[- Paul -]

Originally Posted by 335rocks

Just got back a bit over an hour ago and I'm feeling a bit tired after a truly great weekend. The food and the company was as always excellent and thanks to Carl for some hilarious stories and entertainment saturday night.

The trip up was quite long and the M6 on a Friday evening is not fun, but we still had a bit of fun north of Manchester and in best Top Gear style we all somehow lost contact and ended up travelling different roads to the hotel.

The drive on Saturday took us through some stunning scenery and I'm really looking forward seeing the pictures from everyone. I also got a little lost on the way to the first stop due to the heavy traffic in Kendal, but hey that's all part of the experience and me not plotting the right place into the SatNav. Helen quickly got us back on track and we had a nice drive to lunch. It was actually quite nice to have a bit of space and not being bunched up.

Hardknott pass was excellent and it gave the diff and the traction control a good workout. At no point did I feel that there was any risk of anyone sliding backwards or sideways. Challenging and good fun. Last time I went up there I had 4-wheel drive, but hey presto 2 will do.

Guess Tony will have to look through some footage for that MPV that was sumped at the bottom. They had a look at us and you could just see the "good luck" expression in their face as they all gathered around the sumped MPV scratching their heads. James quickly showed them how it was done and we were off. It still makes me chukle that Steve told people coming the other way that there was 300 cars coming so it might be a while. I would have loved to see their facial expression.

The drive across the Yorkshire Dales on Sunday was epic and Matt & Tony found an amazing place for a group photo. There should be some really good photo's from there and we'll have to wait for them to exercise some HDR trickery.

The drive back down the M1 was pretty long and I'm sure I'll be seeing cones in my sleep from all that road works!

Thanks to Matt, Tony & Viv for organising an amazing weekend and the countless of hours planning and arranging everything. It's a mammoth task and I really appreciate it. It was a shame that Viv couldn't make it and I was really looking forward to meeting you. Even when you were not feeling well you were still doing some amazing work in the background making sure that everything was right. Cheers for sorting out all the food orders on Friday night. The steak was very nice!

I'll post some photo's later!

Thanks
Lars

http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...1&d=1254674294

[SoYank]

Originally Posted by Serjames

just back... took 9.5 hours to get there !

3 hours back

SJ

think I got caught on camera pulling out with gusto from the M6 Toll though

Bugger

Sounds like the guy that swam across the channel. He snagged his Speedos on the wharfe at Dover, took 78 hours to swim across and six minutes to get back.

[Serjames]

Originally Posted by - Paul -

Guess who?

Atlas ?

[Serjames]

blimey you guys sound like you had a bad trip down too

Apart from seeing a dead body hanging out of a wreck at warwick - not nice our trip down M6 then M40 was pretty uneventful (i'm in denial about the Speed camera ! DOH)

SJ

[JLR1969]

Originally Posted by SoYank

Sounds like the guy that swam across the channel. He snagged his Speedos on the wharfe at Dover, took 78 hours to swim across and six minutes to get back.

Thats the first joke from you Floyd thats funny

[SoYank]

I got back about 4:00 from a very good weekend. It was great seeing old faces (that's those not seen recently) and finally putting faces to names and names to faces both of which that I promptly forget.

I've been wanting, for some strange reason, to drive over Wrynose Pass and Hardknott Pass for several years now and can honestly and truthfully say I have. I just never realized that you really need a tracked vehicle to do so. I do hope Matt does have footage of the half-airborne tyre; knew I was close but not as close as he says. I hope I'll be able to download the video from the bumper-cam later this week but given that it's vantage point is less than a foot off the road (and canted about 10º outward) it might not show much of the drives.

Tony and Viv do collaborate well and hats off to both of them for trying to plan something that is both challenging and fun. That really does make for a successful meet. We've come a long way from the first meet in April 2006 where the best we could muster was 11 (?) and a pub closing as we arrived for lunch and all we could get was crisps and drink.

