Fish & Chip Run: An Engineer’s Perspective
Story by Jeff Jackson, pictures by Gloria Wade.
A Sunday afternoon sunset at the seaside overlooking beautiful Moreton Bay, what better way to spend the last weekend of summer.
Well, there is a better way, spend a couple of hours with a bunch of 40 LCQ folk driving 20 Lotuses through terrain varying between suburbia, rolling hills, mountain roads consisting of blind crests muddled with tight turns, topped off with an esplanade cruise to a jolly good fish & chip shop where we all fish & chipped that same sunset into the evening’s darkness. That’s a much better way. (The question I have to ponder is; shouldn’t the President and Treasurer at least drive a Lotus too?)
And so, to the seaside we went, and without putting too fine a point on it, we made a lovely afternoon of it.
Fact Sheet:
- Date: 28 February 2016, Sunday 2.30pm for 3.00pm start.
- Start: Baroona Road Shopping Centre, Milton.
- Finish: Doug’s Seafood Café cnr Flinders Pde & 2nd Ave, Sandgate, 5.30pm. After buying one’s food and drinks we all enjoyed a picnic on the grass adjacent to the ocean, watching a beautiful sunset.
- Distance: Approximately 150km?
- Route Summary: Milton to Gap via Mt Cootha, Gap to Samford, Samford to Lake Samsonvale, Lake Samsonvale to Deception Bay, Deception Bay to Sandgate. (You need to have done it to have an idea where we went).
- Type of Roads: Majority secondary back roads.
- Speeds: 60 – 80 mostly! Plus a bit sometimes…
- Scenery: Roads, trees, mountains, dams, lakes, houses, units, boats, ocean.
- Weather: Partly cloudy, sunny, few spots rain at one stage, windy.
- Re-Grouping: At key milestones.
- Stops for whatever: None.
- Route Instructions: Very thorough – each car was provided with a printed route schedule.
- Briefing: Before the start of the run, good.
- Scheduling and ETA’s: Excellent.
- Communications: Radios lead car to sweep car. No-one lost.
- Food: Very good. A busy food outlet is generally always good.
- Organisers: Clive Wade / Wade Greensill.
- Reported by: Jeff & Bev Jackson.
What did they say?
- Stop at re-group? Stop at halfway point for a stretch? Could we have a 5 min stop at the dam please?
- Most of the time I had no idea where we were (my fault not yours).
- Windy! Fish was good.
- Good run, lots of twisty roads, Moira loved the Integra’s A/C, however, prefers the Caterham’s handling. A couple of white knuckle moments, maybe Daryl’s driving.
- Good run – very hot in an old Elan – needed refreshments. Relieved to get some as the sun set.
- Thanks to Clive for the fun.
- My husband told me that before we left I wouldn’t need to worry about ginger tablets for nausea because “There aren’t any twisty bits” Hmm….
- Those Fiat 500’s are hard to keep up with! (edit: FIAT 500 Abarth!)
- Great roads! I’ve never been on those roads before. Also great to have an afternoon run.
- Awesome and no sign of wallopers!
- Great mixture of twisty urban roads. Nobody got lost thanks to Clive’s precise instructions.
- Enjoyed the run thoroughly. Great sights, fantastic windy roads and friendly people as always. Can’t get enough of the spectators. Good fish & chips.
- Great quick run, pity the Lotuses couldn’t keep up with the Abarth. (Da wife’s shopping trolley).
- Thanks for a great run and all the work the organisers did to make it happen so smoothly.
- Great company, fun drive, awesome cars, good food.
Who was there?
Pete & Mandy (Lotus Exige), Barry & Adele (Lotus Elise), Steve & Mary-Anne (Lotus Europa), Alan & Ruth (Lotus Esprit), Greg & Chris (Lotus Elan), Daniel (Caterham Twin Cam), Russell & Leigh (Lotus Elise), Wade & Aston (Lotus Elan FWD), Jeff & Bev (Lotus Elise 111s), Greg & ?? (Subaru BR2), Alex & Carol (Lotus Elise 111s), Tim & Son (Lotus Europa S), Johan (Lotus Elise S3), Peter & Norma (Lotus Elise), Tom & ?? (Porsche Boxster), Clive & Gloria (Fiat Abarth 595), Peter & Sue (Lotus Esprit), Daryl & Moria (Honda Integra).
To conclude
A great afternoon of fun, and enjoyment. Great company, great cars, and great fish ‘n chips. There will always be more so don’t miss out next time!
Many thanks, Jeff & Bev.
