Jul 25 (Sun): Bunch of Hunts
Jul 25 (Sun): Bunch of Hunts
I am borrowing liberally from Tim's excellent organisational techniques, as I have none of my own.
Important update: Please note that I have arranged that they will start serving the starters at noon. The pub will be open from about 11:30 but will only be serving soft drinks until noon.
The run will start from the Three Horseshoes in Abbots Ripton at 12:00 noon on Sunday 25 July and traverse some of my favourite back roads in the area. Due to the large number of federales I have seen around lately, we won't be indulging in any straight-line lunacy, however, I hope that the route I've chosen will be sufficiently challenging to keep us all amused.
Menu:
I apologise for the rather "straightforward" nature of the menu, as I had to take it down over the phone. I will be test driving the food before we go to make sure it's reasonably up to snuff.
Starters (all £4.50):
Avocado and Norwegian shrimp salad
Soup of the day
Chicken liver pate
Salmon and haddock fish cake
Main courses (all £9.50):
Roast beef with trimmings
Roast lamb with trimmings
Roast pork with trimmings
Sea bass with cucumber butter sauce, vegetables and potatoes
Aubergine and sweet potato Thai green curry
Desserts (all £4.50):
Sticky toffee pudding
Pear and almond tart
A selection of ice creams
English cheese board with grapes and biscuits
The route has been finalised (or it would be if Zmurf stopped making good suggestions! ), I have undertaken a test drive to assess timings. Please note that one of the comfort breaks will take place at the Flag Fen Bronze Age Museum. In order to use their facilities, they would greatly appreciate a small donation. They also have a shop where you can buy cold drinks and so on.
The run should start at 13:00 and will involve about 4 hours of driving and 1 hour of breaks at various places, leading to a finish time of about 18:00. However, since we will always be close to either the A1 or the A14, there should be no problems with peeling off slightly earlier if you need to!
The route to Abbots Ripton is as follows:
1. Find the A14.
From the North: take the A1 south past Peterborough and Sawtry, then fork off (fnaar!) left to Huntingdon.WATCH OUT FOR COPS ON THIS STRETCH OF ROAD! They like to park an "Active Safety Vehicle" (lying bar stewards!) on one of the bridges over this stretch. Take the Huntingdon offramp and take the first exit at the roundabout (A141 March).
From the South: take the A1 north past St Neots and take the A14 turnoff. At the roundabout, take the fourth exit towards Huntingdon. At the next roundabout, take the second exit (A141 March) -- make sure you are in the left hand lane!
From the South East: Take the M11 north past Cambridge until it becomes the A14. Keep going past Godmanchester and then take the A14 / A141 exit. At the roundabout, take the third exit (A141 March).
2. Find Abbots Ripton.
At the next roundabout, there is a Shell garage -- strongly recommend filling up there. The best way to get into the Shell is to go straight across the roundabout and turn right as soon as you exit the roundabout. When you have filled up, come out the way you came in and turn right. Go straight across the next roundabout and you will come to a roundabout with a Tesco diagonally to the right in front of you. Turn Left towards Abbot's Ripton. Enjoy this road, it is one of my favourites.
As you come in to Abbots Ripton, you will see the Three Horseshoes as the road bends to the left, the entrance is on the right -- it is painted ochre (brown) and I will try to leave my Red Zed prominently displayed.
If anybody is coming from somewhere where those routes don't give any pointers, let me know via a PM.
Some philosophical points:
1. This is my back yard, I do not intend to s*** in it if I can help it! Plus, I've seen too many cops out of late.
2. I like corners, this run is not about straight line speed. I like to maintain a speed and a flowing drive.
3. Having said that: my car is older than yours, and it copes just fine with the corners at the speeds I'll be doing. (Broad hint for slow drivers )
4. Do not expect high quality scenery; this is the Fens...
How to join in
Please email me at spokey at btconnect dot com if you are interested in attending with details of
- your message board username (e.g. Zmurf)
- name of driver and passenger (e.g. Tim and Irene Cullis)
- model, colour and reg number (e.g. M roadster 3.2, Laguna Seca Blue, A4 TRC)
- mobile phone number (e.g. 07999 999999)
I will then add you to the list below of confirmed participants. I need to confirm lunch numbers in advance (veggie options available), so please don't just turn up on the day, or cancel without reasonable warning.
