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Dale

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Posts posted by Dale

  1. Still, looking on the bright side they will start phasing all petrol out from 2040 (or sooner in some European Countries) so we won't have that worry to contend with anymore! I wonder how many times and for just how long you would have to stop and charge an electric vehicle up for to do a 10CR? Might end up taking 10 days instead of 4, that's progress I suppose. Although there will undoubtedly be exemptions for 'historic vehicles', just how long will people carry on producing and selling the stuff for when they're no longer making a decent profit? Perhaps we will end up having to convert our cars to 'Bendix Power' or just consign them to being display only items like silly number plates.

  2. Nearest one is the Roebuck, literally a few hundred yards from the start. Martin Randle has stayed there several times and rates it as OK or there is the Novotel Knebworth which isn't really in Knebworth but is just off J7 A1M and is where many of us stay after the dinner in March, that's OK too. Both should be bookable online

  3. Quoted from Dale
    Entries received so far are:
    Expert
    1) Steve Radley & Colin Wake
    2) Charlie Deards & Ellis Stokes
    3) Mike Banks & Mark Rutter

    Novice
    1) Annie Andrews & Reg Barton

    Beginner
    1) Mark Bulford & Steve Bamforth



    I have found a fatal flaw in my numbering system - yes, yes a feartal flearw yeau kneau. I 'ave therefore employed the old number system changing ploy........................

  4. On a slightly more serious note entries received so far are:
    Expert
    1) Steve Radley & Colin Wake
    2) Charlie Deards & Ellis Stokes

    Novice
    3) Annie Andrews & Reg Barton

    Beginner
    4) Mark Bulford & Steve Bamforth

    and with a couple more threatened to be in the post that's the halfway mark on entries so it will definitely run - whoopee!

  5. Quoted from sparky_spit


    Every man gets a set of Regs when they get married. When you have to do the washing up; when you are allowed to go out to the shed; when you are cooking dinner; what side of the bed you are sleeping on;  what "I've got a headache" actually means, and all that sort of stuff.

    Don't worry, the book is only about an inch thick.


    Not only are there Regs but you also have to get a licence and that can end up with endorsements on it if you're not careful

  6. Quoted from timbancroft61


    Here, here.

    Nice one, Mr Don

    I am going to miss Mr R on the 10CR.



    I have the distinct feeling that an awful lot of us will periodically suffer the 'trip-up' syndrome, particularly on the 10CR, whereby things will all seem to be going nicely when we suddenly trip ourselves up and have a 'Martin memory moment'. The only good thing is that I expect most of us will have way too many happy memories to allow ourselves to get down about things for too long.

    There in spirit if not in body eh mate?

  7. I'm 95% sure that it is the inhibit switch/adjustment which is, as already stated, the problem here but would suggest you check the wires around the base of the gear lever carefully as I have had a few fray (sometimes internally which is tricky to spot except by feeling for a partial break/weak bendy bit and looking to see if the colour of the insulation looks faded) where they flex and cause similar issues. If nothing else you may as well check and if necessary renew while it's all 'open'.

  8. With 4 days left before the book has to be sent to print the 'ed' team are now into final, final, proofed, revised edited final version 4.3 (no joke - you should see my inbox - no euphemism intended). I will be buying at least half a dozen copies of this riveting book - though I say it myself

  9. Quoted from GT6boy
    What an excellent idea! Silly question but I presume its open to non-members to purchase? I'd be happy to await the initial rush of CT members before my transaction goes through, if nescessary


    The initial print run is for 1000 copies and as far as I'm concerned it's very much first come first served, member or non-member. If we sell out quickly we can always order more if it looks likely that they will sell.

  10. Quoted from mikew


    You just can't jump high enough 😀



    A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (maybe 10 years ago at Bruntingthorpe) I was hitching a ride into Bruntigthorpe with a couple of mates who fly, in a PA38 having contacted B'thorpe and gained permission to land "At Our Discretion" when whilst on finals we saw a number of racing cars using the strip we were trying to land on. B'thorpe ATC weren't answering so we decided to phone them on my mobile. Unfortunately in order to get a signal we had to descend to a height not much greater than Ferny can jump - which was really fun! - so that's quite a narrow vertical band to aim for there, either way.

  11. Speaking as something of an old g*t whose first of 15 to date RBRRs took place back in the eighties (that's the nineteen eighties before anyone says owt!), I think I've done enough to get a bit of a handle on things. On the very first one of these in 1984 I believe, I was stopped by police whilst driving a mate's Vitesse on the M6 in Cumbria. The only reason was curiosity, as we weren't exactly first in line at the time due largely to no overdrive, not any misdemeanour on my part. Apart from making reasonable enquiries then rather less reasonable ones after the questions "Where are you travelling from?" and "Where are you going?" had been answered honestly with "London" and "London" with "Via John o' Groats and Land's End" added by way of explanation, the officer in question then added that he didn't much like the idea of us driving all that way nearly non-stop. I won't go into all the ins and outs here but as you can see even then there were some people in positions of authority who didn't much like the event and it's 'Endurance' aspect, so John's initial point is highly relevant now as it seems it also was, albeit  unbeknownst to him then as well.

    Of my runs to date about half have been in 3 person crews and half 2 person. I can tell you that the 3 person runs have all been much easier but that the 2 man runs were OK too as we knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into and prepared/rested better beforehand. It's when things start going wrong that having the extra person makes the real difference but there's no reason why a 2 person crew can't succesfully finish the event without being shattered. The point about suddenly running out of adrenaline and nodding off halfway home though is valid and if I wasn't fortunate enough to live so close to the start/finish I wouldn't be driving home on the Sunday like many others don't too - this is an increasing trend.

    Having been involved on the margins of organisation on a few of these too I can tell you that although the basic format may not have changed much (long may that continue - it's a winner) there is a steady process of evolution, not revolution, with this event to account for the changing face of motoring in Britain year on year. The organising team are not chosen because they're someone's mate, they're there because each one of them adds something to the whole and makes it a highly professional, well experienced and most capable team - if you dropped a stink bomb on Westminster and got rid of the government, this team could probably sort out all the 'Brexit' bo***x' before the smoke had cleared - that's how good they are. The new start/finish venue, several route revisions and a couple of new control stops don't just happen because someone fancied a change or because the existing ones told us to naff orf, they're all planned as part of the process to smooth the running of the event and circumvent issues previously noted by experience or research.

    With regard to changing the start/finish, moving them around the 'circuit', staggered timings and so forth, these have all been explored before and some at least will be looked at again, but for now at least they simply don't work. If you can't see why that's probably because you haven't spent a considerable time trying to make them work, unlike the organising team, and found out that they actually create more problems than they fix.

    So, what to do? For the foreseeable future I would say leave it to the organising team but if you have a concern, ask them about it. If you are considering taking part for the first time, definitely ask them - "This is no Sunday afternoon jolly to the pub" as a wise man once said. Consider buddying up with an experienced crew if you know of or can find one you get on with and especially if you are in a 2 seat or 'virtual 2 seat' car, there may be a way - insurances permitting - to swap between cars in case of severe tiredness if you have sorted the details before you go. Most importantly though, try to adapt to the event as much as you can, prepare as well as you can and enjoy the experience, being happy takes a lot of the stress out of things and if you're not having a good time maybe this one's not for you - don't try to change it, find another event which suits you better.

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