[Nobbc] Today's drive

Mon Jan 17 13:10:32 MST 2011

Hi Guys,

Good discussion. My 60 year old XK 120 goes pretty darned fast reliably
(especially downhill); drum brakes notwithstanding.  I need my gorilla
arms on hairpins and a little more elbow room to steer hand over hand.
All fun for me. At speed, Lori feels like a bobble doll in an ejection
seat.  I have to remind myself that the ride must be a lot more
thrilling for her! And I prefer to bring my wife than tell her how much
fun I had.  We are looking forward to the Valentine's Day ride.

Okay, off on another tangent: It is really great to meet some of the
FACES behind the NOBBC posts, their significant others, their cars and
stories. One gal had a great suggestion I think, nametags. We see each
other so infrequently, I'd like not to spend half the time trying to
remember names, and an easy way to get acquainted with new members.
Regular members could have reusable tags, adhesive ones for newbies.

Best Regards,

Charlie Saul
52 XK 120 OTS

-----Original Message-----
From: nobbc-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:nobbc-bounces at autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Mike Gianandrea
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 11:48 AM
To: North Bay British Car Club
Subject: Re: [Nobbc] Today's drive

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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