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 Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!

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Tom Mc
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Tom Mc


Number of posts : 3925
Registration date : 2007-01-29

Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitimeMon Jun 11, 2007 6:58 pm

Just to let you all know, I shall be heading off Thursday on the second reconnoitre to finalise the Landy Rally route, so when I return I will contact all the teams personally with a much more detailed itinerary (including campsites and contact details) and all the latest news. Great things are happening at the mo, but I’ll resist the temptation for now and inform you in about two weeks time.

Don’t forget it’s Manby Land Rover Show end of the month, and Fred will be there with his monster recovery truck all pristine and glowing in it’s new livery – be there if you can!

A small but important point – I was lucky enough to pick up a secondhand compass the other day (a big floating marine-type jobbie for a mere £20) as the Road Book will contain information such as:-

Arriving at the A 8, TURN LEFT on the A 8 southeast direction Saarbrücken via Merzig/Saarlouis/Völklingen

Basically, every turning we take en route will include not only road numbers, but also the direction in which we are heading (no tulips, just good old -fashioned decriptions). This being the case, to have a compass on board would be extremely handy. Let’s face it, at a T-junction of the N42 for example, there is an almighty big difference between heading east or west. A compass will once and for all confirm if you’ve taken the correct turning.

Of course, for those of you with GPS this is all completely irrelevant, but to the rest of us a basic compass can save miles of unnecessary hassle. BUY ONE!

Speak to you all soon.
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Tom Mc
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Tom Mc


Number of posts : 3925
Registration date : 2007-01-29

Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitimeSun Jun 24, 2007 4:35 pm

Well, it appears I'm back in body if not in mind. What an intense few days that was! I have to say it was fantastic, as unlike on the first occasion this time around I was trying to (a) make the Road Book as precise as possible, (b) sort out the competitive 'daily tasks and (c) arrange all the formalities such as campsites and accommodation, plus a host of bits and bobs that will only become apparent en route.

Put it this way, how I wish I could show a video of how hard I’ve worked on this event each time someone asks, “what do I actually get for my £450? ”. They would be gob-smacked!

And yet it’s not over yet. It seems not only Land Rovers are prone to breakdowns. You know I decided to carry out the reconnoitre in a turbo diesel Astra (as first and foremost, having been unable to ‘gas up’ the Rangie, I thought it insane to spend a small fortune on petrol + as the snow in the Alps and Pyrénées have all but have all but melted, progress would not be hampered) well the car did not last the distance. Great on the long runs and up and over the amazing Alps, it finally succumbed to the 32° heat of the Pyrénées and cooked … THE HEAD GASKET DECIDED TO BLOW!!! Opps, miles from civilisation, no signal on the mobile to call for help (I did have RAC European breakdown cover but firkin useless if you can’t call up the cavalry) so basically … stuffed!

Luckily, or rather I’d like to think of it as good planning, I did have enough water on board to be able to struggle on to an isolated farm, beg for water with hand gestures (my Spanish isn’t all that – “hola”, “uno beer por favour” and “gracias” being my limit – actually, that’s an entire sentence!) so struggle on after half an hour of engine-cooling and topping up a cooling system that had by this time become a erupting, spouting, water-geezer. That combined with dousing the already knackered diesel engine with cool showers sourced from mini-waterfalls that dot the mountain passes, I finally managed to limp into a town after four hours of stop/start to prevent the motor seizing completely. Although small, amazingly said town actually had an Opel dealership, albeit equally as small, so clearly this was the place to head for (Vauxhall of course are GM vehicles, the equivalent on the continent being Opel). Confirming the obvious, sure enough the motor was fried (like my brain as it happens), which in turn meant that the cylinder head was almost certainly warped as well – not to mention any other damage it may have sustained. YEP, TRULY STUFFED!

Unable to fix it (financially not worth it, it would have taken too long anyway given that I had to maintain my hectic schedule), buy a replacement vehicle (no way I could have organised the documentation, and even driving it illegally, it would have been virtually impossible to get back into France) I had but one option. Seeing as though I was in Cataluña and not too far from Barcelona, I abandoned the Astra at the dealership, got a taxi, two trains and a bus to Barca airport, and hopped on the first plane back to good ol’ Blighty. AND it was a direct flight to Bournemouth International Airport no less, how lucky was that?

