MEMBERS PAGE
From Roger Bear -
GABBICE
MARE – MAY 2006
This event is organised by the Italian MG Car Club.
Roger/Sue, Alan/Shirley and Richard/Daphne attended the event in
2003 and had such a good time they were determined to do it
again.
Unfortunately Daphne’s illness meant that she could not attend
so we were reduced to three cars :-
Roger/Sue MGC GT XBL 44H
Alan/Shirley MG ZT-T V8 BL54 MWP
David/Virginia MGB YUN 789L
THE OUTBOUND JOURNEY
Wednesday 10th May 2006
An early start from Norwich for Roger & Sue, picking up Alan &
Shirley on the way and catching up with David & Virginia on the
M20. Arrived in good time for the 10.40 ferry and were soon in
Boulogne.
The journey strategy had already been agreed, the MGB being
relatively slower would lead the way and we would take it in
stages of about 2 hours driving, trying to keep at 70mph on the
nice open roads. Before we knew it we had got to Chaumont and
found a nice Best Western hotel right by the railway station. A
total drive of 516 miles for the day.
Thursday 11th May 2006
After a pleasant breakfast we were back on the road again by
9.30. By lunchtime we could begin to see the Alps and soon
encountered our first (of many) tunnels. David and Virginia had
suggested that we stop off at Chamonix, a small town at the base
of Mont Blanc.
After a dull start to the day we arrived at Chamonix at about
4.00pm in beautiful sunshine and, through the local Tourist
Office, got booked in to a lovely Swiss chalet style hotel. The
ladies went sightseeing/shopping in the town whilst the men
enjoyed a few beers and made contact with Richard through the
hotel’s Internet connection.
In the evening Alan treated us all to a meal in the town to
celebrate his birthday, which included frog legs for Roger and a
surprise ‘cake and candle’ for Alan – then a few brandies were
consumed back at the hotel.
Friday 12th May 2006
A 9.00am start with a lovely clear sky and amazing views of the
mountains. Through the Mont Blanc tunnel and we were soon in
Northern Italy and then on to the motorways again. Prior to
Milan there were lots of roadworks and busy roads, in all this
was the least enjoyable part of the journey.
By 5.00pm we arrived at our hotel in Gabbice Mare, a total of
1172 miles from Norwich.
After some refreshing beers and a good meal at the hotel, we had
a stroll around Gabicce, all seemed much as it was on our last
visit.
GABBICE MARE
Gabicce Mare is a delightful seaside town on the Adriatic coast
about 20 miles south of Rimini. This time of year it is very
quiet, as the summer season has not started. Many hotels open
early, ready for the influx of MGs, for this event. Our hotel,
The Majestic, was at the southern edge of the town, rooms had
good views over the sea.
We had arrived three days early, with the intention of going to
watch the Mille Miglia, but as the weather was so good we
decided to spend this extra time relaxing in Gabbice.
Monday 15th May 2006
After dinner the event kicked off with a civic reception in one
of the larger hotels. A few speeches followed by lots of nibbles
and wine. This was our first chance to meet up with friends made
at our last visit.
Tuesday 16th May 2006
The first gathering of all the cars at the car park gave us an
opportunity to view the large range of interesting cars
attending. It was also the first time we were to see the vintage
police car and motorbike that would join us and the police
motorcycle outriders that would be escorting us.
After some speeches led by Fabio the convoy set off for
Montefiore Conca. We took a delightful route, part of which is
used for the Mille Miglia and were welcomed at Montefiore with
wine and nibbles. After our short break we moved on to Gradara,
a walled town with wonderful views, where there was more wine
and nibbles.
A musical evening was planned but we did not make it as we could
not find the car park where the coaches were leaving from.
Instead we spent the evening at a bar in town.
Wednesday 17th May 2006
This day started off with a drive to Casteldelci, a wonderful
drive along small roads with lots of hairpin bends and hills. At
Casteldelci the parking arrangements were terrible, something we
were starting to get used to as all the towns we visited were
too small to handle 150+ cars! But as we were greeted with the
customary hospitality and had more wine and nibbles it made up
for this annoying inconvenience.
After our break we drove on to the Oltremare Park, a theme park
at Riccione. The attractions were spectacular, seahorses,
alligators, a flying display of birds of prey and best of all an
outstanding dolphin display.
Thursday 18th May 2006
Hot and sunny again.
