Elan Alpine Raid

[alexblack13]

Convoys..... We used to set a few rules. NO racing being the main one and everyone was encouraged to ride (drive) well within their capabilities. Passing the bike in front was not recommended but if one felt the need for speed then they could get on with it if they wished but never passed the leader. But safety came 1st..

We had a lead bike and a tail end Charlie (TEC). The rider behind lead bike was the 'Marker', & when a junction or turn / direction change came, up the Leader pointed to a safe position for the 'Marker' to pull up and point the way to the rest of the group. The marker stayed put until tail end Charlie came into view and then rejoined the run in front of him. The 'Marker' was instructed to stay in position at all costs and NOT MOVE until TEC arrived. This let everyone ride at their own pace with no pressure to 'keep up' They could ride as slowly as they liked and were never passed by TEC. This generally worked perfectly and only failed when the marker decided to move off (and got lost!) One time our run to the Hull ferry via the non motorway route fell apart when another Pan Euro bike slipped into the middle of our run and no one noticed and then followed him (Home!) It ended with about 6 bikes pulling up outside this guys house.. Havoc... Plan 'B' was then used (MBL phone) to inform the lead bike and arrange a join up....

We should manage to hold a run together ok. All our bikes were GPS and CB radio equipped. Everyone had the exact same routes,knew the destinations and everyone's telephone numbers. Problems were almost non existent.. Great times!

[69S4]

That last pic must have been a while ago Alex - you look so young!

I'm off down to the French Alps next week to sort our flat out for the winter. After two years of using the Elan, this year I'm going by bike and with a bit of luck and some free time I'm hoping to ride a few of the cols while I'm there. Plenty of choice locally - the Galibier is about 20 miles (as the crow flies, a bit further by road) and this one, the Col de Sarenne, is so close the first few miles are part of my running circuit.




I must admit I've never liked the leader and tail-ender convoy system. I recently followed (in our Land Rover) a local advanced riding group of about 10-12 bikes for about 15 miles through the country roads round here and found myself having to adapt my driving and make allowances for the way they were putting it into action. The "marker" blocked the road at every junction, with other bikes pulling up alongside to converse as they passed. They were all big bikes with (presumably) experienced riders but the whole system looked clunky and anything but advanced.

In the spirit of our capitalist economy I've tended to go with the "every man for himself" approach and it's how we ran "Pisquick Tours" in the '70s. Everybody gets a list of "check points" and a suggested route and they make their way along it at their own pace. If a few cars / bikes want to team up and travel together they are free to do so but on the understanding that they are individual units. Years ago you ran the risk of somebody ending up lost in the middle of nowhere and unable to let anyone know but mobiles and sat-nav have reduced that. The speedier drivers / riders got to the evening stop a bit earlier, the slower people were able to trundle along at their own pace.

[alexblack13]

Hi Bud,
Another of our rules was no stopping for natters with the 'Marker' and we had trained everyone NOT to position their bike to cause any obstructions, and with everyone on 2 way CB radio it ran faultlessly. The system is used Pan Clan wide if you like without any issues. WE otherwise ended up without a run and lost bikes everywhere. OH the fun of it!! However it's all in the distant past now..

The pic' is somewhere in the Black Forest I think on a very cold day as I remember, I think some 7 /8 years ago... Carol is now unhappy to go biking since my bypass op', so 4 wheels it is now. The visit up over the grossglockner was in the Z4 (that time).. Been over it a few time now..


Happy days...

Alex....

[JJDraper]

I guess my view of the Stelvio was coloured by going in August and being hassled by Young lads in BMWs (cars) overtaking on blind bends and a great deal of Wha-Hey, then Uh-Oh! See pics taken this summer.. Fortunately I think only pride was damaged. The van didn't stop, by the way. Cyclists going up is one thing, but coming down, I was overtaken by a cyclist, who went on to overtake the motorcylist in front of me....

There are plenty of less well known, but equally challenging passes. Stelvio has length and views, but it attracts all sorts.

Jeremy

[69S4]

I guess my view of the Stelvio was coloured by going in August and being hassled by Young lads in BMWs (cars) overtaking on blind bends and a great deal of Wha-Hey, then Uh-Oh! Cyclists going up is one thing, but coming down, I was overtaken by a cyclist, who went on to overtake the motorcylist in front of me....

There are plenty of less well known, but equally challenging passes. Stelvio has length and views, but it attracts all sorts.

Jeremy

It's not only the Stelvio where cyclists overtake everything in sight, you'll get it on most of the big passes (and a number of the not so big), in France anyway. Pic below shows me being overtaken. I was on a 600cc motorcycle and not hanging about (don't ask how I got the picture )

[rmd24]

How about this as an idea. A long way I know but----

http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/e ... iques.html

Roger

[alexblack13]

OH yes!!!

Well into the consideration box...

Various options being considered.... That will def' be a possible

Al' .......

[rmd24]

Anybody had any more thoughts about this? Still seems like a good ides to me.

Roger

[alexblack13]

Carol and I are just considering our options tour wise this year. Just not sure as there are so many different Lotus events on. Everything from Le Mans Classic to the silverstone event. We are trying hard to arrange to go to Silverstone now and we have ruled out Le mans (we think) as the only options still available accom' wise is via 'packages' .... !!!! Why o Why does club lotus put this into the hands of profit making orginizations????

Anyway.. We didn't fancy the costs involved in doing this (nearly 2k? per person with one of these companies!!!) So we kinda ruled it out..

An Alps trip sounds great and we are well up for it. Problem with us is that we want to use our other sports car (not the Elan) as this might be our last chance to do a trip using it as it might be sold next year! A Motor Caravan is on the menu for when we retire you see..

Have to get on with it soon though.. But if we do tour this year it will probably be in the Boxster...

Alex...