Not so lucky with the car and the recee though. Apart from the problems with the car, it appears the French traffic planners are in the process of changing all their road numbering system. Result? Total anarchy! Even the French motorists themselves don’t know what’s happening half the time. Weird things were happening right from the start, as it seems the junction numbers on the very first autoroute I encountered had all been altered – by adding 29 to the original junction number. So junct. 43 was now junct. 72 and so forth. Of course nobody tells you this, no signs, nothing, you just have to figure it out for yourself. Add to that, road numbers already marked on the map as the A4 / E25 / E411 (this is one road by the way) would still have marked on roadside milestones (or should that be kilometrestones?) the number N4 from when they changed them a decade ago. Madness! It basically meant that my first Road Book had to be completely re-written on the move, quite a challenge when you’re on your todd!

On a more positive note however, if asked “was the reconnoitre a success?” I would reply a resounding “YES”. It was brilliant, and I will say it yet again … “you’re gonna love it!”

As for the rest of the recee, I’m in the process of purchasing an identical Astra TD (minus the overheating probs of course) and immediately after Mandy Land Rover Show, I’m back to Spain to finish the job. What I do for you lot? I dunno! Seriously, I have to complete the Road Book as – well, I just have to finish it. That’s me, you start something …

So, see you all at Manby!
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CarpeDiem




Number of posts : 549
Registration date : 2007-03-27

Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitimeSun Jun 24, 2007 11:50 pm

Hi Tom,

Welcome back! Sorry to hear of your car troubles, but pleased to hear your recce went well.

Cheers, Mark
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theshortwayround

theshortwayround


Number of posts : 444
Localisation : Berkshire
Registration date : 2007-04-26

Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitimeMon Jun 25, 2007 2:21 am

oh wow, what a to-do!


Glad it went well and your back in one piece!

When we get to September, we'll tell you the stroy of Janet's Brand New Astra, and you'll never buy one again!!
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http://www.theshortwayround.co.uk
Tom Mc
Organiser
Tom Mc


Number of posts : 3925
Registration date : 2007-01-29

Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitimeMon Jun 25, 2007 6:54 am

Opps - sounds ominous. Only went for the Astra because a mate of mine (also an off-roader) had just MOT'd his TD Astra and I said, "that's what I could do with" as my MOT was about to expire. No sooner said than done, he said to have it and pay him later. I did and stuck a lot of miles on the clock before it went bang. Do you think it would be cruel to tell him that I no longer want it and he can have it back - the collection point being Spain of course! Twisted Evil Nah, maybe not.

Hey Carpe Diem, you'll like this. Thought I was being clever by buying some cheap wine in Barcelona - quite decent stuff mind you but still only 60p a bottle! Bought 10 bottles + a few ice cold beers for the journey. Eventually reacing the customs at Barca airport with longer arms as the booze + my bag was proving a tad too much, only to find out ALL bottles/cans are no longer allowed on flights! Soddin' Al Queida, directly responsible for me binning 10 bottles of perfectly drinkable plonk!!! Mad

Still, did manage to down the last two cans of beer in front of the officials and Ol' Bill - defiant to the last! Ze Engleeesh ... crazeey man!
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Captain Chaos

Captain Chaos


Number of posts : 134
Registration date : 2007-03-01

Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitimeMon Jun 25, 2007 7:00 am

Unlike fine wine, you really do not improve with age!!

I know where there is a cheap Mondeo diesel going Tom, but it may be the same source as the Astra, so probably best to give it a miss.
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CarpeDiem




Number of posts : 549
Registration date : 2007-03-27

Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitimeMon Jun 25, 2007 9:22 am

Shocked Sad

Well I hope it was Spanish wine!

We use to use "Solar shower bags" in the Middle East to get booze pass the customs. Very Happy

All the best!
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Tom Mc
Organiser
Tom Mc


Number of posts : 3925
Registration date : 2007-01-29

Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitimeMon Jun 25, 2007 11:59 am

Italian actually - win some, lose some.

Think I'll pass one that one Captain, as I say I still have to pay for the first one yet, not to mention clear my German hotel bill! In one hand and out the other ... No
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Tom Mc
Organiser
Tom Mc


Number of posts : 3925
Registration date : 2007-01-29

Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitimeTue Jun 26, 2007 4:15 pm

That's it, just bought another million-miles-to-the-gallon TD Astroid (as Steve from the Shortwayround calls 'em).

Early hours ferry booked for next week - £60 return Dover to Calais on P & O - so it's the long haul up to Manby Thurs, do the show, back on Monday, ferry Tues, repeat the first part of the route down to Luxembourg (total disaster with the Road Book due to Le Frogs changing the road numbers), pick up the recee where I left off in the north of Spain, complete and finish it off, and back to Calais Friday night as originally planned ... albeit a week late. Suppose my friends in Calais will be starting to wonder what happened to me? Guess that's why I became known as Tom McGoneAgain. Laughing
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Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route!   Heading off to finalise the entire Landy Rally route! Icon_minitime

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