The Cal-look Lounge

As many you probably know, Keith Seume and Russell Ritchie have shipped their cars, including Tar Babe, to California for the up-coming Bug-In next weekend (May 1-2)... But, while the cars are now in southern California... what about Keith and Russell? With the current air space closure for much of international travel due to the volcano in Iceland, it is possible that both of them might not be able to join their cars for this famous event and reunion. Imagine if you had shiped your pride and joy across the globe and not be able to enjoy it for the event you planned for so long ago? Not to mention the $$$. All eyes are on the volcano and the ash that is preventing international air travel....Just FYI.

Its a major bummer. You think you have everything covered but we are reminded that we are mere mortals.
You never know what can happen in the coming days lets hope the skies clear and they realise their dreams.

Is it possible to take a train into France then fly out of another part of Europe?

The're still flying from spain  ;)

good luck guys, hope you get there

I wonder if  when they finally allow flights again, there will be so many people trying to fly, it will be impossible to get a ticket for quite awhile.
 :'(

well the ash cloud is now on the northern tip of Canada, but Spain is the current best bet.  There is a big argument about how bad the ash is, hopefully it will be resolved asap.

Fingers crossed guys.

But what i can't get my head round is why the next F1 race in Japan is cancelled, they are currently in China and the races are only a week apart, surely you can just leave everything out there, and lorry/boat/air the remaining bits over?

News Flash

Scottish airspace is due to reopen on Tuesday, but flight restrictions will remain in place for most of the UK.

The air traffic control body, Nats, said from 0700 BST on Tuesday Scottish airspace south to a line between Teesside and Blackpool will reopen.

It added that mainland Scottish airports would be open.

Nats said restrictions to airspace above England and Wales could be lifted later on Tuesday if the volcanic ash cloud continued to move away.

In a statement, Nats added: "Assuming there are no further significant ash emissions, we are now looking at a continuously improving situation.

"This is a dynamic and changing situation and is therefore difficult to forecast beyond 0700 local.

"However, the latest Met Office advice is that the contaminated area will continue to move south with the possibility that restrictions to airspace above England and Wales, including the London area, may be lifted later tomorrow."

Planes were first grounded in the UK at midday on Thursday amid fears particles in the ash cloud from Eyjafjallajoekull volcano could cause engines to shut down.

the south of france , italy, spain is reopened too, They authoriize flights but until a certain height

i hope that will be OK for next week , i don' want to miss this event  :-\

New fears that nearby Katla Volcano my errupt due to underground pressures from the first eruption.
May be as much as 100 times more powerful !
 :o
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2908548/iceland_volcano_news_update_no_sign.html?cat=16 (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2908548/iceland_volcano_news_update_no_sign.html?cat=16)

Russell and I had long talks this morning. For me, thinking about going to Spain etc is not an option – there is no way I can afford ($$$$) to do anything like that. My only hope is that I can get out there in time when flying does resume BUT for me another big problem is that I have to get back to the UK on Tuesday/Wednesday after Bug-In because of the production schedules of the four magazines I work on. Unless Virgin could guarantee that, I can't risk it.

Fingers crossed, but I'm not very hopeful to be honest…

I was thinkin of a lot of guys like you sitting somwhere around the world waiting for a plain.
That´s insane how much money this breakdown is costing ... not only for buisness people and companies.

Fingers crossed, hope you guys will make it there!

same for me I will leave on 22 of april  for LAX from paris
but I will take only if I am sure to get back in time for my work at restaurant
I know too that madfrog couldn't get his flight yesterday

I think anybody that is booked to fly out in 3-4 days time will be fine.  You cannot be booted off, its the ones who have already had their flights cancelled that are in difficulty.

I wish everybody all the luck in the world especially you Keith, a dream to drive your own car at a DKP event and then bug-in.  Awesome.

Thanks Lids.  :)

I agree, it is starting to look a little more positive. This morning, I was about ready to slit my wrists. My flights are confirmed and I have my visa etc, so here's hoping.

