xcentrik

just posting up my favourite shot of the day was a good day! thanks to the organisers and participants for a great day out.. and also to tuan (rxp33d) for bringing us along :D


i will let you know when the rest of the pics are up..
cheers!

clow

It was an excellent day.
Good to meet up with everyone and can't wait for the next one.

Great shot as well!!!

I got only a handful of shots and will try to post some.

C.

Blu

Thanks everyone for such an enjoyable day.
I realise that these things take some organising and it was perfect. We enjoyed meeting you guys and are looking forward to future events.
Sorry for breaking your run Otto, still getting used to the gears and car.
Blu

kunz

ditto

mikeyr

Great cruise guy's, fanstastic day, good company and great venue for lunch. Reckon that goes into the archives as one of the best routes!!

That stretch out to Oberon finally scrubbed a few of the "hairies" off my new tyres!!!

See you'all again soon.

Revolver

Hey, glad everybody enjoyed themselves. I had a ball.

Quick sketch of the day for those interested:

I met up with Mikey at the start of the M2 and after an explanation of the masking tape ( ) and a demo of his LED's ( ) we hit the road for Richmond Airbase. Spotted a Prado being booked in a roadworks stretch, which was the kind of reminder that does me good at the start of a cruise.

Rest of the crew met us at the rest area opposite the airbase and we ended up with 2 VR's (Otto and kunz), 2 WB's (clow and blu), 2 Ti's (Mikey and me) and one black (rxp33d). Proved to be a good number to keep everybody together in traffic.

Yours truly got to play cruise director with the aid of a massive map of the route, conveniently placed right behind where we parked the cars. Of course, the confidence placed in me proved to be false when we couldn't find anywhere to stop in Bell, as planned, and decided to ditch Lithgow as a lunch stop after a hasty roadside confab. So, to all who thought it was well-organised - you're easily pleased - come again.

From Richmond, we headed over the mountains to Lithgow via the Bells Line of Road and had a largely uninterrupted run. It got a little willing over the top (I blame kunz for egging me on ) but we were largely well-behaved. I had forgotten just how cool that road can be and even staying mostly legal it is a challenging drive when you don't slow down for corners. Mikey said something about DSC cutting in - pfft, mine stayed quiet.

From Lithgow, we placed our trust in kunz's satnav to get us to Oberon and it proved to be a hoot of backroad driving and, for me, the best part of the day. From Oberon we headed to Tarana Hotel for lunch, the beer garden of which is definitely worth another visit in summer. As it is, the combination of winter sun, cold beer and hot food had some wishing they could stay a bit longer.

I must say, I needed a beer after nearly being collected by a Tarago and box trailer, which locked them all up a peach when it's driver finally noticed the give way sign on the outskirts of Oberon. Luckily for me, the braking distance of the thing was a lot less than I would have expected.

From Tarana, we headed back over the mountains via Hartley, Katoomba, etc, etc, etc. I had also forgotten what a biatch the Western Hwy can be on a Sunday arvo and we struck very heavy traffic. We would have been better off going back via Bells. Mikey and I left the rest of the crew while still in the mountains to refuel and, cough, jettison our second beer.

Whether it was fatigue or not, we ended up playing silly buggers on Ryde Road after turning off the M4. For about five sets of lights in a row we had TLGP duels (only up to the speed limit of course - we were NOT racing...but I have to say either my Enkei's assist acceleration or Mikey's new rear spoiler induces drag ).

With that it was time to turn for home. An excellent day and I'd like to thank everyone for coming and for their patience as we chopped and changed plans en route. Special thanks also to clow and Emma for asking the right questions in the info centre at Oberon and putting us on the track to Tarana.

Looking forward to the next one too.

Revolver

BTW, I did mention starting a new thread for piccies but perhaps it's easiest just to post them in here. Can't wait to see the rest.

RXP33D

New thread for piccies sound good. But thanks heaps to Revolver for making it happen. Yet another awesome cruise from the RX8 club and glad I could make it.
Oh and a big thanks to Armand (eccentric) for the magic photos of all our 8's and keeping me awake at the wheel although his Saturday night fusion of alcohol left him with a tingly head.

playa78

sounds like an awesome cruise. pity I couldn't make it
It's monday morning at work and I still got some headache.. eek.
hope to see you all at the next gathering.

