at Shell Hungerford on your way home if you are a V-Power addict.
Weather: If the weather is looking horrific, it may well be postponed, so please check on the 28th for confirmation.
SatNav: I have a TomTom/Garmin file of the route available, so PM me your email address if you'd like a copy. I really want as many folk as possible to use these please, as they make the run a lot safer by removing some of the "keeping up" pressure, so if you have a SatNav, please PM me your email address, type of SatNav and I'll send you the relevant file.
Joining En Route: Here are some meet up points and approximate times:
a) Ivinghoe Beacon - 5:15am Ivinghoe Beacon
b) BP/McDonalds, Benson - 6:20am Fuel Stop
c) Esso, Chiseldon - 8.10am Fuel Stop
d) National Trust Circle Cafe - 10am National Trust Car Park Avebury
Photographer/navigator/walkie talkies: If anyone's up for it, I'd love to have an official photographer/videographer/walkie talkie user alongside me as it'd be good to have some great pics and video of the run, the view from the front looking back is really great. If those who kindly provided walkie-talkies are coming again this year, it'd be great to have those.
Accommodation: If you want to stay near the start at Chorleywood, then The Long Island Exchange or the Bedford Arms are pretty close by.
Simon.
List of attendees here:
Definites
En Route
Ivinghoe Beacon
Maybes
Here's the usual Ricky Run blurb, if you've not attended one of those and want to come to this, please read it carefully.
Some notes on convoying and overtaking - please read and stick to these:
1) I try to keep the pace reasonable, if you feel that it's too fast, please feel under no pressure to keep up. Drive to your limits, not mine, or anyone else's. We will wait at the next turning.
2) Overtaking - getting 5 or more cars (and we've had as many as 15 on occasion) to overtake can be a tricky business. Patience and safety are key here.
3) It's your responsibility to make sure you can overtake safely. If you're unsure, then don't overtake. Do not feel pressured into overtaking to keep up. Chances are that I am stuck behind another vehicle half a mile up the road, so you'll catch up anyway. Err on the side of caution at all times. Remember, We will wait at the next turning.
4) One other thing to remember, given the roads are quiet, it means that there isn't much traffic coming the other way so overtaking opportunities are plentiful. There's no need to take any sort of risk when overtaking.
5) If the cars in front have overtaken and it's been a couple of minutes before you've been able to overtake, there is no need to drive at excessive speeds in order to catch up. This is especially relevant in light of this ruling http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/new...eading-rideout/ where a lead rider was fined on the basis of the speeds following riders were doing. I do not want to be fined for your actions, so please be considerate and bear this in mind. And if not for me, then for anyone else using the roads.
As mentioned above, the lead cars will either be stuck behind someone else just up the road, or will be waiting before the next turning (or perhaps in the next village where appropriate), so simply stay on the same road at a similar pace until you catch up. Even if you're unable to overtake, you'll only be a couple of minutes behind at the most, so there's no pressure at all.
6) Think of it this way, the leaders overtake a car doing 40mph on an 60mph section. After 5 minutes, the leaders will be 1.7 miles ahead. At 40mph, that means you'll only be 2 1/2 minutes behind, which is not a lot in the grand scheme of things, so there's no need to worry about keeping people waiting. Most NSL sections on this run are only a few miles, so it's even less of a worry.
7) If you are "stuck" behind someone who is going a bit slowly, please keep a safe distance and do not try to push them along. Backing off a bit on the straights and then enjoying the corners is a good way to approach things.
8) Remember to have fun
As part of the "Druid" theme, the route will broadly follow "Britain's Oldest Road", known as "The Ridgeway" from Ivinghoe Beacon near Tring to Overton Hill near Avebury - some info here: Ridgeway Information
We meet at Christ Church Chorleywood Car Park (click the link) which is on the A404 about 1/2 mile from J18 of the M25. The postcode is WD3 5SG. At junction 18, take the A404 exit to Chorleywood/Amersham, past the Shell garage on your right, then past The Gate pub, also on your right. The church is opposite the pub and the entrance to the car park is a sharp left at the end of the churchyard wall.
Time: please aim to arrive at 4.30am.
The drive: This year the convoy will run only one way to Avebury and then people can make their own way back - I do have a lovely return route which I can provide as as Sat Nav file if you like. If you do want a lie in, or don't want to do the whole thing, you are free to join us for one or more of the sections, though I can't promise anything on timings (see below for details). Parking and Breakfast: As we are parking at the National Trust Car Park, please note that there is a £7 charge for non NT Members. The machine apparently takes cards but can be flakey, so please bring cash.
