Version 2.2 - April 2005

1. Where is the cruise?
2. When is the cruise?
3. Who is welcome?
4. Who runs the cruise?
5. Whats the story behind the Strathycruise website?
6. When are Max Power/Fastcar/Redline/other magazine coming up?
7. What do I do/who do I contact if there is trouble when Im at the park?
8. This is outrageous, you are promoting illegal and dangerous activities!
9. Surely you realise that people could be injured, maimed or killed at the cruise!
10. What about these "wheelies" and "burnups" that I've heard about?
11. What would happen if the car was to catch grip and plough forward into people?
12. Doesn't cruising promote racing? Isn't that why people turn up?
13. Why modify cars?
14. What should I do/How should I act at a cruise?
15. Directions to the Cruise.
16. What are the police's thoughts on the cruise?
16. "Where's the birds?"
18. Can I join the Strathycruise "team"? / Do you get paid ?
19. What about the adverts you have running, don't you make money from them?
20. How do I about getting my car featured on the site?
21. How do I about getting myself/girlfriend featured in the babes area?
22. Where can I get Strathycruise stickers for my car?
23. Can I use images/videos/etc from your site?
24. Can I send you in some photos to put on the site?
25. What are the forum/chat users like?
26. Where are the cruise photos from Sunday/Crail/Wherever / When will they be online?
27. My photo was taken at the cruise, why isn't it online?
28. Why are there no photos of topless girls at the cruise?
29. Ok, but why are there topless photos in some Event photos then?
30. Why does it say "No Links To Other Sites/Photos Without Permission" on the forum?
31. How do I use the chatroom?
32. Common User Misconceptions

1. Where is the cruise?

The cruise is located at Strathclyde Country Park in Motherwell. The cruise is not limited to any one part of the park but takes place from the M&D's carpark all the way along to the mini roundabout at the other end. During Summer the whole place is filled from end to end with modified metal but in spring/winter people tend to hang around the hotel carpark at the Bellshill roundabout end.

2. When is the cruise?

The "main" cruise is on a Sunday night and usually starts around 8pm. During summer things can pick up earlier and people tend to stay longer. In the winter months people turn up later and leave earlier. People turn up through the week as well but for the best action with the nicest cars and girls you want to be coming on Sunday.

3. Who is welcome?

Since the cruise is not an organised one, everyone (by law) is welcome. Strathy is a public park, which means anyone can visit it. Generally the cruisers dont like idiots to come down and cause trouble. The last thing people want is a group of pissed up morons trying to annoy people by shouting/swearing at the girls and trying to vandalise the cars.

4. Who runs the cruise?

No one. As stated above the cruise is held in a public park and has been going on for many decades. Its been used by young drivers to show off their cars for years, well before the term "cruise" came into effect.

5. Whats the story behind the Strathycruise website?

The website was started back in May 2000 by myself (Rikki). I had been visiting the park regularly for nearly 2 years and although the cars were great and the girls were babes there was something missing, an atmosphere. When I started getting involved with web design I decided to start up the site in an effort to unite the cruisers and give them a chance to make friends and meet up. I'd noticed for years that people sat in their cars and just watched other cars drive past. Sometimes there would be little groups of 3 cars together but no sense of community, I hoped that through the site people would become more involved with things. Back in mid 2000 the site was getting about 20 people a day visiting, now in mid 2005 we have over 4,000 visits a day and growing. If you see me or one of the team jumping out to take a photo of your car don't be scared, its just because we liked something about it. We respect cruisers privacy and if you would like a photo removed email us and we shall.

6. When are Fast & Modified/Max Power/Fastcar/Redline/other magazine coming up?

Not for a while. As of writing (Apr 2005) things just aren't good enough to ask magazines to visit. The last time Max Power visited was back in November 2000. The best thing would be to get the cruise sorted out for summer and ask one of the other mags to visit. Max Power have shown interest but its up to cruisers to call and email them and force their hand. In April 2002 we had a visit from FastCar chimps Scary and Tricky. This was their first visit to a Scottish cruise and they loved it. We have scans of both magazine visits in our Press section, so have a look. The latest magazine to take an interest in our cruise was Revs who were to appear at the park at the end of September 2002 but due to the lights being off and the violent attacks on cars and cruisers we asked them not to bother. Redline visited our temporary home at Coatbridge at the end of March 2003 but they lost the film and it was never printed. Fast & Modified covered the event in Summer 2004 and will be back at the end of 2005.

7. What do I do/who do I contact if there is trouble when Im at the park?

Common sense would say call 999.

