Turnout for the 8am RV at Farnham was good: 10 cars and their willing participants.Temperature was a bit cool ... but that'll be the season then. So, a crisp start.
Roll call:
Andy of Coastal Command made his legendary 'pre blat' blat up from Worthing and came dressed in his ski gear.Very pessimistic/hopeful so soon after the recent drop in temperature!
Also in formation : Ian H , now more well known as 'Wolfie' after a tragic predictive text message that has left him with a tirade of themed remarks and accusations of other after dark activities.
The new Mr and Mrs 'Wilto' Wiltshire both joined the blat (cruelly prized from the grapplings of the marital bed, arrived with blankets and coverings ...presumably from that very bed).
A cross section of our local area 7 club members (ReHab) made up the remaining number along with the lone Solent Sevener, Trevor, in the fireblade 7... who was to lead the group on the ensuing main blat route... and most of us right off the map!
A swift spin down to Alresford, a pretty town woken in the crisp morning to 15 Caterham 7's as they manoeuvred in the main square for the RV with the Newbury group, who arrived at exactly the same time... all tightly planned of course by Jon Croft of military mind.
All too soon,Trev of the 'blade selected a sequential heap of gears and fled as the head of the blat, promising to show us selected routes in 'his' territory... 3 cars at the back were missing within 3 miles!
Low sun, narrow roads and the blind resolve to pursue anything of familiar 7 shaped outline up ahead, kept the senses sharpened. Only the Indian tracker equivalent of bent grass stalks that are the tell tale signs of a recently hooning 7 : the 'paused-to-cross dog walker (with strangling spinning dog on lead)' or 'stopped and looking behind cyclist' give any indication that this could be the right direction.
Quick check behind, Wolfie's there then !!
Junctions appear and are guessed at as a glimpse of something low and familiar just slips from sightline up ahead. There's three up ahead and 5 behind ... that'll be three missing: the lead pack of hounds. A cross roads, the three in front raise hands of surrender, I dive past and break right (it's got to be south here, further behind Trev's lines so he can really up the pace!), it was, we open the taps and climb the straight passed Loomies.
Our two wheel motorbike cousins, basking in a seal colony of leathers on the shoreline of the car park, turn from their sweet teas at the familiar yowl of Trev's full Honda Fireblade rev range, but find no source for their reference: something pink with four wheels and only 3o inches high is not a match they'll make today.
We know what hybrid we're dealing with , which is why we can't follow him and keep the man behind in sight, which is the normal 'Blatiquette' you understand. This is one Pied Piper that isn't going to have many rats to lead to the watery end.
More to follow- here's some pics in the meantime.
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