Newbie, first Caterham imminent. Advice please.

[halstock]

Morning all,

Getting very excited as three weeks today I'm off to collect my first Caterham and, weather permitting, should have a decent introduction to the car - a 650 mile, 2-3 day drive from Inverness to Dorset, by the scenic route Yeah, I know, I've picked an interesting time of year for THAT drive. I'm expecting to get wet.

I've been a massive Caterham fan for a number of years and have hired the Mark on Europe 175 Roadsport for a few long weekends so I *sort of* know what I'm letting myself in for, but can't quite believe I'll soon have one of my own. Wifey said I had to build the garage before I got the car - at least we're nearly at plate level...

So, a couple of questions :

The car has tillets and I'd quite like to take some seat pads with me to put on for the journey back. I like the look of the diamond-pattern Oxted ones; are there any better options, and whichever I buy, what is the best/cheapest route to sourcing them (£190 a pair delivered, on eBay) ?

Any suggestions for MUST-drive roads on my journey back ? I want to avoid motorways altogether and hope to come through the Lake District, Kirkstone Pass at least if the weather's up to it (which I realise will likely be my most limiting factor). I'll have my 15 year old son with me so we're looking to make it a memorable road trip.

I live in Beaminster in Dorset. Are there any other owners anywhere near, or anyone know of any area-groups local to me ? Also are there any garages or specialists that know Caterhams near me ? I want to get to grips with the car for myself (eventually) but would rather know that the experts have got it covered to start off with, at least.

Looking forward to joining the community. Go easy on me, eh ?

Best wishes to all,

Andy

[pikeyboy]

Congrats, IMHO tillets are comfy enough without any padding! Save the cash and buy some warm jummpers and gloves. Felt like I nearly got frost bite the other morning in mine had warm my hands over the front pipes when I got to work.

[halstock]

Thanks for your thoughts. I've read a few threads saying that the tillets are indeed comfy enough by themselves, but also that the pads help avoid ar$e-freezing syndrome, quite apart from the comfort aspect. I guess I could just see how I feel after the trip back, I just thought that with such a long journey the extra comfort wouldn't go amiss.

And yes, I know there are many more-epic journeys done in Sevens regularly - did I read 750 miles in one day ?

[jeremyc]

In my experience you need to make sure you have nothing in your back pockets (wallets or similar) - I've found that sitting on something in Tillets very quickly makes one leg/foot numb.

Curiously it appears to be the leg on the opposite side to the item in the pocket ....

Oh, and welcome to the club. Get ready for plenty of grinning.

[pikeyboy]

jeremyc said:

In my experience you need to make sure you have nothing in your back pockets (wallets or similar) - I've found that sitting on something in Tillets very quickly makes one leg/foot numb.

Curiously it appears to be the leg on the opposite side to the item in the pocket ....

Oh, and welcome to the club. Get ready for plenty of grinning.

Do you I had some change in my back pocket and my arse started to go a bit numb and I only drove about 20 mls

[ewenm]

Tillets - don't know but they are rumoured to be very comfy on their own.
Roads - in the Lakes, consider the A6 from Penrith to Kendal rather than the Kirkstone route - it'll be quieter and is a better drive. Further south, from Lancaster head through the Trough of Bowland to Clitheroe and then stay East of Manchester and down through the Peak District to Lichfield (A515 perhaps?). From there, I'd get down to the Fosse Way (A429?) through the Cotswolds to Bath and then south to Dorset.
Local owners - go along to your nearest Lotus 7 Club monthly meet. You'll meet owners from garage polishers to mileage junkies and everything in between.

Edited by ewenm on Wednesday 10th October 09:26

[halstock]

ewenm said:

Tillets - don't know but they are rumoured to be very comfy on their own.
Roads - in the Lakes, consider the A6 from Penrith to Kendal rather than the Kirkstone route - it'll be quieter and is a better drive. Further south, from Lancaster head through the Trough of Bowland to Clitheroe and then stay East of Manchester and down through the Peak District to Lichfield (A515 perhaps?). From there, I'd get down to the Fosse Way (A429?) through the Cotswolds to Bath and then south to Dorset.
Local owners - go along to your nearest Lotus 7 Club monthly meet. You'll meet owners from garage polishers to mileage junkies and everything in between.

Edited by ewenm on Wednesday 10th October 09:26

Thanks for the route advice, will have a look at your suggestions.

I have joined the Lotus 7 Club but the nearest group seems to be Devon. They meet 65 miles from me and while that's a nice excuse for a drive, it would be useful if there's anyone a bit closer, Somerset or Dorset perhaps.

[ewenm]

Any of these any use?

