[Nobbc] Today's drive

Mon Jan 17 12:48:04 MST 2011

You know what they say Greg, 'Girls just want to have fun', so do I. But my 
real reason to participate in our club is to appreciate the beautiful cars, 
and their owners. Whether  we go fast or slow, I love it when we have a good 
turn out and assortment of cars, and I love how our members appreciate and 
take care of their cars, it shows. Any of us can go as fast as we want after 
the ride, and I usually do. See you soon.

Michael
64 TR4

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Tatarian" <gtwincams at gmail.com>
To: <nobbc at autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 10:48 AM
Subject: Re: [Nobbc] Today's drive

>  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
>>>>>
>>>>> __
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