8. This is outrageous, you are promoting illegal and dangerous activities!

I think not. Its been said many times before that the cruise site "eggs on" people to do dangerous things with their cars. This is the same as saying that by covering war, terrorism and other news that TV, radio and the press are encouraging these activities. Its actually been proved that there is more trouble when we do NOT report on things. People have been using the park to show their cars off for more than 20 years and occasionally will perform to the crowd, not because we are there but because they are having a little fun.

9. Surely you realise that people could be injured, maimed or killed at these cruises!

There is the possibility that a meteor will hit Earth and wipe out the human race, there's also the chance you will walk out in front of a bus tomorrow and be killed. Does that stop you from going about your daily business or are you presently cowering under a table in your home? Most people who throw in their comments about cruising being the epitome of evil and that death is lurking around every corner have obviously never been to one. The park itself is one of the safest places to take your car. There are large speed humps every 20 metres and even if an idiot were to try and go fast they would hit the bump with such force that their car would probably fall to bits. It has to be noted that as long as I have been attending cruises I have never seen anyone being hurt as a result of a driver loosing control of his or her car.

10. What about these "wheelies" and "burnups" that I've heard about?

Well if you can show me a load of cruisers cars at the park that can do wheelies I will eat my left nut. With regard to "burn outs" (thats not "burn ups") this is the practise where a car driver engages the handbrake, holds the clutch down, holds the car at high revs and releases the clutch. This causes the drive wheels to spin round and round while the car remains motionless. If the ground is wet due to rain (or in some very rare occasions oil) then the car will usually sit quite happily and smoke will start to come from the tyres, if the car doesn't have enough power then other cruisers lend a hand to lift the front of the car slightly so the wheels get a better chance to spin. Sometimes they press down on the car which isnt the best idea in the world as it impedes the motion of the wheels so if you spot someone doing this and the car isnt managing to spin its wheels give them a slap and tell them to lift the car so the wheels can gain momentum.

11. What would happen if the car was to catch grip and plough forward onto the people trying to hold it back?

This is a theoretical question as its never happened. If the car was to catch grip the chances are the engine would bog down and stall as the revs would drop too suddenly . The most that might happen is the car would chug and lurch forward slightly then cut out.

12. Doesn't cruising promote racing? Isn't that why people turn up?

I doubt that. I've been to hundreds of cruises all over the country and have never been asked to race. People dont generally spend thousands of pounds of their hard earned cash, stay in at weekends, give up nights out and luxuries so they can have a great car just to go and abuse it. Cruising has always been about exhibiting your car, showing your own personal flair and letting people know how different you can be with your thoughts and ideas. The majority of cruisers who turn up at the park have spent hard earned cash and a lot of time getting their cars to look and sound good, to then blast their cars around possibly damanging them would not be a wise idea. *SOME* people do race but these people are in the minority.

13. Why modify cars?

In a world where everyone had a grey coloured car, wore grey suits, had grey wallpaper and carpets would there be much to live for? Why do people have different haircuts or jewellery, why do people have tattoos or piercing? Its to be individual. As teenagers (which most cruisers are) there is a sense of wanting to be different. Buying a standard car doesn't make you stand out from the crowd, or more importantly make you attractive to the opposite sex. Having a nice looking car with big shiny wheels, a nice rip to the exhaust and a bassy stereo makes people look and stare. Its all about individuality and standing out from the crowd. Would Ferraris be so sought after if everyone had one?

14. What should I do/How should I act at a cruise?

Act sensibly. Remember you are only one person and if you start acting like an idiot you will annoy the people who are there for a good time. Be safe, dont take risks and try not to show off if you think it could be dangerous. If there are laws in place try to follow them (this includes speed restrictions and driving around with neon lights etc). If the police see you doing anything they consider to be unlawful they will prosecute you. Try to keep away from the family area of the park, this includes the M&Ds carpark, more so during opening hours when small children are about. Do not try to force people to perform burnouts and give respect to other cruisers, they are all there for the same reasons as you, to have a good time in a safe enviroment. One point worth noting is that scaring girls one week usually results in a lot less girls coming to the cruise the following weeks.

15. Directions to the Cruise.

From Glasgow :

Find a way to the M74 motorway (possibly via the M8 (East Bound) Edinburgh ) and follow the signs to Carlisle. When you see signposting for Strathclyde Park come down the slip road to a roundabout. 2nd left on the roundabout is the park. Enjoy.

From elsewhere :

Drive to Glasgow and see above.