An enjoyable journey to the Ferrari museum near San Marino. This
was an interesting venue, it was good to see some of the vintage
cars, but not as exciting as we had thought it would be and not
enough there to occupy us for the whole 2 hours!
By 11.30 we were on the road again, a short trip with lots of
hairpin bends up to San Marino proper. A magnificent lunch had
been organised, we lost count of the courses and the number of
bottles of wine that arrived. In the afternoon there was ample
time to roam the streets of San Marino to sample the sights, the
shops and the cafes. All the ladies bought handbags and made
full use of this tax free haven!
A very hot journey back to Gabicce finished off the day’s run.
Friday 19th May 2006
The itinerary listed a visit to Urbania and what promised to be
another long lunch, but as the weather was so nice we decided to
spend a day on the beach.
The evening entertainment was very interesting. The main street
in Gabicce had been closed and an Elvis impersonator was
performing outside of one of the bars. The music was superb and
he had the right costume, but he looked more like Del Boy than
Elvis! The accompaniment was a young girl on roller skates. Free
ice creams were provided and the evening was rounded off by a
few drinks in our favourite bar.
Saturday 20th May 2006
The men went to see the driving Gymkhana, while the ladies went
to the market at Cattolica. They came back with various items of
bargain clothing and some annoying battery driven model Smart
cars!
We skipped the afternoon run, preferring to spend a relaxing
lunch at the beach bar and a pleasant afternoon on the beach.
The evening entertainment was a coach trip to Gradara, where we
had a huge evening meal, with wine flowing continuously. There
was music, performing skaters and a comic waiter, a really good
evening. When assembling for the coach trip back nobody realised
that Susan had got on a coach without the rest of us, but the
rest of us got the next coach and she was in bed before us
(2.00am).
Sunday 21st May 2006
Although the day started dull and overcast and we were feeling
the effects of the night before, it soon became hot and sunny
again.
Today’s run started with a parade through Gabicce and then we
headed out to Santarcangelo, a town with a wonderful square
where we parked. Refreshments were provide and we had an hour to
wander around.
After this break we went on via lots of hills and hairpin bends
to our lunch destination of Torriana. This appeared to be an old
fort on the top of a hill with a very steep entrance through an
archway that demanded a first gear dash. The meal was so large
that we had give up at about the 4th course, but it was good and
the wine flowed again.
After our meal it was time for the presentations and prize
giving. Alan was surprised to receive an award for the newest
car.
THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY
Monday 22nd May 2006
Time to start the trip back home. After an early breakfast and
saying goodbye to fellow participants and the hotel staff we set
off on the road towards Milan.
Our route home took us due north towards Switzerland, round Lake
Como and on to Lake Lucerne for our overnight stop at the
Holiday Inn Express. As we went north the weather became cooler
and at Lucerne we saw our first rain for two weeks.
Tuesday 23rd May 2006
A 9.00am start saw us back on the road towards Basle. Here we
had an interesting episode in the tunnels that abound in Basle.
In the middle of one of these tunnels Virginia decided to take a
sharp left turn, Roger followed, and both cars frightened the
life out of two construction workers who appeared to be
excavating a new section of tunnel. Seems that Virginia was
following the satnav instructions but took an earlier turn than
necessary. Alan was wiser and kept going, but a bit further up
the road got stopped and searched at the border control!
That evening we arrived at Laon, tried to book in to a hotel we
had used before, but it was full and we finished up at a
pleasant Ibis hotel where we had a superb meal and Virginia
treated us to Champagne. A fitting end to our two weeks abroad
Wednesday 24th May 2006
Arrived at Boulogne early enough for a brief visit to the
shopping centre and still had several hours to wait for our
ferry. Announcements were made that services were running late
due to rough weather and once on board we were informed that one
of the four engines was not working. It was a relatively slow
crossing and very rough, we were glad to get back on terra firma
in Dover
The journey home from Dover was unpleasant, lots of rain and
horrible traffic on the M25. But by late evening we were all
home at last.
SUMMARY
This event is by far the best one in Europe, we would all highly
recommend that everyone should do it at least once. We met some
people who have attended all six occasions and are committed to
doing it again.