Matt H. will have to carry on as the only forum member to have made it to all of the national meets.

I'm sad to say this meet will be my last UK meet. My car is taking an ocean cruise in three weeks and I'm hoping to follow by the end of the year. But that's what was said last year.

Oh, and one confession. I've had a camera at each of the meets and think I've taken a total of a dozen shots.

[Palmnuts]

First things first....TONY, YOU ARE A STAR! I think this event was extremely well organised and I thank you for getting this all together so successfully!

I had a fantastic weekend and it was great meeting such a good bunch of people.....

Carlos, great to talk to you....you are a very funny guy! Looking forward to the pod! If I can't launch the C63 to get a decent time then I'll hand it over to you.

Jon, it's like I've known you for the 60-odd years you've been around I will never tire of the banter! But bugger me...you can drive you crazy old man!

Paul, I apologise for getting Yorks and Lancs accent mixed up! My memory of the 645i that I spent most of my day following??....damn, it stays flat in the bends!

Helen, some bloody stop gap! It must be awful driving around in that S5

SteveA...OMG, was THAT story really true??


And to everyone else I met...thank you for making it such a great weekend, for being so kind about my new car and for welcoming me despite turning up in an old Merc


Finally, my thoughts on some of the comments so far....

Originally Posted by malcolm

a bit disappointed with the day as it wasn’t as well organized as thought it would be

Most of the folk that I approached and talked to were friendly enough, but from a newbie’s point of view it wasn’t a welcoming and friendly environment.

As a relative newbie and my first 'UK Meet' I must disagree with this. Please remember that Tony / Viv don't get anything out of organising this and therefore, I for one was very grateful for the level of organisation that obviously took place.

Also, from a 'welcoming and friendly' point of view I think it's every individuals responsibility to put in what they want to get out of the meet; again, I personally found that when I interacted with other members, I was made to feel very welcome.

Originally Posted by MIKEYBMW1

M3 still beats it though far better handling so can easily outrun the Merc , just watch the Fifth Gear review

Given this is a BMW forum I don't really feel it appropriate that I should ever instigate a C63 v M3 comparison. However as I have owned both I do feel that I'm reasonably well qualified to comment on this! Therefore, this is the one and ONLY time I will get involved in an M3 v C63 conversation!

With all due respect, the C63 seen on TV is nothing like mine; as has been mentioned before, mine has a Performance Pack which means very hard suspension, uprated 6 piston composite brakes and a limited slip diff. Whilst still quicker round a track, I doubt the M3 would have had the advantage you saw on TV if the C63 had a diff (think 335i with and without the Quaife diff as a good example of the difference).

However, I will still stand by my original comments from my other post that the C63 does NOT handle as well as an M3; it isn't as well balanced and without a doubt, will not go round a track as effectively. This does not however stop the C63 being the easier car to drive fast on a public road by some margin.

Originally Posted by SiKkBaSs

But then again I'm biased and Palmnutz couldn't give a toss, since he's already sampled the delights of M6 ownership too.

Correct; and if I had wanted another M3, I would have bought one!

Originally Posted by dxb335d

Oh and well done to Mandy for getting up to watch grand prix with me at 05:30 sha moan.

Carl...I don't know how you did it. You were SMASHED....STEAMING. Yet you got up 3 hours after going to bed to watch it. Respect...if nothing else, a true F1 fan! But utterly insane.


Roll on UK9

[mjh93sa]

Sounds like Will and I had the least eventful trip back down then. Staring off from the wrong side (and wrong end) of the country gave the SatNav plenty of opportunity to route around traffic and must have taken about an hour less than you Lars.

Just want to say thank you to everyone who turned up and made it yet another memorable meet. Without the attendees there quite simply is no meet. Great to see such a variety of cars and people getting on so well (mostly).

Viv, hope that you are feeling better, you were sorely missed. To be sorting out the hotel and coordinating with everyone stuck in the nightmare of the M6 on Friday from your sick bed was above and beyond the call of duty.