Revolver

Sorry to hear you're still not well playa. We missed you on the day.

BTW, Tuan demonstrated what a great touring car the 8 can be. He was 4 up (adults) all day, kept up no problems when we were pressing on and his rear seat passengers didn't look like they needed a chiropractor when emerging at stops.

Wonder how many 911, Audi TT and other 2+2 coupe-shaped car owners could say the same?

mikeyr

I took so few snaps!!!

Revolver

Sheesh - and you had your flash camera and everything.

Looking forward to the rest of xcentrik's snaps.

kunz

Great overview Dave! It was a truly amazing day - possible the BEST cruise route we've done so far! (Hint: I dont mind doing it again for the next cruise)

LOL sorry, I couldnt help myself as some of the stretches absolutely AMAZING. Luckily I had the mrs in the car so she kept me in line for most of the day

I think you got lucky because of the weight Mikey had from all the masking tape

All in all, it was an amazing day Dave and it was all thanks to you mate. Brilliant route, excellent people and the weather was nothing short of spectacular.

Do any of the attendees have any problems with their number plates being displayed in the pics I took? If so, can you please let me know so I can deal with it accordingly? I personally dont have a problem with my mates being shown, we werent doing anything illegal so theres nothing to worry about =)

Revolver

Aw shucks, thanks mate. I'd prefer to think of it as a team effort. Everybody got along great and that makes all the difference.

I'm happy for a repeat. Now that we know the route, we can plan a little better too. I'd suggest back over via Bells instead of the main hwy (and pre-planned 'comfort' stops!).

We should also figure out CB procedure a little better. For a while there I thought it was just Mike and I on channel 25.

(BTW, thanks again to Mike for loaning me his spare. I was a CB virgin till then ).



Doesn't bother me.

clow

Same here Mikeyr!!

Here's my meagre contribution.









C.

kunz

Awesome!

I had my CB on most of the time but because all of us were almost always right behind each other, I didnt bother much and had the music pumping all day.

I did hear you guys talking while we were heading to Oberon (had to turn off the media player to ensure I could hear the GPS instructions) but missed out most of the convo (either it was the reception quality or the TRANSMIT button was being pressed AFTER you guys started talking lol).

kunz

Excellent pics mate!

mikeyr

Nice Pics!!!

The "gaffa" is imortilised....or should i say my "sub optimal, drag coefficient increasing, adhesive spoiler holder"....ps came off this morning...with no paint attached...phew!

mikeyr

Enkei's......my ***!! LOL!!! I reckon the only bit of me, thats lighter than your equivalient, is my right foot!!!

Imagine we woke up a few Sunday drivers, (and a few dead people!!) Twin Hymees at full noise!

You should tell the tale of your ride home after you dumped me, gave me a good chuckle today in a rather boring meeting!! (Blessed be the Blackberry)

mikeyr

oh and my missus reckons it's pronounced "tah rah na" not Torana! Pity!!

Revolver

Yes, my right foot is made of lead methinks.

Speaking of Hymee music, kunz and I had exactly the same idea when going under a wide underpass on the way home - both dropped back a gear and let it rip. I think we scared the crap out of the other drivers in the tunnel.

As for the story of the last part of my journey home, I'm not sure if I could be bothered typing it out again. If you still have my email, please post it or send back to me for cut 'n paste duty. Vanman probably deserves a wider audience.

kunz

That bit sure was funny! I did catch a glimpse of a poor old lady in the corolla on the left just as we came out of the tunnel..she looked like she'd seen a ghost :D

Hopefully by the time we have our next cruise, I'd have fitted a couple of low-lux cameras in the front and rear of the car :D to catch those unexpected moments

clow

Yea, that was awesome.
I could hear you guys as I was entering the tunnel.

C.

xcentrik

jhahaha tuan had exactly the same idea!

"ohh watch this!" *drops a gear, full throttle through the tunnel* awesome sounds!

anyways my pics are online now! hope you enjoy
prints are also available for those interested..

5+ pics gets free postage

5" x 7" - $1.80
6" x 8" - $3.00
8" x 10" - $8.50
8" x 12" - $10.00
10" x 15" - $30.00

Pics here - http://www.dj-x.net/rx8cruiselithgow.html

kunz

mate, those pics are mindblowing!