US Customs still hold the car and tonight have asked for copies of all my paperwork (again!). Bl**dy hell, I thought European bureaucracy was bad! :o

OK, and breathe… ::)

just watching the info on TV , and they talk about starting again flights step by step , but at first to repatriate the peoples being abroad

here's what i found on the national info channel

Great Britain: the air space will be gradually opened again on Tuesday, at 07:00 am GMT for the Scotland. England and Wales will follow, if the meteo conditions allow it

France: the government announced the implementation of "air corridors" between Paris and the airports of the South of the country from Tuesday, 06 hour 00 GMT. Airport situated in the North of a line Nantes-Nice will be partially reopened

Netherlands: air space has to reopen on Monday evening. The KLM airline company announced to have made unstick on Monday at 10:45 am a not commercial flight of Amsterdam-Schiphol to Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, with on board only the staff asked to pilot the plane. The plane landed indeed

I keep my fingers crossed
I check AIRFRANCE website and my flight is not canceled  :P

I am making another attempt and hopefully I will be in So cal next sunday  ???

If it fails again , I will not try further , fingers crossed ;)

madfrog

good luck dude

Go on..... it could be any worse, whats another problem.....

To be honest, as long as its safe to fly I will try, today we were doing plans to pay off 4 staff at the end of the month if this diruption contiues, we have lost 32 jobs since friday because we cant get there , i have people stranded in Angola, Norway and Holland, staff on rigs who cant get home and a guy whos missed his wedding in Mexico at the weekend.......

Many Many people will suffer for this and its not there fault, if i dont get to LA, yip ill be disappointed but Ill get over it............ I hope !  ;)

My current worry is like Keith, do you go and get stuck in LA, now I no thats not bad but it would be expensive and then all the time trying to get home.....

Lets wait and see, tomorrows another day....

Like Russell stated, there might be a chance of getting stuck here. The National weather service says the cloud is heading South toward our East Coast. The whole thing is a big crap shoot day to day, depending on what the jet stream will allow people to do at any given moment. Russell, if you guys got stuck here, at least you'd have something fun to drive around in.

you know what to do next  ;). HEAVE HO you guys need the excercize anywho. better get going now. dont hit any ICEBERGS on the way . youl make it . UD .

cool avatar, Jeff.  8)

I would have thought Russell would have purchased a U-Boat and been well on his way by now !
 ;D

This has been brought up before, but what affect has this volcano had on Fed Ex and air mail?

John

I might get a house and stay, would'nt that be cool !

No Bug-In for me this year, flight canceled :-( And no Classic week too :-( fucking volcano...

The MotoGP has been cancelled, not the F1.

Suddenly not looking good again after a brief period of hope last night...  Bummer. >:(

What a downer!
Two friends of mine are pilots with B.A. and when I was speaking with them the other day they said that it may not be back to normal anytime soon.
The media keep on saying it'll be O.K. tonight at 7pm or tomorrow at 1pm - but the last time I checked they didn't have control of the Volcano or the weather.
He also said this situation may put smaller airlines and related companies out of business. So the bigger picture is not good news.
Fingers crossed for a speedy end to all this.

Boys,looks like you maybe lucky after all

flights start again tonight 8)

seems to me that its been more of a liability thing rather than the ash itself.   

Just read on the BBC site that they're re-opening tonight@ 10pm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8633597.stm

fingers crossed ;D

I'm off to bed – I'm to stressed by all this.. Good night guys! :-\

I really hope it works out for you guy's so you can be here for the Bug-In, Good Luck!

Ted

X2!!
Good luck to our world travelers!
~DR

 

I hope this works out for everyone traveling from Europe to Bug in, keepin my fingers crossed!

Ok...I'm gonna be positive cuz I know the "Bug Gods" are with ya ...!!!....See ya there !

AIR FRANCE is back to a normal traffic today
that what they said on their website

Virgin Atlantic, too – but I'm not going to believe it until I sip my first glass of wine and look out of the window next to seat 63K! ;D

Hurry up and get over here... your dinner's gettin' cold  ;) ;D

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Cp63yJ2O0w8/S8krfjdUeKI/AAAAAAAAAvs/SKnaP8GLc8U/s800/IMG_8260.JPG)

me too, will let yo know from seat 1A     ;D

No point in trying to make him jealous Russell, its not like he needs the extra legroom!   ;D

Good luck guys!

>:( >:( >:( >:( >:( :-* :-* :-*

  See you two here.   

Great news guys, hope to see you there!

Arse,now I have to do some work >:(

I was looking forward to a weekend doing nothing ;)

cheers richie

Like yer normal weekend, you mean? :D

Oh my God! Now that was funny!!

I thought this may be of interest - I was just sent it a few minutes ago;

We are aware that due to the increased disruption being caused by the UK airspace restrictions, many people are being forced into organising alternative travel arrangements. Our chauffeur driven car supplier, Tristar have positioned chauffeurs across Europe in order to help with any urgent journeys to and from the UK, and their Reservations Agents are available 24 hours a day to offer any advice.

