Leg one of Rallye Sud Ran without incident from noon
November 2nd 2002 to 18:00 November 3rd 2002. Final (Economy) results
will be published here as soon as the teams have submitted their
figures.
Our Thanks to Alan & Jo Taylor for their warm & generous
hospitality in Normandy.
Alan
Taylor (team 8) Me pic attached. This is about two years
old but I have a more recent one (different hat) if necessary
.(In reply to a question about being guided through Paris)
I wouldn't bother ask to ask a French person, to assist with
'flagging through Paris' they will write to the Gendarmerie,
visit the mayor, post real 2CVs on real street corners and
have the emergency services on stand-by then complain you
never arrived. This is English humour at its driest and it
is most unlikely anyone not born and bred in England would
understand. Even I am forgetting after 14 years over here.
.At Le mans a while back, I had an old door across the
wheel arches of the H Van. On it was an old single mattress and an even
older duvet. This was so I could sleep in the van during the three-day
event. A 14 year-old English boy (son of a 2CVGB member) looked in and
said 'I like your bed...'. My instant reaction was to think perhaps he
had nowhere to sleep and was envious but I soon saw he had a very expensive
tent with every luxury including the most modern and comfortable of sleeping
facilities. Then it dawned on me - he was English. Such a comment would
never, ever, have come from a French person of any age. If I had had a
£100,000 brand new motorhome a French person might have uttered
such a comment, and meant it. As I was in a 30 year-old H Van with the
aforementioned, I might have been invited to sleep somewhere more comfortable
or nothing would have been said.
regards, alan
WANTED - 2 x square headlamp
units. Please Email if you have any for sale.
John Newcomb
Organiser:
Ooops this letter seems to have got in with the Rally Mail rather than
the For-Sale Page
alan
(team8) Had a chap phone yesterday. Half way from Bordeaux to Yorkshire
in a 1960s 2CV and his windscreen wipers disintegrated. Directed him here,
found ad fitted a pair of new blades of correct pattern, gave him a coffee
and off he went. That sort of thing is most enjoyable - different people,
different vehicles and a genuine satisfaction of seeing a problem sorted
out. Got a chap coming over from Jersey on Thurs. Beautiful car - red
2CV6 Special of mid '80s vintage, only used in summer months, garaged
all winter, looks like new and the chassis has gone. Combination of the
usual Citroen problem and salt air.
alan (In response information that next
stage has a two wheel section) I would like to use the front left and
rear right. This is easily achieved as my weight in the driving seat will
keep the f.l. on the road and all the spares will be over the r.r. The
gyroscopic effect of the two wheels revolving at 400 revs per kilometre
will hold the van stable so no need for the other two.
Organiser:
You are doing a 'Double-de-Gaulle'. It is interesting how many variations
of interpretation surprise us Rallye organisers. I am looking for plain
novelties to keep things interesting & I've not seen a 2CV or H van
driven on two wheels (on the same side) - I had thought someone would
choose two on the same axle (Dave Shove always drives like that) but 'offset
opposed'... What an interesting idea..... The DS famously could keep going
on three (as the General found out) and if they tried assassination from
both sides symultaneously (I can see why they didn't) it would have been
interesting to see. With the traction of course the back wheels are not
equidistant from the front which would give possibly interesting effects.
alan
H will run on 2 fronts and one rear as well.
Cpt
Duck team 9 Gin and tonic fell off table during loop on way across
Channel. Please arrange replacement. Luckily carburettor iced up at same
time so no shortage of ice cubes.
Organiser:
Congratulations. I think you are in the top three on that leg. Most teams
had to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants as well as paying for ferries
and trains. I am told that the 'H' in H Van is for Hotel (pronounced o-tel)
(as in 'Hotel' Whisky Soda) the original mobile home! As leg one was a
test of economy, unless you had a flutter en route you should do OK.
- If you happen to know (near enough) any
of the land mileages...(I must stop myself giving my admin department
(me) such a work load. Anything you multiply by 36 adds up to nearly forty
times more work than you would like, assuming you would like any.
- Peter, Any tips for the less travelled Rallyists would
be appreciated. Next leg is to Paris. A set distance must be covered on
two wheels
Car
11 ( Lost in France) Well here I am parked under the Eiffel Tower
and not a soul in site.