Tony, as ever you manage to pick an absolute corker for the meal. Though I think we managed pretty well today for a quick web search.

To those who have thanked me, I thank you. But Tony and Viv are the guys that put it all together and deserve your praise, I just throw them the odd comment to get them to go all dictatorial and get things moving. They are the guys doing all the work and rightfully deserve the credit and your praise.

Must be the meet that I have taken the least number of photos at thanks to the weather. But there's a lot of video to go through and see if we can put something together. Gonna take some time tho'.

[mjh93sa]

Originally Posted by malcolm

Some pics from the run, a bit disappointed with the day as it wasn’t as well organized as thought it would be, .... decided to go anyway hoping that it would be a good day out, like I’ve enjoyed with other car clubs, sadly this wasn’t to be.

I'm sorry you feel that way Malcolm. I think that most people have enjoyed their time on the meets and they certainly keep coming back for more.

Viv and Tony spend hours a day moderating E90Post, giving their time freely despite their work and other home commitments. The organisation of the main UK meets is another burden that they shoulder and I think do an admirable job of.

If you look at this thread there were about 30 forum members signed up for the meet, and as ever roughly half that number actually attended. With the goal posts always moving it becomes near impossible to finalise anything until very close to the event. Equally, whilst not wishing to be secretive, the gathering of some half a million pounds worth of cars is not necessarily one to broadcast widely before the event.

Things may not have run quite as smoothly as you hoped on the Saturday as ilness, travel issues and the weather conspired to leave little time for the last minute work and polishing.

In fact, given the rain in the morning we had not planned to continue across the Hardknott Pass after lunch, but as there were a number of members who had traveled significant distances to attend on Saturday only and who expressed a strong desire to drive the pass the plan was shifted once the sun had come out. Little did we know that it was about to hide again. At the end of the day the meet is for the members, the organisation merely trying to accommodate their wishes.

Originally Posted by malcolm

We departed to go over the Hardknott pass, I will be honest and say I won’t be over that road ever again, the conditions were potentially dangerous and it’s amazing that everyone got over without any problems.

Whilst I would agree that the Hardknott pass is a once in a lifetime drive and one that I shall also in all probability never do again, I do think that you are over-egging things a little. Yes it's a narrow twisty road that was rather wet, but it is certainly no worse than many other minor roads all over the country and at no point did I feel that it was dangerous. At all times the responsibility lies with the driver of the car, to both drive sensibly, within the limits of both themselves and their car, the option is always there to not continue into conditions that make you feel uncomfortable. The fact that we averaged a fraction over 10mph for the pass is testament to the respect that the road and the weather conditions earnt and was duly given.

At the end of the day, E90Post is a collection of E9x owners (past, present and future) who have a mutual interest in their cars. It is a US based forum and our little section that we all love so much has come about through the sacrifices of a couple of very selfless people. There is no funding through E90Post for the meets or any of the work done by Viv and Tony, who often go considerable expense themselves to reserve hotels and restaurants, without anyone ever knowing. I think that they do an absolutely amazing job and should be congratulated for what they have achieved.

The national meets are arranged miles away from the home of those doing the work with a constantly fluid set of requirements from the members. It requires a heap of time to try and sort out food, lodging, photo stops and driving routes, let alone a date for the meet. Given the resources at their disposal I think that you do our UK moderators a disservice as they put together a top notch gathering. Yes it is informal, but this is only a forum and not a full blown car club. They are busy people do an outstanding job.

Finally, remember that there have only ever been 8 UK meets. Each one is a learning exercise for all those involved and we learn something new every time.

I hope that you don't feel that I am trying to 'slate' your comments as you suggested. But I do feel that a comment is justified.

Matt.

[mjh93sa]

Originally Posted by Palmball

Carlos, great to talk to you....you are a very funny guy! Looking forward to the pod! If I can't launch the C63 to get a decent time then I'll hand it over to you.

