The end of the roadtrip
The end of the roadtrip
Took some time then, eh?
Then again, being the darkest time of the year now, it?s nice to return to the sunny and warm moods of early August
to remind me that at least it isn?t too hot at the moment. As I didn?t have a car anymore I had time to take more pictures to document the trip. So we start from Sunday and the only campsite we stayed at for two nights. No need to pack up camp then, for once, as we would just do a loop and return to the same site. Didn?t help with the departure time, though.
So I jumped in to the Saab, as we descended to the nearest town first for a refuel before setting off to the planned route. Being Finalgear group though, even this simple fueling&shop stop took an hour, or something like that. When we were finally departing I found out that I had lost my seat in the Saab and therefore seeked refuge in lip?s Renault. Some kilometres later lip also told me that he was running out of fuel, despite having an hour to fill up before we left.
Also, all fill up stations on the way only accepted cards, another thing our Swiss friend was missing (in addition to not owning a phone).
So we made a quick fill up stop using my card and while trying to catch the group again almost blasted straight past them as they had stopped for a snack.
Ride in the Saab is a hair raising experience
MXM disapproving French slowcoaches
Up to this point we had just driven at the bottom of the valleys, but we finally caught up with the scenery, and the roads got really narrow and twisty real quick. Rather uneven at times as well, so the wafty Renault was a good car to be in.
Daunting roads, barely wide enough for two cars, often without any guard rails and steep drops. Loved it.
Nice scenery
If a bit cloudy at times..
More scenery
Twistier scenery
Opening up again on the other side
Suddenly, an Alpine Alpine
Trying my best to cope with windscreen reflections and a passenger side window that can't be opened
A quick regroup at Val D'Is?re
MWF was driving the 8er on this leg of the trip. Not the easiest road to start with.
As he was taking it easy he was left behind, so we stopped to wait for him at Val D?Is?re. And once the group was back together lip offered me a drive in the Renault, which started with getting lost in the village as soon as we entered, as the main road was closed due to roadworks and the diversions were a tad confusing. Some made it through those diversions better than others, and after a while of shouting directions via radio everyone was through. Despite being newer, bigger, French and an automatic I felt the waftbarge was very similar to drive as the ix was before I ruined the ride with some poly bushings.
As the roads got twistier again I might?ve forgot that the Megane is a bit wider than e30 and one shouldn?t cut corners as sharply.. But hey, it?s the Finnish way, cutting corners, all the way to the gravel.
Our original target was Courmayeur in Italy, right next to Mont Blanc. But as we were so far off the schedule (as usual) we decided to stop at the top of Col du Petit Saint-Bernard, right before the Italian border. Or most of us did at least. Adrian had sped off in front and was unaware of this change in plans. And while we waited for him to come back up there was time to conquer some hills.
At the wheel of the waftbarge
Some tight turns on the way
Rest stop at Col du Petit Saint-Bernard
Loose_unit and Shad joining in on the hill conquering
The ascend took its toll on the hobbit.
But he soon perked up.
Mont Blanc hiding from us in the clouds
Heading back I got command of the HMS Saab, as the local residents defected to the 8er. I liked the Saab very much as well, even though everyone else (including the owner) were bashing the handling characteristics of it (mainly brakes and tyres). Then again, I?ve driven 70s cars for most of my life, so? The return leg of the route had a small stretch of 4-lane road. Battery on Ice?s radio had ran out, but he decided to speed past the whole group anyway, just as we were about to take the next ramp. So in typical fashion to us we lost a car once again for the rest of the drive, as they didn?t bother turning back and just went straight for the restaurant we had booked a table at. And it?s a good thing they did, as Adrian forgot to mention that the 8er might overheat if pushed too hard. And on Col du Madeleine it did. So much so that radiator got a puncture. While waiting for the pressure and temperature to go down again I went to scenic mode again and did a small hike around the area.
Moar overheating BMWs
For public
Sarah went to oz to talk to the cows
View of Col du Madeleine from my small hike
Some time later we were back on the road again. I kept the helm of the HMS Saab, while Adrian, who had been with me in the Saab took control of his own car again and was replaced with Matt(2000). On the way down her Saabness started bonging at me on tighter bends. Oil level warning kept flickering at times, as the good lads had forgotten to add more oil, something they had meant to do for few days. So I had to slow the pace a bit, especially on the left hand corners, as the oil pump is at the left end of the engine and was catching air. We finally made it to the restaurant as the darkness fell. And while the food was ok there, it was certainly nothing special. They even ran out of beer. .
