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As you may be aware there is a regular driving meet from Rickmansworth to Towcester.
We get up early and drive 65 miles along some wonderful roads, have breakfast, and drive back again.
For the last two 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.
Last year we visited Ma Larkins' which has sadly now closed, so SuzyBee has suggested a trip to Burford, and I've decided to add in a Hertfordshire loop.
The route runs from Chorleywood, up to Hitchin, then Hemel, then the usual Ricky Run route, including the infamous "dip" and then on to Jack's Hill Cafe. We then eat a hearty breakfast (you need cash to pay for this, none of yer fancy plastic taken here).
From there SuzyBee will take over the lead and will guide us towards the Cotswolds, taking in Fish Hill, and then on to Burford, and then back to Chorleywood, making a total of 266 miles. There will be fuel stops!
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 4 sections, though I can't promise anything on timings.
It's 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 so we can set off promptly at 4.45am.
Fuel: Please arrive with sufficent fuel for the drive (it's about 65 miles to the first fuel stop - I usually use just under a quarter of a tank). As mentioned above, there is a Shell garage a couple of hundred yards from our meeting point but be warned that this is sometimes closed for a delivery, so it's best to fill up the night before.
Weather: This run will go ahead whatever the weather (well maybe not if it's snowing )
SatNav: I have a TomTom/Garmin file of the route available (also available as 4 smaller files as there are 55 waypoints), so PM me your email address if you'd like a copy (established members only). 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: Some folk have mentioned joining en route, which is fine. Here are some meet up points and approximate times.
a) Red Lion, Digswell Hill, Welwyn - 5am Red Lion
b) BP Express Hemel HP2 4TZ - 6am BP Hemel
c) Jack's Hill Cafe Towcester NN12 8ET - 7.30am Jack's Hill
d) Shell Burford OX18 4JF - 10am Shell Burford
Simon and Suzy.
List of attendees here:
Definites
lovegroova
Suzybee
haroonsarwar
AE Jr
MQ
Sazzy
James Rae
Tom08
Paul_J (Only as far as Towcester)
AE Sr
Dembo
Jayboy83
En Route
PaulF & Wifey - Hitchin
FX07 - Red Lion
keith2.2 - Red Lion
Afty - Hemel
unclefester - Towcester
Maybes
Squeak
NineBolts
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.
05-17-2010, 01:07 PM
Druids' 2010 - 27th June
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