The weather is usually good, it was superb this year. The daily
runs take you through stunning scenery to beautiful little
towns, the hospitality is second to none and the thrill of
having your own police escort cannot be beaten. Those guys know
how to ride and enjoy themselves as much as we did, evidenced by
the photos that we have of them riding down the middle of the
road standing on their seats. There is no navigation to worry
about as the police stop all the traffic, take you through red
traffic lights etc, all you have to do is follow the car in
front!
The only gripes were that parking in some of the small towns can
be a real headache and it seems that some participants lack
courtesy, witnessed by the jostling for position whenever the
convoy was to start. These small issues though did not detract
from the wonderful atmosphere in Italy, nowhere else would you
see such large crowds come out to wave as you go by.
The cars behaved fairly well. The ZT was missing it’s air
conditioning and spluttered once (probably because we were going
too slow for it). Primrose suffered with sticking brakes,
subsequently diagnosed as a fault with the servo that was easily
fixed (thanks again to MG Mecca). The MGC started to develop an
intermittent cutting out on the way home, this was eventually
diagnosed 3 weeks later as a failed fuel pump. Overall, not bad
for over 2,600 miles motoring.
Facts & Numbers
Nationality participants
Country Number of cars
Belgium 2
Denmark 5
France 8
Germany 24
Holland 55
Luxemburg 3
UK 24
Switzerland 8
Cars (1933 – 2003)
Type Number
Pre MGA 18/80 2
MG J2 1
MG K1 2
MG L2 1
MG PA 1
MG VA 4
MG TC 4
MG TD 10
MG TF 12
MG Magnette /NB 3
Modern MGA 44
MGB (GT/V8/RV8) 44
MGC 8
MGF/TF 13
MG Midget 6
MG ZT-T 1
Other 3
Apologies for the length of this note, but as you may gather
there was a lot to cover during our two week trip.
Look out for the announcement of a photo slideshow on this event in the new year.
-----------------------------------------------------------
From Ivan and Janet
SNOWDROP
RUN
On 18th Feb., Janet & I set off to drive to Wimpole Hall, (N.T.)
to start the Cambs. &
District inaugural "Snowdrop Run".
We arrived at
Wimpole Hall on a bright & clear morning. It was nice to meet up
with
Pip, Barrie, Mike & Pam. After having coffee & a chat, we left,
having a photo taken of our car, using the hall as a backdrop.
The route was
not overlong, only 33.5 miles, but a very pleasant & interesting
drive.
Certainly roads we were not familiar with.We finished at
Anglesey Abbey (N.T.) and spent a good hour walking the grounds
to admire the giant snowdrops.
So overall, for a tenner per car, a good day, and £600 was
raised for M.A.G.P.A.S.
Also the first plaque of the year!
Looking forward to;
Broadland Run Monday 1 st May
Rose of the Shires Sunday 21st May
Arden MGOC Run Sunday 18th June
(Finishing at & driving the Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb)
Burnley & Pendle Run Sunday 23rd July
Norwich MGOC Memorial Run Sunday 17th September
All of which we have entered.
If anyone else is interested, the more the merrier.
From Richard
50 Years MG
Car Club Holland & European Event of the Year
June 27th to July 4th 2005
Roger and Susan
Alan and Shirley
David and Virginia
Richard and Daphne
The above 8 members have entered this event in Holland based at Centre Parcs De Eemhof, Zeewolde.
Thanks to all the work done by Roger with regards to ferry travel (getting us a special rate) from Harwich to The Hook on the super fast ferry. Also negotiating credit card payments for Centre Parcs and entry fees.
All of us who know Roger will understand the planning he puts in to an event like this, keeping us all informed of every detail (checking lists, routes, timing etc). I doubt if more planning was done on D Day. (thanks Roger)
The event has closed with 550 cars entered so it should be a spectacular event.
The Weeks program is as follows:-
Monday June 27th
Arrival of participants, registration
etc.
Tuesday June 28th
Touristic rally: Hanzerit with an excursion to the Aviodrome.
Wednesday June 29th
Touristic rally: De Gooische rit.
Thursday June 30th
Touristic rally with an excursion to the Zuiderzee museum.
Friday July 1st
The legendary picnic rally.
In the evening there will be a
barbecue (until 10 p.m.),
Possibility to participate at a balloon ride.
Saturday July 2nd
Octarun - special edition.
Party evening
Sunday July 3rd
Rally to the Midland Circuit at Leiystad.
Lifestyle gathering.
Meeting of registers.
Concours d'elegance.
Rocker cover race.
