Hartside - I could drive this road every day . . .

P

paulgs1000

Elite
 Newcastle upon Tyne
Had a message from PorthoZ asking if I fancied a run out over Hartside on Wed. :lol: Doesn't take much to get me on this road. :thumbsup: I think I'm right in saying this route has been called one of the top 5 drives in the UK :driving: :thumbsup: . The forecast was good but unfortunately Cherrym was busy and Chezsherman was at work so it was just the two of us. Taking turns as lead, we had a brilliant run out to Alston and on to Hartside, then the crème de la crème for me, the section over the top and down to Melmerby and then back. Once was not enough, as we found the café closed when we returned back up, we simply headed down again and did it all once more! Fabulous, with the benefit of a nice cuppa at Melmerby. We headed back to Alston, Middleton In Teesdale and back on the A68 to arrive home before the light was lost.

After this first hoon on them, we have decided the winter tyres are coming off - just too unreliable (too many slides and losses of traction) they break traction even on a fast accelerated overtake - not good. Steph called them 'fun stoppers' and totally agreed with the decision - and it takes a lot to worry her on the road. A set of GoodYears going on - we don't need to use the Zed in the snow or ice and Eagle F1s have never let us down in some dreadful weather - we know where we are with them (I hope :cry: spit on the floor, turn around twice and touch wood - wish I hadn't said that :( ) We will be leaving the black wheels on though . . . .























Thanks Dave, another great run :driving: :thumbsup:





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Ha ha, bet you can do that road blindfold now, good stuff, we had a run round the yorshire moors today, as the forcast was sunny int east,
Helmsley , to stokesley , great ayton, down to hutton le hole, rosedale abbey an back home int dark down A1 ,
M
 
4th pic down, I'm never confident blasting around that bend.

Do you think you are fast now in the car or quicker on the bike back in the day?

I'm thinking car feels faster???

(....safe fast of course)
 
paulgs1000 said:
After this first hoon on them, we have decided the winter tyres are coming off - just too unreliable (too many slides and losses of traction) they break traction even on a fast accelerated overtake - not good. Steph called them 'fun stoppers' and totally agreed with the decision .
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Always enjoy catching up on your roadtrips Paul but this part had me chuckling :P
Not sure winter tyres were ever designed so folks could still hoon 12 months a year :D they are more so you can get from A - B in all condition's but not necessarily at 75mph into wet bends :driving:
As you say , if you don't need to use the Z in adverse weather then probably better on decent new summers :thumbsup:
 
As Paul has already said great run out today, I knew I was on a winner with my suggestion of Hartside . He wanted to go down and back up a third time an absolute glutton for punishment :rofl: Roll on next week !
 
AlienZed said:
Ha ha, bet you can do that road blindfold now, good stuff, we had a run round the yorshire moors today, as the forcast was sunny int east,
Helmsley , to stokesley , great ayton, down to hutton le hole, rosedale abbey an back home int dark down A1 ,
M
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Love it - absolutely love it :lol: We could have come and done the Helmsley TT :thumbsup:

buzyg said:
:thumbsup: All way a joy to see some one has been enjoying their Zed. :driving:
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Do like to post up what we've been up to - definitely enjoy it :thumbsup:

John002 said:
4th pic down, I'm never confident blasting around that bend.

Do you think you are fast now in the car or quicker on the bike back in the day?

I'm thinking car feels faster???

(....safe fast of course)
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Safe fast definitely :thumbsup:
That's a tight bend that appears to tighten and having no sight line, difficult to assess - doesn't matter how many times you take it, it takes nerve to hold a steady throttle. Got to keep in mind bikes when coming the other way, as they can run a little wide on this (and other) bends, so never 100%.

Interesting question about which is faster - I've followed bikes down this section and been held up by them braking for all the bends much earlier than you can in the Zed - and been left for dead by bikes on the way up. I used to love this road on the bike as well but much preferred attacking it uphill than downhill. (I was always amazed at some of the speeds the bikers hit heading down - bigger kahoonas than me!). Nothing comes close to a big bike for acceleration but I love the Zed on this road.

mr wilks said:
Always enjoy catching up on your roadtrips Paul but this part had me chuckling :P
Not sure winter tyres were ever designed so folks could still hoon 12 months a year :D they are more so you can get from A - B in all condition's but not necessarily at 75mph into wet bends :driving:
As you say , if you don't need to use the Z in adverse weather then probably better on decent new summers :thumbsup:
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You're right, thought they might be more useful in lower temperatures but you live and learn :lol:

Porthoz4 said:
As Paul has already said great run out today, I new I was on a winner with my suggestion of Hartside . He wanted to go down and back up a third time an absolute glutton for punishment :rofl: Roll on next week !
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Great run out indeed - you've definitely got to grips with your new Zed Dave :driving: :thumbsup:

Toe-side said:
And here was I twiddling my thumbs looking for a run out! Dang!
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Damn - though we were only out for 3 hours . . .
 
PeterZed said:
Gawd, I need a Hartside fix :D .... is the cafe closed during the winter months ? :(
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That's the spirit Peter! I was surprised it was closed to be honest - Looked up on the internet and got this:

Address: Hartside Top Cafe, Hartside Summit, Alston Road, Alston, Penrith, CA9 3BW

Phone Number: 01434-381036

Opening hours: Open 7 days a week from the beginning of April to end of October from 9am to 5pm.

In November, January, February and March open Friday to Monday from 10am to 4pm weather permitting, Closed all December.
 
shortfuse 2 said:
some great pics there then roads are to die for and so empty magic spot on
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Double-right shortfuse and with just the two of us, dispatching traffic was a little easier. :thumbsup:


Following my OP, I've ordered a set of GY Eagle F1s and am having them fitted on the black wheels on Tuesday. It'll take a couple of hundred miles to bed them in so Steph and I will be hitting the highway again just as soon as the weather settles down a bit - very high winds and rain up here :(
 
yes we have had high winds and rain got the extension floor down today 10 metre x 3.8 metres I think its broke my back can ease off and hopefully use the z but have not got the time to travel to you for one of those drives
 
shortfuse 2 said:
yes we have had high winds and rain got the extension floor down today 10 metre x 3.8 metres I think its broke my back can ease off and hopefully use the z but have not got the time to travel to you for one of those drives
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With the terrible weather that sounds like just the time to get that job done :thumbsup:

We'll be out and about again next year - keep a look out on the forum if you fancy coming for a run out :thumbsup:
 
Had my "Hartside" fix last week for the first time this year :) with a couple of mates, one has a JAGUAR XKR, the other TVR CERBERA an enjoyable "spirited" run of 180 miles , the Zed and I loved it!! :driving: :D
 
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