And while the restaurant was walking distance away from the campsite, most drove straight to the restaurant, as we were late enough already. So heading back it was time to cause more disturbance again, as our group had to weave through the whole campsite to get to our spot. Certain Slodiesel was exceptionally audible when arriving..
New week started with a trip down to the nearby town again to seek help for the leaking 8er, before continuing with the planned route. This time it was past noon already before we finally got going. I was riding with Tobias in the Alfa, and just as we were nearing the parts shops we managed to lose rest of the group with Dins. Adding to the situation interior fan on the Alfa suddenly died. The culprit was found out quickly. The cheap power socket splitter had melted and burned a fuse. We had gained quite a bit of height again while just driving around randomly, and M3s navigation found a great road to return to the valley for us. As soon as we got back to flatter land the Alfa troubleshooting began. Italian electrics with a manual in german. Good thing we had someone to interpret it.
Engine of the Alfa gave us a scare as well, as it lost its idle few times. that glitch disappeared during the day, so it was concluded that last refill probably wasn?t the best of quality, and engine management needed some time to adjust to it.
As scenic as the backyard of the parts store was, part of the group got bored of waiting, and decided to leave to follow some small roads that navigation would offer. Seemed to go well, from what I?ve seen afterwards.
Rest of the group was ready to go, some 30 seconds later, and we headed for the preplanned route which was a great drive. As we were once again several hours late of the planned schedule we cut some of the smaller roads and went for a motorway blast when we had the option. Then I made the mistake of trying to take us back to the route, and have a lunch break by the lake near Aix-Les-Bains. Being late afternoon it was just a constant traffic jam through several small villages and we gave up before even got to the lake and went back to the motorway to pass the lake and crowded areas. At a rest station our group split to even smaller parts, as some headed for the campsite via the straightest route and some went back to the preplanned route. And while the final bit was no Alpine road it was still a fun driving road with good visibility in the fields and fast, wide sweeping corners. Every group seemed to arrive to the campsite via different route so there was some confusion with final instructions nearing the place. But everyone made it there, and after setting up camp it was time for dinner. And for once the site had a nice remote area where we could spend the evening without keeping the whole campsite awake. Even wifi was available, so everyone could sit around the table not speaking to each other, browsing the web.
Another hot sunny day. All the available shade being used
8er getting ready for a 20km drive
Plenty of failed photos of the nice'n'narrow descent
Nuts checked!
A scenic place to interpret the Italian electrics
A well prepared parts shop
On the road again
Suddenly, a brake test
Following this thing we got some idea what it would've been if matt2000 had made it with his Disco
On a motorway shortcut
Winging the camera, MXM style
Tuesday morning was pleasantly cool, as our tents were (for the first time I think) in the shade. Some even took a dip in the neighboring river before packing up again. The day started once again with a fuel station hunt. We we?re heading quite far off course from the planned route, but I thought this was just because there wasn?t any fuel stations nearby. I didn?t trust in my Sygic navigation all that much anymore, so as we kept heading to different direction still, I just thought it had lost its marbles again and just shut it off. Soon after the fuel stop MXM lost his action camera, as the suction cup mount decided to fail. While searching for the camera I found out that Adrian didn?t have the planned route for the day and he was just winging it. O..K.. We found few great roads even though we were outside of the higher mountain region. And being more remote from the more known Alpine regions they were nice and quiet. We also found few gravel roads along the way, and after our lunch break at the unknown ski jump some of the gravel found itself into the brakes of the M3. After a brief visit to Switzerland it was decided it would be best to head for the next campsite the fastest route. And against all odds everyone managed to navigate themselves through the town to our campsite which was just at the edge of the residential area of the city centre. After setting up camp I joined the shopping run crew so I could get some stuff for myself in addition to the food for all of us and ice for cooler boxes. Few supermarket and fuel station stops later the only ice was to be found behind the wheel. Also, as it was getting late all shops were starting to close. Our crew at the campsite found and bought ice from the reception, so our town run and MWFs subsequent raging over it (after a long tiring day) was completely unnecessary. Oh well. At least the supper was great, and our neighbors even donated some salad for us. As the forecast promised, storm clouds started to build up around midnight, so those of us who were still awake packed what was left of the supper/sitting around circle either to or under our cars. Good move, as it turned out to be a rather magnificent storm.
