London Breakfast Run

[80Sprint]

Ken

What was the length of trip you had in mind ( either mileage or time). I know you wanted an early start and would get back to the ACE but this would help with thoughts of where to start with intermediate points. I don't really know London either but happy to give some suggestions.

[alolympic]

I will see if it looks possible if we could meet at Smithfield Market. It is an impressive building and probably as far East as we would want to start I reckon.
It's closed on Sundays so I am hoping we could park outside - I'll try and find out if is of interest?

[Purplebargeken]

Hi Al, that sounds good to me. Never been there and it's a landmark sort of place.

So: Smithfield Market, perhaps the Globe Theatre for the South bit. West??

Let's try and incorporate some bridges and tunnels perhaps as mentioned previously.

I am not sure really, guesstimate at around 2 1/2 hours to meet, do the run and head to the Ace or am I way off the mark. Traffic should be light and there won't be hundreds of us. Further advice from more knowledgable folk always happily received.

[Nick C]

I will see if it looks possible if we could meet at Smithfield Market. It is an impressive building and probably as far East as we would want to start I reckon.
It's closed on Sundays so I am hoping we could park outside - I'll try and find out if is of interest?

East? It's almost as far North-West as you can get in London (the border of the city runs along Charterhouse St at that point) ... or is that being too picky...

I do a treasure hunt each year in the City, which for many years started at Smithfield, but switched about 5 years ago to Finsbury Circus. I don't know why, but I do know there is a lot of residential property around St Barts, so I guess someone objected to a lot of cars gathering there... You also really don't want to be anywhere near there at club kicking-out time, but I guess you'll be a lot later than that?

I'd suggest Finsbury Circus as a good meeting point if you want somewhere in the city - Plenty of parking and easy to find (it's just off London Wall).

HTH,

Nick

[Howard81]

How about Greenwich? Nice views, lots of parking.. We started there for the Brighton Run!

I can help do the East London part of the route if you like..

[alolympic]

One thing we have to realise is the time of the sun rise this time of year.
Sun rise will be approx 7.30am early December. On the Dawn Drive I did in May, traffic is already building by that point, so you can either choose to drive mostly in the dark, or drive mostly in traffic. We will have to get the timing right.
I know it's a Sunday, but you would still be surprised.....

[Purplebargeken]

Howard, offer accepted mate. Cheers.

Al, can you pm me with the outline of the run and thoughts on timing? I tend to avoid driving in London unless it's absolutely necessary (ie; Triumph or food related). Happy to be advised accordingly.

Cheers

Ken

[80Sprint]

We could use Wembley stadium as a stopping point which is quite near the ACE but maybe you are looking at more central London points , East , West , North , South.

If we arrive too late we will have to mix it with the Nissan Primera Xmas meet ............ yes you read it right. People want to celebrate owning a NIssan Primera !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[alexdukes]

Hi guys, I am up for that!

Must admit, I like Howards idea of Greenwich, used to live there, would be ideal

[james_r_lucas]

Any news on this yet?

[whydidistartthis]

whats happening with the breakfast run? is it happening, and when?

[Purplebargeken]

It will, but maybe not in December as hoped How about early 2011.... as in January?

[1300dolly]

Its now early Jan, Ken it would be a shame to let this slip after so mnay offers of help and the planning so far............
I will be up for thsi (meeting somewhere south) if it falls on a day off and im not on early start the next morning.
I need to get the TC out more this year (once I have fixed it) to prevent me having thoughts about selling it.

[alolympic]

It would indeed be good to see this happen.
I for one though, am glad this hadn't been scheduled in the depths of winter.
Not wishing to speak for Ken but if people want to do this, there is nothing stopping others to help get it arranged. Ken has already admitted that he will need help planning a route, so it is best that a few of us maybe coordinate it.

A few things from my experience doing it last year that may be useful -

1) It needs a well organised route, with a hard copy of directions with a basic map, that can be distributed to everyone at the start. That way if anyone gets lost, they know where to meet again to catch up.
To get this sorted, we need to carefully plan a good route. One of us can then do a dry run beforehand to check access etc. - I am happy to do this as I am local enough.
2) There should be at least a few organised catch up spots on route, to keep the convoy together. These catch up points need enough room for all cars to park together on the side of the road, which is harder than you think in the centre of town.
3) Numbers are probably best limited to under 10 cars. It is probably unlikely there will be more of us than that anyway, but a limited number have a better chance of keeping together.
4) A very early start is needed to avoid the traffic which does start to build earlier than you think, even on a Sunday. This should be related to the time of sun rise too, the best bit is driving when the sun is coming up.
5) Realistically, an agreed date should be decided asap, but, if the last minute outlook is for heavy rain, or worse, I think it would be best to postpone at late notice. The whole idea is for it to be fun, not an ordeal of battling through the rain.
6) When should it happen? Personally, I think the sun rise is still too late at the moment (8am). I think it is better to get more driving in with the sun up, but still avoiding the traffic that does build pretty early, even on a Sunday. For that reason, I think late February onwards would be preferred, but that is just IMHO. Put it this way, last time I did it, we met at something crazy like 5am to get some driving in before the roads started to get busy.
7) Whatever the route, I can't think of anywhere better to finish up than the Ace Cafe but am open to other suggestions.

[80Sprint]

Sounds like a good 7 point plan to me. I would love to use my Sprint if i ever get it on the road again.
Happy to asssit with some planning if i am able to in between getting the Sprint roadworthy and an end of Feb MOT for my sons 1500. As they are not likely to open until at least 10 on a Sunday i would think any superstore car parks would be ideal for mid run catch up points if there are any on route.