[Nobbc] Today's drive

[Greg Tatarian]

  Agreed, Mike, which is why Trish and I have to Lotuses and know how to 
drive them.

On the other hand, we are a club of drivers with varied levels of skill 
and/or desire, and cars with varied levels of preparedness. Is there any 
room in our desire for sportiness to listen to comments from members 
(and past members) who have the nerve to bring it up, or do we want to 
just tell them to go away without ever telling those of us who organize 
the drives? I got strong comments from Dean a few years back when I led 
a very large group and after a late start left some participants behind, 
and I took that to heart. We aren't a race club, we're a classic British 
car club.

As another example, we used to have a member with a superb TR3 who also 
races a Formula 1/3000 car at 180 mph, who stopped attending the drives 
because they tended to go too fast for the drum brake cars. He gets his 
speed kicks on the track, and doesn't go nuts on the street. He told me 
why he left the club, as have about 7 other folks, so it's probably not 
about driving "a little sporty", but driving beyond where the driver or 
passenger of that car is comfortable. We can accommodate the full range, 
I believe, if we are at all willing to listen to the few who make the 
effort to say something, rather than just disappear.

I'm not trying to say anyone else shouldn't drive "sporty", but I think 
it's worth establishing if we're trying to exclude those who have 
different skill levels, speed of car, or outlook on how to participate 
when on a club drive. As far as my own culpability, I've lead GGLC 
drives at greater speeds than any NOBBC drives, but the group, 
expectations, cars, and circumstances have been different. During my 
driver's briefings, I tell the group that I'm splitting it into fast and 
slow
groups, that anyone who feels like they are pushing it too much should 
let themselves be passed where safe, but also that we want to stay as a 
group (or groups) as much as possible, and that blind turns, long 
downhills, bicycle routes, and streets with lots of driveways will slow 
the group down.

I'm glad there is discussion about this. My original comment was meant 
privately for Dan, but this is worth discussing, and has come up in our 
other clubs - both Lotus and Alfa. It seemed like a good opportunity to 
mention the views of past members who no longer participate...

Cheers,

Greg





On 1/17/2011 10:24 AM, Mike Gianandrea wrote:
> What the hell is the point of having a 'SPORTS CAR' if you do not want 
> to drive a little sporty. I would hate to discourage anyone from 
> coming out to show and drive thier beloved lbc's, whether it is rough 
> and wrinkled, as nice as Andy's beautifully restored MGA, or anywhere 
> in between. But these cars were made to enjoy, physically and 
> esthetically. And besides, I can't say that I have acutally seen any 
> of our club rides get anywhere near out of hand speed wise, they have 
> all been pretty mild mannered as far as I can recall. In fact, the 
> best ride I can remember was the ride to the cheese factory, 
> afterwards, having fun following Wendell in his Morgan, and Sarteau in 
> his Lotus zipping in the back road to D Street in Petaluma after the 
> ride. It may well be a good idea to split  the groups into two halves, 
> allowing each driver to choose his style. To Ron, petal to metal, just 
> 'keep it between the navigational boowies', as the saying goes.
>
> Michael
> 64 TR4
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Tatarian" <gtwincams at gmail.com>
> To: "North Bay British Car Club" <nobbc at autox.team.net>
> Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 9:40 AM
> Subject: Re: [Nobbc] Today's drive
>
>
>>  D'OH!!
>>
>> I hate it when I do that!
>>
>> Sorry John, sorry Ron. 'Twas not meant for airing publicly.
>>
>> That being said, I've seen a number of members who have left our 
>> drives, if not the membership list, because our drives often get too 
>> "sporty", including most recently one couple in an MGA on their first 
>> drive with us who turned around in the middle sometime last year, and 
>> from whom we've never heard a peep from since. We've also lost 
>> members to the WCC who have told me that overly sporty driving was 
>> the reason they no longer participate. Of course, this may also just 
>> be the result of aging of drivers who no longer want to push it as we 
>> often may like to on our drives.
>>
>> Seeing this effect has prompted me, when leading the Lotus club 
>> drives, to split the group into two - those who want to go fast and 
>> those who do not. It requires a leader for each group who know the 
>> route and destination, but keeps each of the groups together, which 
>> is supposed to be why we get together as a group anyhow. That way the 
>> faster drivers get their kicks, but those who don't want to push it 
>> as much still have the chance to participate as a group. I think many 
>> of us like to push ourselves and our cars from time to time, but we 
>> don't want to cause accidents or hit a bicyclist, etc., and some of 
>> us carry passengers who don't appreciate being flung around the cars.
>>
>> Having inadvertently sent that public critique of you Ron, let me 
>> also publicly state how much we appreciate the efforts you make with 
>> the club, keeping everyone motivated, and also, keeping the group 
>> together on the drives, which you have been very good about these 
>> last couple of years. It's especially not easy when there is a big 
>> turnout, so good job. I know when the group gets smaller, it is more 
>> enticing to open the throttle a bit.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Greg
>>
>> On 1/17/2011 9:27 AM, Ron Engelhardt wrote:
>>> Hey! We were at the speed limit all the way except got a little 
>>> "sporty" on St.Helena Rd after the ride, a road these cars were 
>>> built for! The road was damp but not particularly slippery, maybe 
>>> John needs to add an MG to his collection ;-0
>>>
>>> Ron
>>> 58 MGA
>>>
>>> Greg Tatarian wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Yes, John said it got a little too lively for his tastes when the 
>>>> roads got wet. Seems like Ron doesn't exercise much caution these 
>>>> days.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Greg
>>>>
>>>>> Dan
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>> __