Gallery Rally — Jersey to Biarritz 2013

Day 7 - Brive-la-Gaillarde to somewhere further North

Good evening all, welcome to Day 7 of the Gallery Rally and Beyond - 2013.

After a bit of a struggle with Internet access last night, you will no doubt have worked out that we did eventually succeed in gaining access - albeit in a slightly dodgy looking manner...

I'm sure it was actually quite subtle up until the point the camera flash lit up the entire area.

Anyway, after a good nights sleep (and, i'm delighted to say, the end to Mike's technical difficulties with his alarm) we found ourselves up, breakfasted and ready to go by 9.30am. The Sun was shining brightly, the sky was blue, the temperature was already far too hot.

We didn't really have any particular destination in mind today, so we just headed in a vaguely north direction and thought we'd see how we got on.

In France, even when driving endlessly with no particular destination, there is always something to keep you entertained though.

First we drove past a big chair hovering above a roundabout..

 

Then a Windmill in old Amsterdam...

 

A delivery truck, obviously proud of the quality of the goods it delivers...

 

The latest Audi being transported to the local dealership...

 

To keep ourselves amused, we hit warp speed through a tunnel...

 

When we came out the other side, we even past some big cats..

 

And a large bottle of wine...

 

By this time, the sun was starting to makeway for very heavy rain as we ventured north, and at this point we worked out that the temperature was now 20 deg C lower than it had been this time yesterday!

The rain was getting heavier and alternative modes of trasnport were becoming a consideration...

We decided to pause for some lunch..

Where we had a small snack......

Ready and raring to hit the road again, the car decided he was feeling left out, and 'binged' at us.

We duly ignored it, but when it went 'bing bing' it was obvious we had to attend to his needs (after all, he had done 260miles since the last fill up - not bad for a slightly tuned Evo) - so we stopped at the first garage we came across.

As it was absolutely pouring with rain, the lady owner of the garage came running over with an umbrella. I thought it was to protect me, but actually it was to protect her as she filled the car up. She left me stood there in the rain getting wet! But at least I got to say 'Fait le Plein s'il vouz plait' for the first time in many years!

Car and Passengers now full, time to make some more progress North, past the naked Corpses.. (a dead boring place)

 

Before long we started to see signs of familair places, which we were making progress towards quicker than we had realised.

By not starting the day with any particular loactions in mind, we had somehow made a lot more progress North than we expected.

So we asked the navigation system how long it would take to reach Saint-Malo. He confidently predicted we would get there around 1700. Easy for him to say when we are still 3 hours away.

After a quick (expensive) online check, we established that there was a boat at 1745 this evening. As check in was 1645, it was a bit of a challenge, frought with risk and danger, but we aren't people to shy away from these things!

So time to make a bit more hay whilst the sun wasn't shining.

Mike quickly made some calculations, and plotted a new route that actually shaved 10mins of the potential time at the turn of a page....

 

I also made a few calculations of my own. Mainly that pressure required on right-foot = requirement to increase.

Enough fuel to get there? Check.

Enough power to overtake trucks?

Check.

Jellybabys at the ready?

Hmm, they appear to have turned into one big blob in yesterdays heat. Ok, scrap that...

Right,lets do this! We hit the road hard and fast, with not a moment to spare....

Ok, not such a great start.

Anyway, we played the popular 'beat the sat nav' game for the next 3 hours; one minute we were winning, the next minute the sat nav was.

But we weren't taking any prisoners. Anyone in our way was just going to have to move.

After an exhilerating drive, we eventually saw the fruits of our labour.

We were so close now, but it was fast heading past Check-in time. All it would take was one traffic hold up.

But a few minutes later we started to relax.....

We pulled up to the check-in desk at 1650, (no one else was waiting), and were all checked in and ready to board the ferry a few minutes later. This is the way to avoid queing at Check-in; just turn up last!

After showing our passports to the friendly young Gendarme and successfully passing through security checks, we then had to explain to the enthusiastic officer in broken french that it has six cent sanquonte chevaux, and thanked him for telling us how nice it sounded.

He then told us to nail it so he could hear it properly. I didn't think the other Gendarmes would necessarily share his point of view, so I was a bit more moderate!

A short while later we were safely parked up and enjoying the sunshine, that had finally decided to come out and greet us just before we left the country.

Not long after that, we boarded the Condor Rapide..

and waved a fond farewell to Saint-Malo...

1 hour and 20 minutes later, having bounced across the gap of water between Saint-Malo and Jersey, we were alongside in Jersey Harbour and driving onto home soil..

So here we are then, safely back in Jersey, and the Gallery Rally 2013 draws to an end.

Now I know you are all dying to know the geeky facts of the trip, so here they are!

Total miles covered: 1520

Number of Fill-ups: 7.5

Fuel Burnt: 320 litres

Total cost of Fuel: €500

Average Fuel Consumption (for whole trip): 22.3mpg

Minimum Speed: 0km/h

Maximum Speed: 130km/h (you do believe me don't you?)

Minimum Height attained: Sea level

Maximum Height attained: 3842 metres (via cable car)

Number of times stopped by the Police: 1 (we maintain our innocence to this day)

Number of speeding fines: 0

And not forgetting todays route of course....

So all that leaves is for us to say a big thankyou to all of you who have read the blog, sponsored us, left Guest Book or facebook comments, and generally been there with us all of the way!

We have enjoyed your company greatly, and please continue to feel free to leave us your comments by clicking here to be sent to our Guest Book.

Of course, we mustn't forget that the reason of the trip in the first place is to raise money for Jersey Hospice Care, so you will be delighted to know that sponsorship can be recieved at this link until the end of July! http://www.jerseyhospicecare.com/fundraising/sponsor-someone/

If you would like to see our Complete Trips route, you can do so by clicking here: http://www.itsanevoadventure.org.je/rally2013Completeroute.htm

Personally, as well as wanting to thank everyone we have met along the road for being such cool people, I would also like to thank Mike for putting up with me and my driving! Thanks Mike, same time next year?

The end.