I think that Carl will need a change of underwear if you even so much as suggest letting him get behind the wheel.

The sound of the C63 is something else, awesome!

[- Paul -]

Another panorama but with cars in it.

[JLR1969]

You cant teach an old dog new tricks or how to drive. It helps being a sales rep for the last 21 years, lots of practice driving

Looking forward to seeing what the Old Man Mercedes can do.

[E92Fan]

Thank you everyone who came along to the Lake District It is a considerable task organising gatherings like this and I must thank Viv & Matt for all their efforts

It was fantastic to see so many new faces at a UK meet, and the old faces well, keep on getting older A particular mention to Floyd, who until now has been at every single UKx gathering - I know you have said again that this will be your last attendance at a UK meet, and despite all the threats you've made previously I do get the sense that this time you are speaking the truth in that you will be returning to the States by the end of this year. I would like to thank you publicly for your support, your friendship in particular, and your eternally crap jokes (!) and I wish you the very best success back home. Having said all of that however, I fully expect to see you at either UK10 or UK11 as I'm sure you will be planning a return visit back to Blighty...!

I think it's fair to say that the weekend was a success, despite the best attempts of the weather, and this is entirely due to all the members who attended - without the support of all of you, this forum would be just another place on the Internet with no soul or character of its own. The fact that such a varied group of people can get together far away from home, enjoy each other's company, and strike up in some cases long-lasting friendships, say mountains about the spirit and life of our little community.

As Matt has already alluded to, our meets always have a very fluid and relaxed feel to them as both Viv & I see these meets more as social gatherings rather than regimented car club meets. We are not a car club - we are a group of people who willingly give up our own time to contribute to a like-minded community without the pressure of membership fees or suchlike. We all make a combined effort which I appreciated immensely, and it is this generosity of spirit that helps our meets go so well and encourages us to carry on the organisation.


So again, thank you



ps.. pictures will be forthcoming, I just have to wade through the 400+ images that Will took on my camera (I'm dreading seeing what he's taken....!)

[AlanQS]

Can I echo the sentiments and thanks to Viv, Tony and Matt for making the meet the best I've been to - and a special thanks to Matt for holding back for me when I took the wrong exit at a roundabout

With regards to not getting lost, I take the kamikaze view that I should stick behind someone who knows where they are going without fail - my victim on this trip was usually Tony - tricky to keep up with him at times but I could always rely on the odd local driver or twelve, to block the road later on.

There was a section of road on Saturday and one on Sunday where clear traffic allowed the best drives I've had in years. Oddly enough, in those lovely twisties, no speed limits were broken!

A special thanks to the Southerners who showed up, for once the Jocks didn't have the longest way to go and it was great to finally meet some of the main forum contributors in the flesh. - As for Carl's school friend with the - ahem - "extension" I was left in fits

[mjh93sa]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

ps.. pictures will be forthcoming, I just have to wade through the 400+ images that Will took on my camera (I'm dreading seeing what he's taken....!)

As long as he didn't drop his trousers in the car it should be fine.

Originally Posted by AlanQS

... thanks to Matt for holding back for me when I took the wrong exit at a roundabout

I wondered where you were going. But you soon caught up.

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by mjh93sa

As long as he didn't drop his trousers in the car it should be fine.

Well I certainly didn't drop mine

[RagingKileak]

I wondered which Matt you meant then mate,

Seeing as you also took a wrong turn on Sunday after the pub lunch - and I had pulled over to wait for the slowcoach muppets in front of me to disperse...

When you passed the look on your face was classic

Matt

[beemerbird]

Now that I'm fully awake and compos mentis I have started to remember certain points about the weekend.

As a few have mentioned, Carl told us a story about a school friends 'extra bits' late on Saturday night in the bar of the hotel........the story told with accompanying actions by Carl was so funny and I was still chuckling about it when I got back to the room. Carl you are a funny guy honestly.