Confirmed participants so far are:
Spokey - Z1
Zmurf - Shotgunning in Z1
Delboy and Max - Boxster
Tony and Reet - Z3
Sammy - 4-seater M Roadster
Nikki - M Roadster
Alfie and Diane - Z3
Bloke - Z3
Giles and Ms Photoshop - ACS
Bart and Sarah - Z3
Big Mr P and Amanda - M Roadster
Gazza and Steve (sweepers) - and honorary Z drivers for the day in an MR2
Unconfirmed participants so far are:
Lorraine
RobBruce and Mrs RB
TheCrown
Gary and Joanne
Important update: Please note that I have arranged that they will start serving the starters at noon. The pub will be open from about 11:30 but will only be serving soft drinks until noon.
The run will start from the Three Horseshoes in Abbots Ripton at 12:00 noon on Sunday 25 July and traverse some of my favourite back roads in the area. Due to the large number of federales I have seen around lately, we won't be indulging in any straight-line lunacy, however, I hope that the route I've chosen will be sufficiently challenging to keep us all amused.
Menu:
I apologise for the rather "straightforward" nature of the menu, as I had to take it down over the phone. I will be test driving the food before we go to make sure it's reasonably up to snuff.
Starters (all £4.50):
Avocado and Norwegian shrimp salad
Soup of the day
Chicken liver pate
Salmon and haddock fish cake
Main courses (all £9.50):
Roast beef with trimmings
Roast lamb with trimmings
Roast pork with trimmings
Sea bass with cucumber butter sauce, vegetables and potatoes
Aubergine and sweet potato Thai green curry
Desserts (all £4.50):
Sticky toffee pudding
Pear and almond tart
A selection of ice creams
English cheese board with grapes and biscuits
The route has been finalised (or it would be if Zmurf stopped making good suggestions! ), I have undertaken a test drive to assess timings. Please note that one of the comfort breaks will take place at the Flag Fen Bronze Age Museum. In order to use their facilities, they would greatly appreciate a small donation. They also have a shop where you can buy cold drinks and so on.
The run should start at 13:00 and will involve about 4 hours of driving and 1 hour of breaks at various places, leading to a finish time of about 18:00. However, since we will always be close to either the A1 or the A14, there should be no problems with peeling off slightly earlier if you need to!
The route to Abbots Ripton is as follows:
1. Find the A14.
From the North: take the A1 south past Peterborough and Sawtry, then fork off (fnaar!) left to Huntingdon.WATCH OUT FOR COPS ON THIS STRETCH OF ROAD! They like to park an "Active Safety Vehicle" (lying bar stewards!) on one of the bridges over this stretch. Take the Huntingdon offramp and take the first exit at the roundabout (A141 March).
From the South: take the A1 north past St Neots and take the A14 turnoff. At the roundabout, take the fourth exit towards Huntingdon. At the next roundabout, take the second exit (A141 March) -- make sure you are in the left hand lane!
From the South East: Take the M11 north past Cambridge until it becomes the A14. Keep going past Godmanchester and then take the A14 / A141 exit. At the roundabout, take the third exit (A141 March).
2. Find Abbots Ripton.
At the next roundabout, there is a Shell garage -- strongly recommend filling up there. The best way to get into the Shell is to go straight across the roundabout and turn right as soon as you exit the roundabout. When you have filled up, come out the way you came in and turn right. Go straight across the next roundabout and you will come to a roundabout with a Tesco diagonally to the right in front of you. Turn Left towards Abbot's Ripton. Enjoy this road, it is one of my favourites.
As you come in to Abbots Ripton, you will see the Three Horseshoes as the road bends to the left, the entrance is on the right -- it is painted ochre (brown) and I will try to leave my Red Zed prominently displayed.
If anybody is coming from somewhere where those routes don't give any pointers, let me know via a PM.
Some philosophical points:
1. This is my back yard, I do not intend to s*** in it if I can help it! Plus, I've seen too many cops out of late.
2. I like corners, this run is not about straight line speed. I like to maintain a speed and a flowing drive.
3. Having said that: my car is older than yours, and it copes just fine with the corners at the speeds I'll be doing. (Broad hint for slow drivers )
4. Do not expect high quality scenery; this is the Fens...
How to join in
Please email me at spokey at btconnect dot com if you are interested in attending with details of
- your message board username (e.g. Zmurf)
- name of driver and passenger (e.g. Tim and Irene Cullis)
- model, colour and reg number (e.g. M roadster 3.2, Laguna Seca Blue, A4 TRC)
- mobile phone number (e.g. 07999 999999)
I will then add you to the list below of confirmed participants. I need to confirm lunch numbers in advance (veggie options available), so please don't just turn up on the day, or cancel without reasonable warning.
