I set off Saturday morning to ride down to the New Forest as there was a car event at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Unfortunately I'd picked the hottest weekend of the year so far (30 degC) and Fathers day weekend, so it seemed like every motorist in England was heading south for the coast to enjoy the weather. It also soon became apparent that full riding gear and high temperatures don't mix - it was like sitting in a sauna! Be fair, it is only a day or two every few years that we get this weather so I tried to be a man and put up with it.
After filtering between miles of stationary traffic on the M25 then the M4 motorway I began to realise I wasn't going to get down to Beaulieu in a day - I spent 3 hours to travel 60 miles! So after cooling off and re-hydrating in a motorway service station I decided to head over to my son's house in Henley which wasn't too far off track. Luckily his little son was visiting for the weekend, so we called my daughter up and all went out for a Mexican meal to celebrate Fathers day.
Sunday morning I was up early to ride the rest of the way to Beaulieu before it got too hot. Much better! Made it there by 11am, by which time the temperature was back up to 30 degC again! I had a pleasant time strolling around the beautiful grounds of the motor museum looking at all things mechanical, then on to the hot rod & American car show, these being my first love going right back to when I was a teenager reading American hot rodding magazines.
By mid-afternoon it was melting hot, so I decided to set off back home. Unfortunately all those motorists I'd passed in the massive traffic jams on Saturday all had the same idea, so back to gridlock again! By this time I just could not be arsed with it, so took to the little country lanes and meandered back up to my son's house again, slept there overnight, finally getting home around lunch-time Monday. I enjoyed the cars, the riding not so much! Still, as I write this the weather is cooling down so no doubt it will be raining by the end of the week! Here's a few pictures of some of the cars that took my eye.
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| 1934 Ford 3 window hi-boy |
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| Mercury |
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| 1932 Ford 3 window |
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| T bucket with Ford Pop behind |
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| Mk 1 Ford Consul |
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| Pop |
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| Pop with supercharged V8 |
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| Really! |
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| Jiving in 30 deg heat - mad! |
Hello, John. Great pics. I love hotrods. One of my former colleagues were into building these... however the way he does it would never get approval from a German technical supervisory board (TÜV).
ReplyDeleteHi Sonja, yes I heard your TUV is quite strict. Here in U.K. Our MOT is a bit easier, provided the car is just modified. If it's a new build that's more difficult. I too built hot rods (in my youth) but not to the standards of the ones in the show!
DeleteHowdy John. Some really nice cars at that show. I bet it was worth the weather to see them in person.
ReplyDeleteWe are heading an hour and a half south of us on Saturday to a Wings and Wheels event. Vintage airplanes, cars, and motorcycles. We were originally going to ride there on the bikes but temperatures are forecast to be 100˚F (38˚C) so we are taking the Fiat instead.
Hi Brandy, yes great to see the cars, especially in such a nice setting & with 'California' weather.
DeleteI think you're wise to do your trip by car, I hadn't realised how uncomfortable it is to ride in those high temperatures (unusual for us here in UK)
Nice cars ... and great riding, ah but for the weather.
ReplyDeleteWell the hot weather has continued, and I think I've found a solution. The faster you ride, the more cooling breeze you get - so it's flat-out everywhere I can ;)
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