Is anyone else finding it harder to drive for fun?
Discussion
Johnnytheboy said:
If you mention cyclists everyone reacts. You have to like them now, it's the rules.
Not really. Some of them are total morons. A bit like some drivers or some PH members. In fact like in any group of humans.Some of them are even cyclists, drivers and PH members, all at the same time.
Johnnytheboy said:
OK: find me a thread where someone said something negative about cyclists and didn't get a reaction.
I just said some were morons so we'll see what the reaction is like. You can't really blame people for reacting to puerile and sweeping statements. It seems that cyclists have indeed become an easy target for unhinged and angry drivers/PHers
For me being not a morning person at all , the end summer means the end of a late evening drive when the roads are empty and at there most enjoyable. So winter time is a challenge. Today was ok though a drive to watch my son’s football game was very enjoyable, even with the odd really annoying Sunday driver , I guess some of it is down to having the right car , I changed mine last year to a more enjoyable but slower car , so you can use the power in more than 2 gears , and it’s bloody great . 
Any excuse for a pic
Any excuse for a pic
Turning Japanese said:
Ive just got back from a 1 hour cross country spirited drive in my GT86. I had no destination in mind, just exploring the buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire countryside around where I live. I used to love drives like this on a Sunday but Im finding more often than not Im getting home afterwards feeling frustrated and wondering wether I really want or need to own a performance car any more.
My main frustration is that the roads around here are in such bad condition it makes driving slightly quickly both difficult and dangerous. Add to that the number of cyclists riding in huge packs and the amount of slow sunday drivers clogging up the back roads means its really hard to get a good uninterrupted flow going.
Im now seriously considering selling my car and buying something 'normal' and then maybe a motorbike for a bit of fun.
Anyone else finding themselves feeling the same?
Yep, but it might be age.My main frustration is that the roads around here are in such bad condition it makes driving slightly quickly both difficult and dangerous. Add to that the number of cyclists riding in huge packs and the amount of slow sunday drivers clogging up the back roads means its really hard to get a good uninterrupted flow going.
Im now seriously considering selling my car and buying something 'normal' and then maybe a motorbike for a bit of fun.
Anyone else finding themselves feeling the same?
Too many dashcams
Too many potholes.
Too many cyclists.
Not enough time.
Bit when i was younger - f
k it, take my chance. Potholes can be avoided. cyclists are just a moving chicane, plenty of time.The roads have always been gash, the main change IMO is that dashcam man means that police by proxy is an issue, and cars in general have got a load better meaning that you have to push more into "deep water" territory to get any thrill. Your best bet? Get a caterham or similar, keep it on narrow tyres and have fun at a lower speed. Although you said gt86 so obv point and squirt wasnt your bag to start with! Honestly though, the only thing thwt makes you appreciate speed more than a 7 is a classic (but thats because pushing on in an xk120 isnt fun its terrifying and awful, at the same time!)
Turning Japanese said:
Ive just got back from a 1 hour cross country spirited drive in my GT86. I had no destination in mind, just exploring the buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire countryside around where I live. I used to love drives like this on a Sunday but Im finding more often than not Im getting home afterwards feeling frustrated and wondering wether I really want or need to own a performance car any more.
My main frustration is that the roads around here are in such bad condition it makes driving slightly quickly both difficult and dangerous. Add to that the number of cyclists riding in huge packs and the amount of slow sunday drivers clogging up the back roads means its really hard to get a good uninterrupted flow going.
Im now seriously considering selling my car and buying something 'normal' and then maybe a motorbike for a bit of fun.
Anyone else finding themselves feeling the same?
Do you live in Thame?My main frustration is that the roads around here are in such bad condition it makes driving slightly quickly both difficult and dangerous. Add to that the number of cyclists riding in huge packs and the amount of slow sunday drivers clogging up the back roads means its really hard to get a good uninterrupted flow going.
Im now seriously considering selling my car and buying something 'normal' and then maybe a motorbike for a bit of fun.