For once, shade on the camp site
Using the cargo space efficiently
A group photo before departing again
Navigation and media unit, secured safely, on top of the airbag.. :?
HMS Saab confusing in which country we are in..
Some castles
More wingin' shots
Maaan, that's an ugly child in the back
Some gravel stages on the way
A fairly tight intersection
More gravel roads in the woods
Thomas has been found!
Boredom building up in the Saab
Some scenic villages on the way
A lame group shot attempt during the unintentional visit on Swiss side of the border
Some ghosts messing up my pictures..
The campground light
Dins left our group Wednesday morning and headed home with Tim(bit) and Ice and MWF left for Basel to drop Sarah off and pick up frankiess, so we were down to 5 cars for the day. Weather was rainy most of the day. We found few nice twisties along the way, but in general this was mostly a leisurely cruising day through some woods. As the weather cleared at some point and there was more traffic than yesterday the dynamic Alpine driving spirit was creeping back, with some drifts and radio dependent overtaking. This was also the day Saab almost lost its nuts. I was riding with joker, and at the last leg before the next campsite we got separated from others. We took the nice swooping road surrounded by vines while others drove through every village centre. The campsite was more like a big back yard. In the middle of residential area, really basic and with very strict rules. But at least they recommended the restaurant that was one of the highlights of the trip. Adrian and Loose_unit missed the dinner, as they headed straight to Cologne, as Adrians car and Loose_unit started to sound increasingly sick during the day.
"Why me"
Nut check!
Bonj.. wait, what
Precautionary nut check
Always standing around doing nothing if the going stops for even a moment
Swooping to wine country
Quad randomness
Tents put up just before it started drizzling
Fortunately nature provided some shelter, with snacks!
Bonjour!!
The greatest restaurant on this trip
Suomiface
Or not to Suomiface
The British money shuffle
Some artwork suggested that there might be something more to this place
A bathroom full of Finalgearians, as the waitress said we must check it out before leaving.
Part of the space doubled up as a wine cellar as well
After the traffic died down a bit I went for a photo tour. And of course I had left my ultra wide lens at the camp..
Back at the bar
Reaction to MWF's stories..
The anti-social (smokers) corner
Weatherwise Thursday morning the same way Wednesday ended, with occasional drizzle. Some went to buy some local wines before we packed up camp for the last time on the roadtrip. At first we tried to keep to the smaller roads, but there was nothing too interesting to be found, I think most were rather tired from the trip and after running around in circles for a while looking for a fuel station we decided to just head towards N?rburgring the fastest way. But not before losing one car from our group, again. It took a while before we found each other. And on the Fr/De border the same thing happened again. The exit from the service station was rather confusing, and after we just about avoided a collision with a truck in the Alfa we got separated to several different routes around or through Saarbr?cken. Most of us still made it through in about the same time, but as Sygic was once again completely out of it I managed to direct the Saab, driving behind us but out of sight, to the wrong direction with my unclear radio messages.
Once we cleared the town and got to the (right) autobahn there was very little to report, just cruising and occasional top speed stints with Alfa, SloAudi and waftmobile, traffic permitting. As we were nearing the ringmeet campsite in time for once we stopped at Adenau to get some more drinks and ice, the usual. And as usual that stop was way longer than it needed to be. Nearing the campsite Tobias got a bit carried away with tunnel blasting and missed the off ramp following the tunnel.
Sticking with frisbee games
Apart from the very basic camp site, a really nice small village, this
Swooping away from the wine area
French road building
Back in the autobahnland
Rest of my trip belongs to the Ringmeet thread, but I?m not going to write a story about it, and it has been covered rather well anyway. I also doubt I could finish it before 2014.
P.S. This is more like diary for me to help me cope with my terrible memory, so I can?t blame you if you have TL|DR?d most of it.