Where is everyone??? Oh Dear, will wait here for further instructions
Organiser:
As you know you were flagged off at 13:40 to catch the Portsmouth Caen
Ferry. On arrival at Caen you were tracked as a convoy as everyone had,
of course bunched up. I think you must have taken a wrong turning. Our
report of the leg (detailed for the first part can be seen at the top
of this page.
- Try to keep your expenses down to a minimum as Stage
One, marked on economy achieved, will not close until you are stamped
by the Marshals. We are in Foulognes, near Bayeux, Normandy undergoing
acclimatization. I suggest that you go-west-young-man (remember to drive
on the wrong side of the road) and clock in ASAP. It might be possible
to fly over in an H Van to air-freight you back but it might be hard find
you amongst so many French cars. Good luck.
Organiser:
I have been asked if there are any ways of making driving on the wrong
side easier. Well as you may have noticed most foreign cars have been
modified to put the Steering Wheel and controls on the 'wrong' side to
balance out any difficulty. This does work to some extent and is a lot
easier to do that might appear at first thought.
Tools needed : Hacksaw, Hammer, iron bar, masking tape,
grease screwdriver, spanner & universal freeing oil.
Before
After
This picture shows the completed modification on an old
car (called a 'Raspberry' Ripple - due to its fruity purr) and produced
in Slough (Fr, Slô, a name which stuck). It's best not to try this
conversion until you've had a bit of practice, ideally on old cars so
that a bit of roughness in finish doesn't notice.
Don't over do it by rearranging the pedals or reversing-the-turn
of the steering wheel (It will automatically go the wrong way when parking
etc). It is quite alright to move the pedals as a set. It is necessary
to swap the headlights over though, the same set of tools will do the
job, but it is not necessary to do anything to the seats or doors. Frankly
no-one will notice if they are on the wrong side.
If you are only going abroad for a short time you should
buy a pair of head lamp 'lenses' which have a sticky backing and, when
on the headlights, throw the light the other way. If you are going to
be abroad for a while but don't want to tackle the conversion you can,
if you already wear spectacles, fit the same sort of lenses to a spare
pair of glasses. You will immediately think that everything looks normal
- TOPS now reads STOP and appears to be in the right place etc. The only
things to watch out for are reversing ambulances with ecnalubma written
on them and mealtime place settings. If you remember in time it is a simple
matter to take your glasses off and put them in a safe place.
team 2
miles UK: 43 miles FR: 348 mlg cost: 32.75 ferry cost: 372 hotel:
78 dinner: 31 lunch: 18 extras: 5 penalty: 0 total Cost: £536.75
Place 16= Points 100
26
Non-Runner
29
Non-Runner
The
journey from Southern England to Northern France is taken by thousands
of travellers each year. Our Rallye stage has been organised as
an economy run and marked on the real-world mix of time and cost.
It
was very interesting to research the wide range of ferry and tunnel
opportunities, stop-over hotels, motor recovery and insurance cover
being offered at the moment. Companies who offer these services
are invited to e-mail
us to include a presence here to feature their products and services
and support the Rallye.
Anyone who wishes is free to contribute to the Rallye
Sud Charity Appeal. All funds,
without deduction, will be given to the four charities at the end
of the Rally as part of the completion celebration. Any enterprises
that sponsor the Rally are free to submit promotional material (identified
as such) relevant to 2CV travel and life-style (e.g. tyres, car-parts,
insurance, ferries and fine wines). Please contact us by e-mail.
Organiser:
Ooops this letter seems to have got in with the Rally Mail rather than
the For-Sale Page
alan
(team8) Had a chap phone yesterday. Half way from Bordeaux to Yorkshire
in a 1960s 2CV and his windscreen wipers disintegrated. Directed him here,
found ad fitted a pair of new blades of correct pattern, gave him a coffee
and off he went. That sort of thing is most enjoyable - different people,
different vehicles and a genuine satisfaction of seeing a problem sorted
out. Got a chap coming over from Jersey on Thurs. Beautiful car - red
2CV6 Special of mid '80s vintage, only used in summer months, garaged
all winter, looks like new and the chassis has gone. Combination of the
usual Citroen problem and salt air.
Cpt
Duck team 9 Gin and tonic fell off table during loop on way across
Channel. Please arrange replacement. Luckily carburettor iced up at same
time so no shortage of ice cubes.
Car
11 ( Lost in France) Well here I am parked under the Eiffel Tower
and not a soul in site.
