Friday 20th May (Friday, gotta get down on Friday)
Tired from a long day thursday, we had a little lie in and set off at 10:30am. Well, we did after James had climbed into the 106 through the boot, due to a French Scenic owner taking a liking to his parking space on the side next to his drivers door (would have been fine if it was a normal right hand drive car haha), and my passenger lock not working. From Dijon we avoided the peages again and headed for the D roads. First, the D996, following a truck. Considering James had found this road recommended on Pistonheads, We began to wonder what all the fuss was about. And then the truck turned off and it got interesting. Slightly bumpy, but windy, with a couple of hairpins. And not a sole using it. We came across one bus, but it was soon dispatched and we made rapid progress. Along with rapid progress came rapid running out of fuel and a petrol station was our first stop of the day. While the drivers filled up, Zoe took photos of snails and Matt went green. We waited ten minutes of so for him to compose himself and then set off at a more leisurely pace for the rest of the D996. Soon it became the D396 and with that the hairpins vanished and we left on super smooth straight flat roads. We picked up the speed again and were back knocking minute after minute off our arrival time at Reims. With an hour to go, James started to flag (not surprising as he had done the entire trip...i was lucky enough to be able to swap drivers every through hours!) and we pulled in at a supermarket on the search for sandwiches. We got back on the straight roads, now a bit busier, but we were passing everyone on the road.
After another hour of so, we found ourselves driving down the pit straight at the abandoned Reims circuit. Unfortunately, it's a lot more fenced off and inaccessible than when James was last there, but we soon found ways in and got some decent photos. It felt a real honour to be able to experience such an old track...last used in the 1950s apparently?
Reims Circuit by Rallye James, on Flickr
Reims Circuit by Rallye James, on Flickr
From here, we had the options of nearly three hours on the toll roads, at an unknown price, or an hour extra on the D roads that we were enjoying so much. D roads it was then! For the next hour all went well, with Matt now at the helm of the Megane again and James on his own, until we came across a barrier over the road and no detour. So we took a gamble down towards another village and soon got back on our route, now on the prowl for a McDonalds. On the approach to Lille we got on some toll free motorway and began tanking it back at over 120kph again. It didn't take us long to reach Bailleul, only half an hour from our hotel. We parked in the car park of the supermarket next door, only to be told by a local that it closed in half an hour (or that's what we deciphered anyway), so we got our fast food and ate it fast.
The final stint of the trip was over before we knew it and we rolled into the F1 hotel care park with sad faces. Sad faces the same as the electronic 50kph speed limit signs that we had been seeing all day..Whey!
And now we sit here outside the hotel, drinking the remains of whatever we had bought around the continent, mixing everything with Zoe's himbeersahne licquer and making it turn to solid foam...
Another lap anyone?
Tired from a long day thursday, we had a little lie in and set off at 10:30am. Well, we did after James had climbed into the 106 through the boot, due to a French Scenic owner taking a liking to his parking space on the side next to his drivers door (would have been fine if it was a normal right hand drive car haha), and my passenger lock not working. From Dijon we avoided the peages again and headed for the D roads. First, the D996, following a truck. Considering James had found this road recommended on Pistonheads, We began to wonder what all the fuss was about. And then the truck turned off and it got interesting. Slightly bumpy, but windy, with a couple of hairpins. And not a sole using it. We came across one bus, but it was soon dispatched and we made rapid progress. Along with rapid progress came rapid running out of fuel and a petrol station was our first stop of the day. While the drivers filled up, Zoe took photos of snails and Matt went green. We waited ten minutes of so for him to compose himself and then set off at a more leisurely pace for the rest of the D996. Soon it became the D396 and with that the hairpins vanished and we left on super smooth straight flat roads. We picked up the speed again and were back knocking minute after minute off our arrival time at Reims. With an hour to go, James started to flag (not surprising as he had done the entire trip...i was lucky enough to be able to swap drivers every through hours!) and we pulled in at a supermarket on the search for sandwiches. We got back on the straight roads, now a bit busier, but we were passing everyone on the road.
After another hour of so, we found ourselves driving down the pit straight at the abandoned Reims circuit. Unfortunately, it's a lot more fenced off and inaccessible than when James was last there, but we soon found ways in and got some decent photos. It felt a real honour to be able to experience such an old track...last used in the 1950s apparently?
Reims Circuit by Rallye James, on Flickr
Reims Circuit by Rallye James, on Flickr
 | This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 720x540 and weights 76KB. |
From here, we had the options of nearly three hours on the toll roads, at an unknown price, or an hour extra on the D roads that we were enjoying so much. D roads it was then! For the next hour all went well, with Matt now at the helm of the Megane again and James on his own, until we came across a barrier over the road and no detour. So we took a gamble down towards another village and soon got back on our route, now on the prowl for a McDonalds. On the approach to Lille we got on some toll free motorway and began tanking it back at over 120kph again. It didn't take us long to reach Bailleul, only half an hour from our hotel. We parked in the car park of the supermarket next door, only to be told by a local that it closed in half an hour (or that's what we deciphered anyway), so we got our fast food and ate it fast.
The final stint of the trip was over before we knew it and we rolled into the F1 hotel care park with sad faces. Sad faces the same as the electronic 50kph speed limit signs that we had been seeing all day..Whey!
And now we sit here outside the hotel, drinking the remains of whatever we had bought around the continent, mixing everything with Zoe's himbeersahne licquer and making it turn to solid foam...
| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 720x540 and weights 70KB. |
Another lap anyone?
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