26th March, Ace Cafe, Chelsea Cruise, Tunnel Run.

[Derek]

Ace Cafe 4pm

Chelsea Bridge 8pm

Tunnel Run 10pm

Route for the tunnel run is as follows, thanks to Dave Williams.


Good evening! The following suggested route has been planned to see some sights, hopefully avoid too much traffic and also to entertain

Saturday Night London.

The local constabulary have been informed due to the number of cars, so please obey traffic laws, speed limits and traffic lights, and remember to smile for the cameras!

So, it’s 10pm, so head southbound to the Prince Of Wales roundabout, and make the left under the bridge, through the lights and head towards Vauxhall Cross.

Turn right to do a lap of Vauxhall Station immediately after the bus station, and keep right through the tunnels and then back through the lights onto the Embankment (MI5 on the left and Texaco station on the right) and carry on along the south side of the Thames.

Pass Lambeth Bridge, Waterloo Station and the London Eye, then at the roundabout take the 3rd exit ('cos the road ahead is shut) and head down Waterloo Road to the next junction and turn left into The Cut, (Old Vic Theatre on the corner).

Take it easy over the speed bumps and then take the left at Southwark Underground Station onto Blackfriars Road and head up to the lights, where we turn right to go under that bridge over there onto Southwark Street.

Carry on until the road starts to go left to London Bridge, but look for the sign that says 'Tower Bridge, Bermondsey, B200’, as then we turn right into St Thomas Street (don’t cross the bridge or you'll get very lost!), as then it’s time to turn left into the tunnels coming up on the left for a lap (or two) of Stainer Street and Weston Street.

Out of the tunnels and its back heading east to carry on ready to turn left onto Tower Bridge, watch the 20 mph average speed cameras, and remember to smile for the tourists, even at this time of the night!

Keep left as then it’s left down to Lower Thames Street and through the tunnel all the way along The Embankment to Parliament Square.

Take the left over Westminster Bridge, around the IMAX roundabout onto Stamford Street then left at the 24 hour Food and Wine into Chicheley Street to park up for a rest/photo opportunity at the London Eye.

Then it’s back onto the route via Concert Hall Approach (looks like a pavement) and immediately left onto Waterloo Bridge.

Stay to the right as it’s down into the Aldwych Underpass. When you’re up onto Kingsway stay heading north in a straight line, around Russell Square, left at the Post Ofice, then past the Hilton Euston up to the lights at the top where we turn left at Prezzo onto Euston Road.

After coming out of the underpass, get in the left lane as we’re about to turn left after Portland Place Underground Station into Park Crescent and then take the next left and then all the way down Portland Place, where we pass the Langham Hilton, the BBC and then cross over Oxford Street (Top Shop and Oxford Circus Underground) onto Regent Street.

Get ready as we’re turning right at the second lights (after Liberty and Desigual, opposite GAP, Clark’s Shoes on the corner) into Conduit Street.

Carry on all the way across New Bond Street onto Bruton Street into Berkeley Square where it’s left at the Bentley showroom, right at the bottom of the square (unless you want to do a lap for the folks) and then left into Fitzmaurice Place.

Almost immediately into Curzon Street it’s left onto Bolton Street before the zebra crossing and down to the lights and turn right onto Piccadilly.

Keep going through the Piccadilly Underpass, through Knightsbridge, then all the way onto the M4 until there’s a sign saying ‘Heathrow Terminals 1,2 &3’ as that’s where we come off to go in and out of the airport!

Off at the junction, down all the way into the southbound tunnel, around the bus station then follow the signs for M4, London, etc and back through the northbound tunnel up to the M4.

Back up at the M4 its London bound to Heston Services for the end of the 40 miles adventure around the big city on a Saturday night.

[scott]

if you print the route out dad i can just follow you!!

[Anonymous]

Del, who organised this? I cant go anyway as I am out for dinner but I already had an invite to this and wasnt going to go anyway for certain reasons. Now I see you are inviting, which would have changed things.