L7CGB Dorset, East Lulworth
L7CGB Somerset and Wessex, Taunton
L7CGB Wiltshire (South), Warminster

[halstock]

ewenm said:

Any of these any use?

L7CGB Dorset, East Lulworth
L7CGB Somerset and Wessex, Taunton
L7CGB Wiltshire (South), Warminster

Thanks for that Don't know why I couldn't find them, but just what I was looking for

[Tango7]

Welcome to the club and Caterham ownership!

For your trip back I'd save the money on the tillet pads for the moment and simply put a thin hand towel on the base to sit on. You just need a thin layer to insulate yourself if it's cold

Have a great run back and take it easy if its wet

T

[PiersR]

You can buy leather seat covers for your tillets from Caterham - I have them and they work well in my R300K. They keeps you much warmer, as the tillets get very cold and as you have already indicated.

I suggest: Ear Plugs, gloves, neck warmer, good jacket to keep you dry, a hat that will say on, bottle of water, as you will get thirsty. Stop every 2 or 3 hours for a break, driving shoes which you know about anyway. Maybe put half the tonneau on. Forget putting the roof up - horible in all weathers.

Good luck

Piers
R300KWK

[Agent Orange]

halstock said:

Morning all,

Getting very excited as three weeks today I'm off to collect my first Caterham and, weather permitting, should have a decent introduction to the car - a 650 mile, 2-3 day drive from Inverness to Dorset, by the scenic route Yeah, I know, I've picked an interesting time of year for THAT drive. I'm expecting to get wet.

Silly question but I need to ask it in case you don't. Do you have suitable footwear? I was advised to get a pair of Puma Speed Cats and they are perfect for a Caterham.

Enjoy the journey. I'm picking up mine this Saturday from Lymington.

[Toaster]

halstock said:

So, a couple of questions :

The car has tillets and I'd quite like to take some seat pads with me to put on for the journey back. I like the look of the diamond-pattern Oxted ones; are there any better options, and whichever I buy, what is the best/cheapest route to sourcing them (£190 a pair delivered, on eBay) ?

Oxted trimming/thundersport is what you want they are quite close to the showroom (comparatively)

http://www.oxtedgroup.co.uk/pages/caterham-7.shtml

http://www.thundersport.co.uk/accessories/series3/...

Edited by Toaster on Wednesday 10th October 22:35

[Dr Slotter]

halstock said:

hired the Mark on Europe 175 Roadsport for a few long weekends

Which is now sat in my garage. Being looking out for its previous 'owners'!

[halstock]

Aha, I wondered who had it now. It was a bit spooky to receive my first copy of Lowflying yesterday and see it on the cover. Nice work on the recolouring.

How did you come to buy it - were you one of Dave's hire customers ?

[Dr Slotter]

Caterham were on the lookout for a RS175 for me and he was getting them to sell it for him (I think).

[Neil W]

The A686 from Hexham, through Alston and on to Penrith. This connects nicely with crossing into the Lakes. This route is very popular with the bikes who all stop at the Hartside cafe between Alston and Penrith.
Not sure of the best route through the Borders but A68 has some good bits (watch out for cameras), or take in Kielder, both taking you to Hexham.
Have fun.

[kitcat7]

Hi Andy,

I'm a little late to your original post, but the good thing is that you should be very close to picking up your Seven.

With regard to meetings, you are more than welcome to pop up to Taunton for the Somerset and Wessex area meet on the first Thursday of the month, at the Rumwell Inn, midway between Taunton and Wellington. We are there from around 8pm, though I personally am having to miss the November meeting, however you will get a warm welcome nonetheless.

You could be lucky living in Beaminster, one of the old stalwarts of the Seven club is one of your neighbours, and what he doesn't know about Sevens and Sevening isn't worth knowing, PM me for his details if you are interested.

Looking forward to meeting up.

Paul Jacobs
[Som & Wessex AO]

[halstock]

Hi Paul, thanks for getting in touch. I look forward to coming along to the meet and getting to know some of the local owners. I'll certainly be needing plenty of advice along the way! I have PM'd you re: the possible local contact.

Thanks also to those who have passed on advice re: seat pads/shoes/driving routes/insurance/other sundry tips. I am busy planning my route and getting more and more excited about some of the wonderful roads I'll get to drive - the beauty of Google Streetview, I can just plonk myself on a road and see what it'll be like I just hope I can see my way through the inevitable downpour - that's what I'm preparing myself for, anyway.

This time in two weeks I'll be half way back...

Cheers,

Andy

[Johnfrancis]

Good luck for tomorrow Andy, it will be 3 days to remember, something to tell the Grandchildren in years to come.