It was also entertaining sitting with SteveA, Ant and the ladies in the restaurant on the evening. Great relaxed company and we all seemed to share the same sense of humour ie. base which was excellent imo.

Paul, wanted to say that the 645i does very much appear to stick to the road, sounds great when you were pushing on and is no slouch! Nice car.

Jon - Yep, normal feet and nice to meet you. Remember the person that was 'boring' us at one part of the drive on Saturday? Tad ironic now don't you think.

Andy - Just absolutely loved the sound of that Merc luv, has to be said!

Lars - I think we benefited from seeing some extra spectacular scenery you know thinking about it

Floyd - I wish you all the best as you know and please keep in touch.

Pleasure as always meeting and chatting with Alan and he does do a good 'pour' when checking over a car lol.

Really don't get Malcolms comment re. Hardknott Pass nor the organisation of the meet and I simply echo what has been said above by the others.

Shame I didn't get the opportunity to speak to some others more than I did and would have wanted to.........maybe another time.

Looking forward to more pics.

[mjh93sa]

... transferring video now. Got five hours to encode in realtime.

[E90Yaz]

did i see an AUDI in them pics!! :P :P :P

[beemerbird]

Originally Posted by E90Yaz

did i see an AUDI in them pics!! :P :P :P

Yes you did!.......check out my avatar and I did post in the O/T section when I got it two weeks ago. SteveA was there in his RS4 as well although he'd gone home at that point.

[MIKEYBMW1]

Originally Posted by Palmball

First things first....TONY, YOU ARE A STAR! I think this event was extremely well organised and I thank you for getting this all together so successfully!

I had a fantastic weekend and it was great meeting such a good bunch of people.....

Carlos, great to talk to you....you are a very funny guy! Looking forward to the pod! If I can't launch the C63 to get a decent time then I'll hand it over to you.

Jon, it's like I've known you for the 60-odd years you've been around I will never tire of the banter! But bugger me...you can drive you crazy old man!

Paul, I apologise for getting Yorks and Lancs accent mixed up! My memory of the 645i that I spent most of my day following??....damn, it stays flat in the bends!

Helen, some bloody stop gap! It must be awful driving around in that S5

SteveA...OMG, was THAT story really true??


And to everyone else I met...thank you for making it such a great weekend, for being so kind about my new car and for welcoming me despite turning up in an old Merc


Finally, my thoughts on some of the comments so far....



As a relative newbie and my first 'UK Meet' I must disagree with this. Please remember that Tony / Viv don't get anything out of organising this and therefore, I for one was very grateful for the level of organisation that obviously took place.

Also, from a 'welcoming and friendly' point of view I think it's every individuals responsibility to put in what they want to get out of the meet; again, I personally found that when I interacted with other members, I was made to feel very welcome.




Given this is a BMW forum I don't really feel it appropriate that I should ever instigate a C63 v M3 comparison. However as I have owned both I do feel that I'm reasonably well qualified to comment on this! Therefore, this is the one and ONLY time I will get involved in an M3 v C63 conversation!

With all due respect, the C63 seen on TV is nothing like mine; as has been mentioned before, mine has a Performance Pack which means very hard suspension, uprated 6 piston composite brakes and a limited slip diff. Whilst still quicker round a track, I doubt the M3 would have had the advantage you saw on TV if the C63 had a diff (think 335i with and without the Quaife diff as a good example of the difference).

However, I will still stand by my original comments from my other post that the C63 does NOT handle as well as an M3; it isn't as well balanced and without a doubt, will not go round a track as effectively. This does not however stop the C63 being the easier car to drive fast on a public road by some margin.




Correct; and if I had wanted another M3, I would have bought one!




Carl...I don't know how you did it. You were SMASHED....STEAMING. Yet you got up 3 hours after going to bed to watch it. Respect...if nothing else, a true F1 fan! But utterly insane.


Roll on UK9

Mate ,its a great car ,enjoy it .