[RobTwin]

Just the Ace for us

Anyone else meeting there before heading off to Chelski?

[Derek]

[quote="Derek"]

Tunnel Run 10pm

Route for the tunnel run is as follows, thanks to Dave Williams.


quote]


Clive, there's a clue here.

[Dave999]

cushdy

dave

[Anonymous]

Tunnel Run 10pm

Route for the tunnel run is as follows, thanks to Dave Williams.


quote]


Clive, there's a clue here.

I am sure a 'couple' of people emailed me inviting me to 'their' tunnel run.

[Ivor]

Perhaps you were using the wrong password Clivey!

See you at Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons then...

[Derek]

Tunnel Run 10pm

Route for the tunnel run is as follows, thanks to Dave Williams.


quote]


Clive, there's a clue here.

I am sure a 'couple' of people emailed me inviting me to 'their' tunnel run.

Now I wonder who that could have been

[Philth]

So, Clivey and Ivor going out for a meal? How romantic....

[Dave999]

well had a very good day

Uneventful drive to the Ace, twickenham to stonebridge 25 minutes via Brentford, Ealing broadway and Acton, makes a change from the A406 or M25.
Ace was cold but car park pretty full
said hello to everyone
good chats all round
burgers are nice
cheese burgers are nicer
cheese and chilli burgers even better
cup o tea (big)

off to Chelsea
everyone has vague idea how to get there but all opt to convoy
following Scott ended at the first petrol station we passed, no way was a convoy of 15 going to fit in the shell at hangar lane
end up leading a small contingent down to the A4 and into knightsbridge
paranoid about missing the turning to sloan square
badly needing a wee
didn't think the happy shoppers would appreciate the unrinary equivelent of a drive by, but giggling about the idea takes my mind off the matter at hand
check the rear view
No JohnS and followers (green dart i think)
where'd they go...i'd been so careful not to dash through any lights on the amber
i'm alone in Knightsbridge
and what the hell happend to them???!.. (eletcrical fault i later hear. stuck at a set of lights, no fun for Mr S)
i'm bustin
the traffic is horrendous
dig out sat nav from under seat
the sat nav says i have to go left left left in order to turn right
Ignore
turn right
off....yee-ha
down to sloan square
every set of lights makes my bladder burst
onto the bridge
loads of space to park
half full....
think! petrol and pee
there's a Shell or BP down the bottom of the road
it's shut
sat nav for next petrol and pee
takes me to cringle dock and the back of battersea power station....
No garage here.....what the... maybe there was in 2001 Map out of date

out for a pee in the dark its spooky down here
leave engine running

3 blokes in a transit drift past? i don't think the civic amenity site is open at 8 pm on a sturday night. well suss.

Ive been ages now
bet the bridge is full

sat nav again next pertol station
takes me down to vauxhall and over the bridge
petrol on the north side and back to the bridge

park up
it is full now
car facing the correct way for tunnel run?? dunno but think so

Good natter
get instructions for tunnel run
they are in tiny tiny writing
much consternation from the blind and half sighted
bloke asks for a set in braille
organiser dashes off and comes back with big font version for all...

yay

trepidation sets in
1) my car is pratically in chelsea (chelsea bridge is not), its so far away
2) everyone else has a navigator

get the Johns, Mustang boys, and Scott+gang to save me a space move car up to space nearer park gates
Mickey is taken
every time i try to get out a bus comes past
Scott stops traffic
red faced Dave is usherd to saftey of the footpath


Cav is facing wrong way
executes nifty manouver that holds up most traffic for a good while
and reverses into park..

we are off
mad dash to get in and started
headlights won't work
sit idling
lights come on by themselves a bit later!!!!! thank god
we are off
Scott/JohnR and Cav in front
new mussy or something behind
mad dash chaos and gnashing of teeth
round the rounderbout twice to pick up stragglers
Cav gets a massive roll going looks like hes about to lift a back wheel.