Confirmed participants so far are:
Spokey - Z1
Zmurf - Shotgunning in Z1
Delboy and Max - Boxster
Tony and Reet - Z3
Sammy - 4-seater M Roadster
Nikki - M Roadster
Alfie and Diane - Z3
Bloke - Z3
Giles and Ms Photoshop - ACS
Bart and Sarah - Z3
Big Mr P and Amanda - M Roadster
Gazza and Steve (sweepers) - and honorary Z drivers for the day in an MR2
Unconfirmed participants so far are:
Lorraine
RobBruce and Mrs RB
TheCrown
Gary and Joanne
Last edited by spokey on Thu 22 Jul, 2004 17:20, edited 37 times in total.
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
25th July pls
can't do other dates...
Would love to go....
But here's a potentially stupid question, which area of England are we talking about for this cruise??
Cheers,
Lorraine
Z3 3.0
Lorraine
Z3 3.0
Re: Would love to go....
Hunts = Huntingdonshire. It's a bit of an elastic definition though ... not strictly accurate!Lorraine wrote:But here's a potentially stupid question, which area of England are we talking about for this cruise??
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
It's roughly based around Huntingdon, which is a) just south of Peterborough and b) sort of north west of Cambridge. But like I say, it's a bit of an elastic term in my house.
We'll be starting off in Abbots Ripton, if anyone want to get pedantic.
We'll be starting off in Abbots Ripton, if anyone want to get pedantic.
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Boh
In the diary already.
Any more details Spoke Doggy man?
Lorraine, it's about 120 miles from us, so 170 from you down the A1 basically. Nice open flat corners (so you can see round some of them) in some parts. How's the new job?
Any more details Spoke Doggy man?
Lorraine, it's about 120 miles from us, so 170 from you down the A1 basically. Nice open flat corners (so you can see round some of them) in some parts. How's the new job?
someone in a minority once wrote:I know I'm in a minority
Re: Boh
Not yet. But as I said before, we'll be heading off from Abbots Ripton, so you can start planning how you'll get there.Stu wrote:Any more details Spoke Doggy man?
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
its in the diary as well for us
nice one
Bump!
I have severely altered the original post -- please go to the top of this thread and have a look.
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Hopefully - got to get some of the special "SpokeMeister" driver training again - aka hold onto your hats
You gonna come to the "soon to be announced" OAST ones in Kent?
You gonna come to the "soon to be announced" OAST ones in Kent?
Last edited by DavidM on Thu 10 Jun, 2004 19:23, edited 1 time in total.
My new Z4 is scheduled for dealer pickup the following week, so assuming I've sold Zmurf by then I will be car-less on that date. I'll gladly act as your navigator, Spokey, but can I have a steering wheel on MY side of the car as well?
Tim
Tim
Last edited by Zmeagol on Tue 15 Jun, 2004 17:06, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Jul 25 (Sun): Bunch of Hunts
For that you'll just have to wait and seespokey wrote:Giles and Larri (yeah, right! )
I don't know. My social schedule is filling rapidly...DavidM (King Of Chrome) wrote:Hopefully - got to get some of the special "SpokeMeister" driver training again - aka hold onto your hats
You gonna come to the "soon to be announced" OAST ones in Kent?
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Yeah, I think I've still got my daughter's old Tonka Toys one...Zmurf wrote:My new Z4 is scheduled for dealer pickup the following week, so assuming I've sold Zmurf by then I will be car-less on that date. I'll gladly act as your navigator, Spokey, but can I have a steering wheel on MY side of the car as well?
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Errrrr..... This is a joke, right? "Planning"?DavidM (King Of Chrome) wrote:Da Spoke, what time you planning finishing it?
According to Autoroute, 6PM. But -- at no stage will we be very far from the A1, so you can peel off at any time; and I believe Autoroute's timings are .... conservative?
I've done this sort of route dozens of times, and it never seems to take that long. But maybe it's just the timeflies.
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Re: Jul 25 (Sun): Bunch of Hunts
Cheque's in the post, eh?Giles wrote:For that you'll just have to wait and seespokey wrote:Giles and Larri (yeah, right! )
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Spokey,
I would have loved to attend this as I grew up in Huntingdon and know these roads quite well, unfortunately the father in law gets married that weekend (dont ask) so I hope you have a good day and decide to make this an annual event, if this is the case please give us plenty of notice of next years date.
Regards Mark & Francesca
I would have loved to attend this as I grew up in Huntingdon and know these roads quite well, unfortunately the father in law gets married that weekend (dont ask) so I hope you have a good day and decide to make this an annual event, if this is the case please give us plenty of notice of next years date.
