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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 three 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.
The route runs from Chorleywood, up to Hitchin, across to Leighton Buzzard where there will be a comfort break, then down to Berkhamstead , and then the usual Ricky Run route, including the infamous "dip" and then on to The Super Sausage Cafe. We then eat a hearty breakfast (you need cash to pay for this, none of yer fancy plastic taken here).
From there, we will take the route the Midlands folk take down to the Super Sausage up to Southam and then a lovely stretch of the Fosse Way. Near Shipston on Stour, 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 270 miles. There is a Shell at the starting point, and another one about a mile from The Super Sausage, which is the best place to fill up.
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.
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 70 miles to the first fuel stop. 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. There is a Shell about a mile from The Super Sausage so you can fill up your car at the same time as you fill up yourself.
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, 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 - 5.10am Red Lion
b) Hitchin - 5.25am Hitchin c) Total Fuel Leighton Buzzard LU7 9HH- 6.00am Total Fuel Leighton Buzzard
d) Super Sausage Cafe, Potterspury - 8.05am Super Sausage
e) Fish Hill Rest stop - 10.30am Fish Hill
Photographer/navigator/walkie talkies: If anyone's up for it, I'd love to have an official photographer/videographer 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. Does anyone have some walkie-talkies we might borrow for the run, as a "just in case" backup? If so, let me know.
Simon and Sue.
List of attendees here:
Definites
lovegroova
Suzybee
Sazzy
MQ AE Jayboy83 The Loon James Rae Chris Harris Le Sau
Dembo
NineBolts
En Route
Hitchin - PaulF and Wifey, gee-money, Bokkie & JK, Heston Leighton Buzzard - Senninha1994 Super Sausage - Midlands crew (simonix, K G CLE, wheels72, Plastic91)
Maybes riccardo
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.
04-10-2011, 11:59 AM
Druids' 2011 - 26th June
