Smart London to Brighton Run 2003

Full of anticipation the couple in the numeric blue Smart City Coupe pass under the finish banner at Brighton and into the car park, smiling and waving to all. 

I don’t know who they were but they looked like nice people.  Jenny and I arrived some time before and never did get to the “finish”. 

The Smartclub London to Brighton run has been eagerly awaited in the Broome household since the 02 event.  Our [sorry Jenny’s] numeric blue City Coupe, known as M&M, “cos it looks like a blue one”, has been seen every where, Hambach, Billing, Bruntingthorpe, loads of meets and many more places besides. [pay]

The day starts fairly early for us considering it is a Saturday [no lay in today then] to join local Reading smarties for a tube to Kempton via Sainsbury’s near Bracknell to, hopefully, meet up with smarties from the south.  In fact the day actually started the day before when guess who had the job of valeting and applying stickers to the wee thing. Bless!

So fully breakfasted we arrive at the rendezvous to find we are last there, but right on time we set off on the first leg with André leading in his roadster with four Smarts close behind. At Bracknell we catch sight of another tube and almost link up but not quite.  At the Sainsbury’s car park we find the Bracknell contingent waiting but when leaving time approaches there is no sign of the guys coming up the M3 so we decide to move on to Kempton. 

The journey to Kempton is achieved by radio-controlled tube and at the M25 junction more Smarts appear seemingly on cue.  On arrival we are quickly marshaled into rows but unfortunately many of our number end up in a different group.

After meeting up with friends old and new and taking a few pics [were there really only 800 in the sea of Smarts?] the build up to the start is accompanied by much horn blowing. At 10:00 the signal horn sounds for the first group to leave led by the V6 Brabus beastie. 

We are in the third group and pass under the start banner at 10:50 and after one hour have done precisely 15 miles and are almost at a standstill on the M25! having traveled via Hampton Court and Esher High Street.  Still at least the slow journey through the High Street allowed Jenny to identify the building in which she first worked after leaving school!

Once the accident on the M25 is passed [on the other carriage way] we move along at a much better pace but attempts to form a tube come to naught especially when most of those we are traveling with pull off at Peas Pottage services and everybody else seems to think there’s a prize for first to Brighton.  It was nice to see the people on the bridges over the M23/A23, adults and kids, waving as we passed though. 

The barely moving queue at the A23/A27 junction persuades us to take a detour to get into Brighton and we eventually arrive in Madeira Drive [via Woodingdene and cheap blobs] at 13:45 but did not go through the finish because we were directed to the Marina car park.  A quick wine accompanied picnic, prepared by the fair Jenny, and we hurl ourselves into the melee that is a Smart gathering.  See and talk to a lot of folks we’ve met before and some we haven’t.  After looking at the cars in the competitions, talking to some of the owners and taking more pics we take a wander down to Pavilion 2?  meeting up on the way with S2massive i.e. Steve the Smartimes editor, and Steve the Gourmet Snapper.

In the “third party area” we find Kevin Ash having his tyres gunged, chat to some of the guys and gals from Smarts-R-Us who are here just for the day out, and sink a refreshing pint.

We only seem to have been here five minutes and there are cars leaving already, so make our way back to the main parking area where we are surprised to find the competitions decided, prizes awarded and the car park almost empty. We are stunned to find that it is almost 17:00! Where does the time go?

It’s been a great day.  We’ve only seen one of the people we set out with this morning [Eliot] and he was on his way home!  Can’t believe another L2B is over – roll on next year when we will be in a roadster. 

 

Thanks to Al and all at the smartclub. 

 

Submitted By:

NavRog and Smartie Sox & Fox

 

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