Regards Mark & Francesca
Its a beautiful thing
Mark & Francesca
Mark & Francesca
Actually, it's going to be a bit more than annual. I've already sussed the route for my next one. However, I have to prepare for the "Norfolk and good" one first...T35KCX wrote:Spokey,
I would have loved to attend this as I grew up in Huntingdon and know these roads quite well, unfortunately the father in law gets married that weekend (dont ask) so I hope you have a good day and decide to make this an annual event, if this is the case please give us plenty of notice of next years date.
See you soon, and enjoy the wedding!
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
- Runroadster
- Joined: Tue 18 Nov, 2003 01:18
- Posts: 177
- Location: Stanmore
- Contact:
Bunch of Hunts
Hi Spokey we're up for it.
The beautiful thing about learning, is no one can take it away from you. Tony & Reet.
How to join in
Please email me at spokey at btconnect dot com if you are interested in attending with details of
- your message board username (e.g. Zmurf)
- name of driver and passenger (e.g. Tim and Irene Cullis)
- model, colour and reg number (e.g. M roadster 3.2, Laguna Seca Blue, A4 TRC)
- mobile phone number (e.g. 07999 999999)
Please email me at spokey at btconnect dot com if you are interested in attending with details of
- your message board username (e.g. Zmurf)
- name of driver and passenger (e.g. Tim and Irene Cullis)
- model, colour and reg number (e.g. M roadster 3.2, Laguna Seca Blue, A4 TRC)
- mobile phone number (e.g. 07999 999999)
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Bump!
The menu has been provided! Please check out the top post of this thread and lets have some more Zs, please! I still don't have a single Z4!!!
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Re: Bump!
Zmurf wrote:We're actually passing less than a mile away from my childhood home, and I haven't asked for a detour...spokey wrote:The route has been finalised (or it would be if Zmurf stopped making good suggestions)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Autoroute file available
I have the final route available on Autoroute. Please EMAIL me if you want a copy of it. Do not PM me, as I can't reply with the file via PM.
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
I did a test run of the route on Saturday to iron out any niggles and to get an impartial opinion of the route. I think it's a cracker (as did my co-pilot), and the scenery actually wasn't too awful either.
However, it is a 4-hour drive without stops, so to make it complete at a reasonable time, I would strongly recommend that you aim to get to the pub by 11:45 at the latest. They will not be able to serve alcohol, but will be able to sell soft drinks (if I understood them correctly) and are planning to start serving the starters at 12:00 noon sharp!
So far, so good!
However, it is a 4-hour drive without stops, so to make it complete at a reasonable time, I would strongly recommend that you aim to get to the pub by 11:45 at the latest. They will not be able to serve alcohol, but will be able to sell soft drinks (if I understood them correctly) and are planning to start serving the starters at 12:00 noon sharp!
So far, so good!
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Woo-hoo!Surj wrote:As you know I am hoping to be there - just wanted to make it official...
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Slow Confirmation
Hey Spokey.
Yeah, me n' The Zed'll be there, but the wife can't make it.
I'll be digging out a different seatcover for this doo.
Cheers!
Alfie.
Yeah, me n' The Zed'll be there, but the wife can't make it.
I'll be digging out a different seatcover for this doo.
Cheers!
Alfie.
Last edited by Alfie on Fri 02 Jul, 2004 09:59, edited 3 times in total.
Does your wife know about this?
Last edited by spokey on Sun 11 Jul, 2004 00:38, edited 1 time in total.
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
I'm ashamed to say that I've changed my mind about the route again. I was driving home from Peterborough today in the 7 and decided to explore a little...
I'm sure you'll all forgive me when you see the added bit of road!
I'm sure you'll all forgive me when you see the added bit of road!
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Some _thing_?Bloke wrote:You didnt really scare Vicky off, she has something else to occupy her time now!!!
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?
Suspicious!!!
Your a little bit suspicious arent you!!!
New Boyfriend!!!
Bloke
ps, its her 25th birthday party tomorrow, I can send her your wishes!!
New Boyfriend!!!
Bloke
ps, its her 25th birthday party tomorrow, I can send her your wishes!!
Roll up! Roll up!
I'm being nagged by the pub to confirm numbers. As it stands, we're at 16 people, any last minute takers?
Ciao,
Spokey
Spokey
jackal on PH wrote:i love your profile... an endless pornographic paroxysm of the letters BMW
do you actually like driving at all or are cars to you just a manifestation of some sort of pathological mother complex ?