To find out more about these discounted rates please contact Tristar on (01895) 432000 to discuss your requirements.

We hope this information will be of use if you or your friends / family are affected.

The latest Virgin Atlantic flight information can be found at www.virginatlantic.com http://virginemail.chtah.com/a/hBLzw$zB7RxbEB8HOAFC0vhxitc/home-228

Now have my boarding card, so that's another step... :)

great news
hope have the same thing in hand tomorow

Good news, Keith!

I just reserved our room today :)

You and   Keith are sharing a room?  theres something i didnt know :o :D

cheers richie   

Haha that came out wrong!!















Keith, you still got my number, right?? :-* ;)

Wait till Chris finds out !
 ::)

Got my boarding card in hand

Sorry Zach, I'm spoken for!  ;)

Now checked in at Heathrow and sitting enjoying cold beer - probably the last decent beer for two weeks! Oh well, a small price to pay!!! Wishing everyone else a safe happy outcome to all this mess we've been caught up in.

One last problem: US Customs still have my car!  >:(

now go relax and have some fun everyone, there'll always be plenty to worry about   :-\
i'm glad it looks like it's all working out for you!

What are ya talking about ??? ... Thay still brew Lone Star! ;D ;D ;D

So glad to hear everything may work out for y'all ... can't wait ... !
Take care and we'll see ya there.
TxT

Yeah, but if you're there with it you can personally kick some ass! :D Have they said why they're holding it?

Best of luck, have fun 8)
Cheers,
Kev

have a good trip :)

lol ;D  man, wish I was going to Bug-In... Sacramento will just have to do next month!

I believe Virgin Atlantic flight 007 has landed safely at LAX with Keith aboard.....

Hopefully he will be able relax now.
:-)

Sadly, I wasn't... >:(


I was booked on Virgin Atlantic flight 23! ;D
Am now at Doug Mische's after a LONG flight - plane delayed for nearly an hour on the ground at London after a 'domestic situation' on board(!) and then had to sit for 40 minutes at LAX as an Air France plane was blobking "our" spot! Oh well, here at last...
Tomorrow (Friday) try and find out what the hell has happened to my car! ??? ???

Glad you made..... who was your domestic with ?  ;D

Good luck with the car today.....

PS Im not far behind you all going well

Glad you made it ... If you need help with an overdue asswhipping at customs ... give us a call. ;)

LOL Tom A Good Old Fashion Texas Asswhipping

How does the idea of a "Lounge Mixer" sound during Bug-In weekend?  Pick a time and place  ;)

Russell, are you flying out of Scotland? My mums flight to France from Birmingham was cancelled on Wednesday, but her two sisters and brother flew from Glasgow with no problem. Apparently the ash cloud had drifted south... ::)

good to hear. YOU BRITS AND YOUR WARM BEER  ???. come on ICEEEEEEE COLDDDDD there ya go  ;D. UD.

Did you just say ICEEEEEEE COLDDDDD beer??  I'M READY!!! ;D

Oi Jeff get yourself over here for EBI next year and we will show you cold beer !!!  ;) come on , you know you will have a car to drive...

Good news, have fun everyone !

ABZ to LON then on to Houston then southwest to LA...............

Sarge, fill the cooler please with BUD, thx

There, corrected it for you... :D

Sarge, don't forget a cold Hires or A&W for me !
 ;D

They wouldn't drink warm beer if they didn't have Lucas refrigerators. ;D

now THAT is FUNNY!

~DR ;D

how about something at the host hotel???
Maybe friday night after the NICK'S CRUISE ? surely everyone will be there??
maybe sometime saturday --- I know of some good breakfast spots.....there is also
an event planned 15-20 miles south of the hotel for sat nite.

"You had me at Cold".....!....... ;D

This is gonna be FUN.
Lucas parts dont live up to expectations till "they let the smoke out".
Whether it be Jag fuel pump or refrigerator.

Wha Whaaa Whaaaaa

Oh this volcano!

Glad to hear Keith and Russell are able to be at the Bug In. I got stuck at St. Louis, Missouri for some days...

It's good to hear that all planes are up again, but then again if the vulcano would have continued grounding the flights I'll probably would still be in the US and could make it to the Bug In... ::)

All who can go to the Bug In: HAVE FUN!

Well come on guys....let's pick a spot.  How about Sun. noon @ the Tar Babe?   I'll bring the name tags and a marker  :)

Sounds good Phil unless someone has a better idea

That would be Awesome ... THANKS PHIL!