first few sets of lights are chaos nobody wants to get left behind.
lights are jumped
lanes crossed in erratic fasion
but all of us make it round vauxhall and along the south side into a set of tunnels where we all get queued
tunnels are lit but mainly empty

young couple leading a blind mate along one footpath and a few suited booted evening-out types on the other side

somone cracks open the throttle
sound is deafening
couple let go of blind fella and he walks into wall
he's ok
they laugh, he doesn't, i do is that wrong?
then we loose sight of everything as tunnel fills with tyre smoke
then we are off
i charge foreward thinking CAV hit yer brakes, show a tail light or something
i can see nout
until

out into the light

round again
crowd is building
into tunnel again
even more racket
even more smoke
out

stuck in traffice
did you see the pirates????

along to tower bridge
over bridge
fella in chop top taxi we had all been following gets out and says i'm going home.
we all thought we had followed him off the route, we actually had not
BUT
lost
over bridge
lost
quick conflab
round a big detour but end up back on bridge approach going south
15 cars pull over
15 drivers chat
15 cars pull synchronised U turn on tower bridge appraoch
No cops
no cameras.........we think
not-happy busses and taxis
2 finger salute
off, and how did i end up in the lead...?
the instructions are on the wheel
interior light is on
driving with me knees

down the embankment to parliament square
over the bridge
round the back of no-where tiny odd roads into the road behind the wheel...
ladies with Tripods
men lying on the gound
thought he was facing east but actually just wanted an odd angle of daves white charger with the moon and the wheel in the background....

rest for 1/2 hour

then out onto waterloo bridge
delay on lights cuts convoy into 2s and 3s
i know this end of town...no issues here
up The Aldwych, as tunnel is supposed to be shut
others just went through.........no road crews squashed, was deserted
round Russel square
EustonRoad, portland street and back across Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus is very busy
95% of the crowd are police
bloke behind me has no lights
95% of the crowd don't notice, or can not be botherd, after a day of dealing with protesters

up round and onto the A4 Heathrow bound
loose various people
find them again....

pull over to get into a bit of a bunch for the last blat
off onto the main M4
everyone still goes sensible speed
decide to stretch my 2.92:1 legs
overtake everything but then get camera shy
down to Heathrow back to Heston for a cup o tea
see a rat, chase it under a bush
cops circle us twice just to check we were sensible over-30s, and not 'Avin-it-large with too-loud choons on the stereo.

great cammaradarie

natter and off home, happy to have got there in 1 peice.

Back into Chiswick green lights round under the flyover
back out to Gillette corner
hit Gillette corner hard, half asleep
hit rough pot holes
feels like ive been punched in the stomach
car takes off again down the hill
then
silence
only the sound of the wind whsitling through my teeth
Bugger
pull up just before the lights under street lamp

its always the last thing ya check...thinks me. now what would that be and i'll save some time
half hour buggering about
spade onto junction box i now have instead of ballast had come off the connector, but its plastic shroud had slid forward hiding its disconnect

Thank gawd it didn't do this in town or on the motorway

so dizzy cap put back
spare rotor arm left in place
spare igntion module removed.

starts

home for 2 am
which is now 3 am due to spring clock change

kids wake me at 6 with a rousing
"londons burning, londons burning, touch the engine
was forced to should FETCH, Its fetch, not touch.

wrong wrong wrong

can't sleep
knackered

The End

Dave

[RobTwin]

Excellent Dave feels like I was there!

Post of the year (again)



Must do it again meself, maybe next year if there is one

[John]

Fantastic wright up Dave.... Your a legand

So wasn`t just me with leccy probs then, glad you got it sorted and home in one bit bud

[Dave999]

excatly

would you bloody credit it

minor issue but its a long long time since i had that sinking feeling......

Dave

[Cannonball]

Tunnel Run 10pm

Route for the tunnel run is as follows, thanks to Dave Williams.


quote]


Clive, there's a clue here.

I am sure a 'couple' of people emailed me inviting me to 'their' tunnel run.

was that via facebook and you would have to join queen to partake,