Getting ready for 3ma11

[Thotos]

In previous years I was a much better organised person and by the end of January I had already prepared myself, in part at least, for the 3ma. This year is quite different and not just for the 3ma   I hadn't even (until today) changed my wall year planner in the office to the 2011 one. As the 2010 planner included January 2011 I was simply not planning very far ahead into 2011.   Worse still, the 131 MOT test certificate has expired and the car is sitting in the garage being used as storage space  

But don't worry, because a lot of the organisation for 3ma11 has been done. We have found what seems like a nice hotel and got a very special deal for us. We have provisionally arranged for a rather special place to hold our static display on Saturday the 7th of May and we have even plotted some provisional driving routes. In fact the 3 mad amigos will be getting together this weekend for a recce to finalise both the hotel deal and the driving routes.

For those of you who have not started planning your 3ma11 visit in May, now is the time to update your calendars and year planners  3ma11 is marked in orange (for the orange boys of course but all colours of Fiat 131 are welcome) in my year planner (photo below) but if the photo is not clear enough, the dates are Thursday 5th of May to Sunday 8th of May 2011.  Ignore the green stars on my planner - that's the Eurovision Song Contest in Dusseldorf. Talking of which, do we have any German members that can find me a hotel in Dusseldorf for the Eurovision? I can't find anything for less than ?250 a night!

[kev131]

Well the Irish amigo is just hitting the airport now - See you two tomorrow when I hope you'll agree to all my ideas.  

Just been speaking to the Irish Rugby head coaching team as they are flying to Scotland for the Scotland/Ireland game tonight. As rugby is my second favourite leisure time activity... that's distracted me from Fiats for a few minutes. 

[simon131]

I got the 'taxi' fixed today - replacement o/s/f fog light at great expense after being smashed by hitting a pheasant at high speed before Christmas

Will fill the car with diesel in the morning and wash it if I get time as I wouldn't want Theo and Kevin to driven around in a dirty BMW

No doubt Theo will give you all an update tomorrow evening from his 'mobile internet' enabled Notebook.

[Heini131]

nice one 

3ma= 3 mad amigos

[bellamacchina]

Didn't you know that Heini?

Theo, simply try etap.com and find a cheap hotels. Otherwise you can sleep in my storage with the cars. Dusseldorf is less then 2 hours for you for sure.

[131akafa]

Excellent news!
Sounds like I can fix that "tba" on the t-shirt draft soon...  


Good luck and success with your recce!!

Ren?
(who already got his application for leave signed )

[simon131]

Excellent Rene!! Make sure that you make my shirt in XXL size!

Yes, I have my application for leave signed, but only on the condition that I also bring my wife as well as my children I think we'll need those t-shirts in teenage kids sizes too!

[Thotos]

I sign my own holiday applications (in fact I have my digitised signature embedded into the application form so I don't even have to sign it  ) so that's the least of my problems. 

[mirafiori76]

Would love to come over to England in a 131 , for the third time, but unfortunatly i can't. I've been at brooklands two times with my replica. So please, for all of us who have to stay behind, make sure you all make enough pictures. Right?

[jasonh131]

I hope the sun shines and frosts don't freeze  
   i got mine signed last year   ,
 its all go now i have to get an other set of points
 and kick the tyres

[Thotos]

Would love to come over to England in a 131 , for the third time, but unfortunatly i can't. I've been at brooklands two times with my replica. So please, for all of us who have to stay behind, make sure you all make enough pictures. Right?

There'll be plenty of free passenger spaces in the cars. If you can't bring your 131 just get yourself near to one of the 131s that are going and hitch a passenger space   

[Thotos]

.... you can sleep in my storage with the cars. Dusseldorf is less then 2 hours for you for sure.

Thanks Albert   Are you also offering use of the cars to drive to D?sseldorf and back each day?   That would certainly be worth all the driving...  

I think I might have to go for Plan B which is to drive rather than fly to D?sseldorf and stay in Cologne or somewhere else near D?sseldorf with a good selection of reasonably priced hotels. So it seems I'll spend 6 days from 4th to 9th of May driving for the 3ma (including to and from) then leave straight for Germany returning on the 15th of May. That'll be 12 days of solid driving! Nice!    

[mirafiori76]

Theo,
The car is not the problem. I could bring my Racing WR. Lack of time and money is more the issue.

[Thotos]

Well, the 3 mad amigos spent most of today in a pub in Bristol 3ma planning. And a very successful day it was too. We have agreed on the driving routes for the 4 days of the 3ma and we have decided agreed and finalised the location for our static display. Some of the driving routes might be a bit on the long side but there's so much to see and visit in this part of the world that we wanted to get as much of it as possible into the four days. The 3ma is about driving after all! But we'll be driving some of the routes tomorrow and adjusting them where necessary. We have also approved the hotel choice and in fact I am sending this report from my 3ma hotel room   Full details and booking instructions will be released in a couple of days.  

The rather nice red car in the photo below is parked in the hotel car park. I wish I could say it's our recce car    but unfortunately it's not 

[kev131]

Just back 24 hours from the UK and from meeting the other two MAs and I thought I'd share my driving experience from the weekend.

We had hired a car as the visit was combined with a wedding and we needed to get around a bit. The usual mundane Focus/Astra car was chosen on line and when I went to pick up the keys the lady declared that "my car was not ready and would I like an Abarth instead..?" Aside from, what a more appropriate car choice on a 3MA planning weekend, I was in sufficient control of my reaction to delay answering and instead ask what else was there? An Insignia Auto or a Galaxy I was told. That was a no brainer and minutes later I picked up Jacquie in the mad little 500 and off we went.

I have had a diesel 500 previously as a hire car but there is no comparison between the two. The Abarth is a busy little buzz box with a jiggly ride, rubbish seats, hopeless ergomonics, very little space and is a car very likely to promote passenger seat comments like "slow down ffs" or "I hope the cops catch you and lock you up, you maniac"! Actually we weren't going that fast ever but what feels like 90 mph is actually 65!

I know that most of the above sounds negative but the car does have quite a few positives. Such as it's ability to sprint away from the lights especially with the Sport button on. Second gear and roundabouts are it's forte and dry weather grip is huge along with powerful and sensitive brakes.

I'd never buy one myself, being too mature for that sort of thing  on a regular basis but for 4 days over a long weekend it was great fun, for me at least!