16. What are the police's thoughts on the cruise?

Having had dealings with both the Traffic division (Motherwell) and the education department the general feeling is, if your doing no wrong they are happy. If you come along to the park to see the nice cars and get an eyeful of the girls then they are fine. If you come down, cause hassle and make an idiot of yourself they wont be impressed. Compared to the police actions south of the border, Strathclyde police are fantastic. They sometimes take a lot of stick from people but I have found them to be extremely fair at the park, try to remember this if you are stopped for "being stupid" and take it like a man if you've been caught.

17. "Where's the birds?"

Quite a common one this question. Generally the good looking girls are found spread around the cruise. Be it driving their own cars, being passengers in their boyfriends cars or (if the weather is nice) venturing out into the open. As stated above shouting, leering and generally being abusive towards the females result in less eye candy being present at future cruises. Abuse it and loose it. We try our best to get good looking girls on the site but it ain't easy. They either drive past too quickly or get all shy when confronted. If you know a girl who would be interested in appearing on the site drop us an email and we'll sort it.

18. Can I join the Strathycruise "team"? / Do you get paid ?

We are always happy to get help and support from people, if your handy with a camera/camcorder or can string meaningful sentences together get in touch. Its just not possible to cover all events all of the time so having reporters and photographers who can lend a hand is a great asset to the site. Unfotunately Strathycruise is run as a non-profit venture. Over the last 5 years thousands of man hours have been spent visiting cruises, taking photos, editing them, updating the site and putting everything together on the net. All of this is done free of charge with no subscriptions required to access the site so you can understand why we can't pay people for their help.

19. What about the adverts you have running, don't you make money from them?

We have various adverts running on the site basically to cover the basic costs, and quite a few of the advertisers on Strathycruise offers some kind of discount or bonus to cruisers who mention the site when ordering. To run the site we are required to pay hosting fee's to our provider, pay for the wear and tear on equipment (cameras, computers etc) plus phonecalls and other sundry items to keep the site running. We are getting over 4,000 visits a day at the moment so it works out well for our sponsors as they are getting their offers shown to the people who are most likely to use them, young car enthusiasts around Scotland.

20. How do I about getting my car featured on the site?

The easiest way is to send us a photo or two of your car. From there we will get in touch and arrange a time and date for a photoshoot. Although some of the photos we are sent are quite good quality when it comes to editing them for the net we like to use very high quality images and reduce them, this is why we usually request one of our photographers take the shots.

21. How do I about getting myself/girlfriend/boyfriend featured in the babes area?

Pretty much the same as above. Forward us a photo or two and we will get in touch to arrange things. We can only take photos of girls aged 16 and older.

22. Where can I get Strathycruise stickers for my car?

Argh! This is such a common question I should have put it right at the top! We get our stickers from Motoring World Glasgow (London Rd) and they cost us £1 each in quantities of 10 or more. If you want to get some yourself they are usually £2 for a small one and prices vary for different colours and sizes. At the moment we just dont get the time to go and get them made up so your best bet would be to take a trip down yourself and ask the lads there to make some up for you. For directions check their website at : www.motoringworldglasgow.com.

23. Can I use images/videos/etc from your site?

Not without our consent. We take a lot of time preparing our images and movies so they look good when you view them on your PC so it wouldnt be fair to allow people to just rip them off. All images are copyright to Strathycruise.com and have our copyright notice layered over in one of the corners. Each image also has a nearly invisible watermark which is undetectable to the human eye but is easily checked for with the right piece of software. If you want to use an image please get in touch, we're not tyrants and will usually give permission as long as we are fully credited and a link to our site is given.

24. Can I send you in some photos to put on the site?

We love to get photos sent in from cruisers. If you have been to an event and have taken some photos you can email them over to us and we will put them on-line for you. Please make sure that the photos you send over are at least 640x480 pixels in size or larger. We prefer 800x600 as we can then edit them down and retain quality when watermarking them. All images sent to us are watermarked with a Strathycruise copyright notice. This doesnt mean we own your photos, just that the edited version we place online belongs to our site and acts as a deterant for people to steal and use themselves.

25. What are the forum/chat users like?

Be wary of strangers bearing gifts is a good line here. There have been some really scary stories told about people that use the forum and chat. Most people tend to think that since its only a website and only a message forum that its not serious. Well this is true to a point, but when peoples lives become affected by it thing can turn nasty. There have been more than a few serious threats made because of improper usage of chat and the forums and a lot of people have been biten by people who appeared nice and friendly but turned out not to be. The best advice is be friendly but dont spill your heart out as it will probably come back to haunt you when you fall out. Watch out for little cliques and dont believe everything you read as 90% of it will be crap LOL. What most users do is to read through the last few days messages to see what people are like. Then take their first steps by posting on the forum. Keep the head and you should be fine.