Anyone else finding themselves feeling the same?
Chuck328 said:
I suppose it depends on where you live and what's readily accessible...
Follow that road a a few miles down and it takes you into a glen that had some scenes shot from James Bond Skyfall. The bit where 'M' dies IRRC.
Anyway, epic place for good cars.
I'm lucky.
You are very lucky! And I'm jealous. Follow that road a a few miles down and it takes you into a glen that had some scenes shot from James Bond Skyfall. The bit where 'M' dies IRRC.
Anyway, epic place for good cars.
I'm lucky.
I went out at around 7.30 last Sunday morning to meet some other Z4 owners at Newlands Corner but since the 2012 Olympics the A25 is a permanent sea of Lycra!
As a former cyclist I don't have an issue with that, but in a car it does impose restrictions because the roads aren't generally wide enough to allow you to pass if someone is coming the other way. Maybe it's time to go back to 2 wheels - but with an engine obviously.
Still I passed some cyclists just after East Clandon but a couple of corners later there was a horse-box struggling up the hill with a few cars already backed up behind it!
Yesterday (Saturday) I did a similar drive around mid-day to go to Denbies Vineyard in Dorking. Less cyclists and no horse-boxes, just traffic.
The joys of living in the Home Counties!
Late night drives seem to be the best option in this part of the world.
Seeing as others have posted photos I might as well post one too!
scorcher said:
Get up earlier and go out before everyone else have got put their beds.
In days of yore this is what I'd suggest, but there seems to be a larger police presence in the early hours down here in Sussex.I recently got nabbed doing 45 in a 30 and even though the road really should be 40 (long smooth and wide downhill section), I was bang to rights, but it still smarts that in the early hours police are hiding around in bushes and parks waiting to catch easy targets.
I know these type of "disenfranchised" threads have been appearing regularly since PHs inception but it does seem like fun little driving moments are slowly being killed off.
Mrs JS somehow concluded a autumn road trip round the west country was an acceptable substitute for a couple of weeks in the Canarian sunshine.
A driving holiday in the UK rather than Europe is something we've not done for decades but 800 miles and three tanks of fuel later on mostly sub standard roads overpopulated with ignorant and arsey drivers in dismal weather has clearly demonstrated why driving in the UK isn't fun anymore.
A driving holiday in the UK rather than Europe is something we've not done for decades but 800 miles and three tanks of fuel later on mostly sub standard roads overpopulated with ignorant and arsey drivers in dismal weather has clearly demonstrated why driving in the UK isn't fun anymore.
The main roads around me are horrible and they are always packed with lorries/vans/cars with very limited overtaking opportunity. However I'm fortunate to have lots of very quiet roads around me too where I rarely see many other cars, so I just use those for fun driving and avoid the main routes.
I do see the odd cyclist though and they always manage to ruin even the brightest of days, but that is just life sadly. There is a trend nowadays where cyclists always ride in the middle of the road...rather than tucking into the left hand side and it boils my piss.
I do see the odd cyclist though and they always manage to ruin even the brightest of days, but that is just life sadly. There is a trend nowadays where cyclists always ride in the middle of the road...rather than tucking into the left hand side and it boils my piss.
There are some great roads near me, but local road closures for roadworks have bunched traffic up on some of the smaller roads, meaning weekends are just no fun for driving anymore. They will open up again in a few weeks though, so hopefully it quietens down again.
The one bit on my way home when a 30 goes to an NSL on the middle of nowhere, ALWAYS has some cyclists these days... May need to commit some longer drives further affield, came across a great PH thread from 2009 discussing the best roads not far from me, so I might go and see how they stack up a decade later.
The one bit on my way home when a 30 goes to an NSL on the middle of nowhere, ALWAYS has some cyclists these days... May need to commit some longer drives further affield, came across a great PH thread from 2009 discussing the best roads not far from me, so I might go and see how they stack up a decade later.
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