Fuel: Please arrive with sufficient fuel for the drive which is 170 miles. As mentioned above, there is a Shell garage a couple of hundred yards from our meeting point, so feel free to fill up there but allow time to do so. A tank should be plenty enough for the whole drive, but there are a couple of opportunities to fill up en route if need be/you have FI. These are BP and Esso. Unfortunately, Shell Stations are few and far between but I recommend filling up at Shell Hungerford on your way home if you are a V-Power addict.
Weather: If the weather is looking horrific, it may well be postponed, so please check on the 28th for confirmation.
SatNav: I have a TomTom/Garmin file of the route available, so PM me your email address if you'd like a copy. I really want as many folk as possible to use these please, as they make the run a lot safer by removing some of the "keeping up" pressure, so if you have a SatNav, please PM me your email address, type of SatNav and I'll send you the relevant file.
Joining En Route: Here are some meet up points and approximate times:
a) Ivinghoe Beacon - 5:15am Ivinghoe Beacon
b) BP/McDonalds, Benson - 6:20am Fuel Stop
c) Esso, Chiseldon - 8.10am Fuel Stop
d) National Trust Circle Cafe - 10am National Trust Car Park Avebury
Photographer/navigator/walkie talkies: If anyone's up for it, I'd love to have an official photographer/videographer/walkie talkie user alongside me as it'd be good to have some great pics and video of the run, the view from the front looking back is really great. If those who kindly provided walkie-talkies are coming again this year, it'd be great to have those.
Accommodation: If you want to stay near the start at Chorleywood, then The Long Island Exchange or the Bedford Arms are pretty close by.
Simon.
List of attendees here:
Definites
- lovegroova - sat nav
- Trunkz
- soupdragon - sat nav
- C.I.H
- Suzybee
- sazzy - sat nav
- MQ
- dan_bourne
- le sau - sat nav
- Ninebolts
En Route
Ivinghoe Beacon
- K G CLE
- senninha - sat nav
- SiR Shizzle
Maybes
- AE - sat nav
- Floppy
Here's the usual Ricky Run blurb, if you've not attended one of those and want to come to this, please read it carefully.
Some notes on convoying and overtaking - please read and stick to these:
1) I try to keep the pace reasonable, if you feel that it's too fast, please feel under no pressure to keep up. Drive to your limits, not mine, or anyone else's. We will wait at the next turning.
2) Overtaking - getting 5 or more cars (and we've had as many as 15 on occasion) to overtake can be a tricky business. Patience and safety are key here.
3) It's your responsibility to make sure you can overtake safely. If you're unsure, then don't overtake. Do not feel pressured into overtaking to keep up. Chances are that I am stuck behind another vehicle half a mile up the road, so you'll catch up anyway. Err on the side of caution at all times. Remember, We will wait at the next turning.
4) One other thing to remember, given the roads are quiet, it means that there isn't much traffic coming the other way so overtaking opportunities are plentiful. There's no need to take any sort of risk when overtaking.
5) If the cars in front have overtaken and it's been a couple of minutes before you've been able to overtake, there is no need to drive at excessive speeds in order to catch up. This is especially relevant in light of this ruling http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/new...eading-rideout/ where a lead rider was fined on the basis of the speeds following riders were doing. I do not want to be fined for your actions, so please be considerate and bear this in mind. And if not for me, then for anyone else using the roads.
As mentioned above, the lead cars will either be stuck behind someone else just up the road, or will be waiting before the next turning (or perhaps in the next village where appropriate), so simply stay on the same road at a similar pace until you catch up. Even if you're unable to overtake, you'll only be a couple of minutes behind at the most, so there's no pressure at all.
6) Think of it this way, the leaders overtake a car doing 40mph on an 60mph section. After 5 minutes, the leaders will be 1.7 miles ahead. At 40mph, that means you'll only be 2 1/2 minutes behind, which is not a lot in the grand scheme of things, so there's no need to worry about keeping people waiting. Most NSL sections on this run are only a few miles, so it's even less of a worry.
7) If you are "stuck" behind someone who is going a bit slowly, please keep a safe distance and do not try to push them along. Backing off a bit on the straights and then enjoying the corners is a good way to approach things.
8) Remember to have fun