26. Where are the cruise photos from Sunday/Crail/Wherever / When will they be online?

This is a common question that we get emailed about or see posted on the forum. Usually about 10 minutes after a cruiser gets home and turns on their PC they will expect us to have arrived home as well, copied all the 300 photos we've taken that night, chosen the best 100, optimised the colour and brightness, placed our logo on them, written up a report on the night and uploaded them all to the internet. This is a very quick and easy process and people are well within their rights to demand that the photos all be online by the time they get in. In reality it takes anywhere between 2 hours to 8 hours to go through all the pictures and do the aforementioned work on them. As has been mentioned elsewhere in the FAQ we do not get paid a salary to go the cruise, to take photos and to spend nearly a full working day getting them into a presentable format for people to view. So when we get home we usually have other normal things to get on with and edit the photos when we get time, usually after work on a Monday night. Having screaming weins asking week in week out where the pics are is very disheartening and usually makes us leave it for another day.

27. My photo was taken at the cruise, why isn't it online?

Firstly are you sure it was someone from Strathycruise that photographed you? There are loads of folks with cameras now so it might have just been another cruiser. Check the Team page and see if the person who took your photo is pictured there.

If it was then you have to remember that we take over 400 photos at each event but can only put 100 online per week so choose the best ones out of that lot. Sometimes photos dont turn out properly, the lighting is wrong, the flash didnt illuminate the car/person or the image was blurred due to a focusing issue. If you would like your car on the site then come and speak with one of us at the cruise, its the easiest way, then we can check there and then if the photo turned out.

28. Why are there no photos of topless girls at the cruise?

We decided over 3 years ago that it was not worth the hassle taking topless photos of girls for a few reaons. Firstly it is nearly impossible to determine the age of girls at the cruise and its not possible to ask for proof of age in front of 100's of cruisers. Another valid reason is that we like peoples of all ages and sexes to visit the site and having topless shots of girls would put other girls off logging on. Add to that we could get barred from company firewalls that detect such photos and workers wouldnt be able to access the site anymore.

29. Ok, but why are there topless photos in some Event/Cruise photos then?

There shouldnt be! If you spot any that have slipped through the net let us know and we shall remove them.

30. Why does it say "No Links To Other Sites/Photos Without Permission" on the forum?

You might have noticed this warning appearing on the forum recently and wondered why this stance has been taken. Let me explain why this has had to be mentioned. There are two main reasons for this rule although they may not be apparent. The first reason is that the forum is meant to be a community area where people can converse with each other about many different topics all with a car and cruise related theme. Over the years we have had to split and divide up the areas so that the general chit chat did not interfere with the useful posts. If people could post links and photos on the forum then you would be fighting to find the useful information in amoung the posts which had links and photos appearing. This would escalate as more people wanted to get in on the action and link their own sites up. The second reason follows on swiftly from the first and answers the question of "well why not make a dedicated area of the forum for links and photos". We have been running Strathycruise for over 5 years now and in that time tens of thousands of hours been spent working on the site, taking photos and generally building up the community that we have now. We feel it unfair that people wish to piggy back onto the hard work we have invested to whore their own sites or photo collections. This is why we ask that if someone wants to show photos or post a link to a site then they ask us first. All it takes is a simple email or PM and 9 out of 10 times we say no problem and allow the request. Only if we have had issues with the site they wish to link to do we deny the request but at the same time we furnish the user with a full explanation of why. An example of the whoring problem would be photographs from a recent Crail event. We visited Crail and took upwards of 1,500 photos. We then had to go through them and seperate them into 200 car and 100 babes. Then the lengthy process of editing the photos, cropping, adjusting lighting and adding our logo banner started. This procedure took from Sunday until Tuesday and over 10 hours of solid work getting the images into a usable format along with a report on the day. During this time some forum users decided to ignore our request not to post photos and links and started to bombard the message forum with a one upmanship attitude of "see our photos, the first ones online!". This was annoying and undermined the time we spent getting the photos and report to you, our visitors. If we had only taken 100 photos and didn't care much about the quality we could have had them online quicker than most but we take a pride in what we do and didn't want to rush things. I hope this clears up our reasoning behind the rule on the forum.

32. Common User Misconceptions