Im in Houston now so am on the right side of the water, see you all at the weekend  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Come on Keith, quit keeping us in suspense! Is the car out of jail?

Just got a voice mail message from Rick M. and it looks like we will be heading over for Bug-In Friday morning.  Can't wait.  Now if my back will cooperate...

My level of jealously for those going to Bug-In is increasing steadily as the week progresses...lol.  ;D Maybe next year!  I hope all have a great time, I know I did when I went in 2008 and 2005!

anyone know if KS got his car from US customs yet?

Sarge
Hero Member

Posts: 3449



    Re: Bug In Week Ramblings
« Reply #4 on: Today at 14:07:13 »   

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  It's RAINING today    The good news is KS has his car FINALLY!!! 
 

 
looks like he has  8)

Yeah, got car, got shafted by US Customs who charged myself and Jo Clifford the sum of $1086 EACH for a customs examination of our cars... One day, I will tell the full story of how we've been royally taken for a ride cost-wise on this deal.

Anyway, I picked the car up from customs yesterday (Tuesday) with Mike Hunsaker, then took it to FAT where we removed engine and trans to get to the bottom of mystery noise in tranny, and to sort leaky pulley seal on motor. Well, MIke Herbert at Rancho did an amazing job of turning the 'box round in one day but it needed a new case, new bearings and some remedial work to selectors, etc. The trans - a Berg five - had less than 1000 miles on it but needed a complete rebuild. Seems like somebody didn't do that great a job in the first place... Ouch.

Engine and trans are now back in the car and I just need to install carbs and header etc (Hmmm, must remember to fill it with oil). Hopefully will be at Veedub Parts on Friday morning, but certainly Nicks in afternoon/evening.

It's all been a hell of an experience. If I had known how much hassle/expense would be incurred, I can honestly say I wouldn't have done it. Or would I?

Right, off to bed now. I need some sleep!

See you all soon... :)

bummer, but just think of the smile come Friday.

It goes to show that it really matters who does the work on the car. There are no substitutes for experience. When it comes to gearboxes mike is da man. he really knows his stuff. Hope everything works out for you over there and dont forget to write something about it later.

Hans Landelius
Piece Performance  Sweden

Of course you would  ;)

the big lesson for Keith is not to smuggle young boys inside the car.....

Anyway glad its released, pity about the box, sounds like an oil shortage ? either that or a bad driver...... Keith, its becoming a habit with you and gearbox's, suggest you stop the reveres burnouts   ;D

Anyway at least you can do the dream, drive you own car in CA, Priceless, will be worth every penny for the memory alone.

Depending on where you sit the good news for me is I'm also here now and some details to complete before racing the UD2 tonight, cant wait.

Roll on Bug In

See you guys at Nick's !
 :)

Irwindale drags.... Under Dog 2 and DDS chop top to run under the lights on Thursday night!

Go team UK  ;D :D 8)

Huh??

Looks like I better saddle up and head for Irwindale!

  

I dunno.. it's supposed to be windy in Irwindale tonight

Hey guys,don't forget to post PICTURES for us here at home.
Have fun.  ;)

Well, I drove my car today - all the way to the gas station and back. Riding shotgun on my first CA drive was none other than Keith Goss! How cool... 8)

The gearbox is bitchin' now - Mike Herbert gets a HUGE round of thanks from me!!!! It shifts perfectly, is quiet (despite solid mounts) and leaks no oil.  ;D

Off to bed now (back from a chilly Irwindale) then up early to clean car at FAT then over to Veedub Parts Unlimited, then a cruise with Sarge before Nick's. Life is good... :)

Tonight at Irwindale, sorry for the amateur pics  ::)
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/rebec1/Bug%20In%202010/P1030837-1.jpg)
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/rebec1/Bug%20In%202010/P1030838-1.jpg)
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/rebec1/Bug%20In%202010/P1030841-1.jpg)
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/rebec1/Bug%20In%202010/P1030842-1.jpg)

madfrog

well i was wondering where the cars came from tonight. ive never seen those cars around here and now i know haha I was the younger guy driving the blue bug on erco's behind you guys...cool to see you guys bring the cars out here...thats awesome! if on sunday you guys see me in the lanes or pits,  stop by...it would be cool. how did you guys run btw? i ran a 7.36 @91.91 as last pass... getting there. I will be racing Super Stock this sunday.

It's so good to hear things are working out for you Keith. I hope to be there for Sat and Sunday and looking forward to seeing these cars!

rock on!

 8) 8)