How often have we heard the complaint that there aren’t enough weekends in which to play with our classics — or that when the weekend does arrive, the weather isn’t as good as it was during the week?
We have all said something of the sort I’m sure, but it looks as though we have cracked the problem, at least locally, and again Ross Church has been the instigator. Mind you, as a person whose business necessitates his being on deck at weekends, he has a particular interest in doing so.
On the basis of an invitation in his regular Autoclassics newsletter, a small group of mid-week classic motorists has come together to do very much the same sort of things as they might well do at weekends if weekends weren’t so problematical.
Just recently a mixed bag of a dozen cars, comprising an Aston Martin V8, BMW convertible, BMW CSi, Daimler 4.0, Jaguar XJ40, Mini-Cooper, MGBs — both GT and roadster, a Morgan +4 and a Triumph TR4A, as well as a couple of moderns, gathered at Paraparaumu for a Wednesday run.
Under Ross’ leadership, and with his usual set of instructions and questions to keep co-drivers alert (memories of the Link Rally for some, I’m sure), we wandered up through the back roads of the Horowhenua and Manawatu to lunch at a very pleasant spot, Beyond the Bridge, at the Woodville end of the Manawatu Gorge.
After lunch this group of retirees, organised self-employed and others who could manipulate a day off went home their various ways — down through the Wairarapa, over the Saddle Road to pass the wind turbines, or back through the Gorge and down the Coast.
A couple of hundred kilometres on a fine day, in pleasant company and with good food really does take a bit of beating — yeah, I reckon we’ve got it cracked — and there’s still the weekend in which to do it again!