One-Day Drive Out - Sun 30th Sept 2018

Esteemed Enthusiasts of the Stratos Ilk (and partners),

After the success of the drive-out weekend at the beginning of the month, several peeps (OK, it was just more than one) remarked that they thought the route was the best yet. Seeing as I've been stitching these things together for 6 years now, I thought there just might be some merit in that, and once my head had reduced in size so I could get through the door to the computer in the back room, I had a look to see if I could have a go at running it again in a form that could work without a stopover, for anyone who missed out.

So a bit of route-massaging and jiggery-pokery means that in fact it's doable, only this time we'll start off from Tebay services and finish near Penrith. There'll be no stopping off at the air museum either, although I've factored in a rest at Blanchland (a bit over halfway), and it still includes the, er, "interesting" bits ;) Total length is about 155 miles, give or take, but you don't have to do all of that if you don't want. Looking to start at about 10 and finish around 4 (assuming an hour for refreshments and an average speed of 30mph....hahaha).

Yeah, I know it might be too much for anyone further south than the Mersey, but at least it's there for anyone who CAN make it. So if you fancy using up some of the planet's ever-decreasing natural resources while you can still afford 'em, get your name down!

- The Social Norm

Sorry Norm we will be in Italy !

Well we're going down Hadrian's Wall again - that's sort of Italian :)

It's OK, Phil, wouldn't expect anyone from your part of the world to travel so far just to...well...travel a bit more...!

So this event has come and gone. And the response on here was...a big fat zero! So I guess no-one really wants to drive their cars? Not even one person from the North-West? In the end there were 6 cars (none from here, obviously) and one of those travelled from Glasgow, so if he's doing that then they must be fairly OK do's (think he's only missed 2 out of the last 8).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset or having a go, I'm just surprised and puzzled that no-one in a car club is interested in an activity involving the very thing those cars were created for! As I've always said, you don't have to do it in a Stratos or anything that remotely resembles one - on Sunday we had 4 Boxsters, a Focus ST and an Audi A3.

Anyway. Next year I'll be doing one in May (a one-day close re-run of the route from last August that everyone thought was great) and the August one itself, which will involve a hotel and drink and general mayhem. So watch this space for those and start saving your pennies now!

Sounds like the sort of run I would like to join sometime but at the moment I struggle to plan more than about 3 days in advance.