10-01-2018, 08:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-01-2018, 08:30 PM by Reckless Rat.)
There's quite a bit of it about in the Alps (have you seen the chaos in Zermatt?) and in just over a fortnight I will be rolling out the RP for its annual outing in the "Rallye Hivernale des Cévennes" which will take place this year on Sunday 4th February. She is all but ready bar a final check-over. There will be a new route this year, finishing close to St Germain de Calberte in the Lozère. If any of you have read the book by Robert Louis Stevenson "Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes" St Germain is the place where he left/sold his friend Modestine and jumped on the "Diligence" (stage coach) to finish his journey to Alais (Alès) to meet his fiancée.
We've had quite a bit of rain here over the past few days, a lot of which has fallen as snow on the higher ground, so it's looking likely that the Austin's ability in snow will show up some of the less able moderns on the run. Whilst I do always carry the "équipements spéciaux" (a couple of lengths of rope to wrap round the tyres) I have never, ever, had to resort to them. In addition the more open tread pattern of the Longstones is much more efficient than the Avons I previously had. Biggest problem is ruts due to the car's narrow track.
![[Image: 88d291_bac15c78886249079afda69d8959b11f~mv2.jpg]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/88d291_bac15c78886249079afda69d8959b11f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_424,h_543,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/88d291_bac15c78886249079afda69d8959b11f~mv2.jpg)
Press photos from last year: (click on "dans la presse") https://www.ceze-auto-retro.fr/copie-de-hc2016
I will have a co-pilot this year, which will help with ballast and navigating, although I know virtually all the roads we'll be using - there's a limit to where you can go to do a 100 mile round trip.
I'll let you all know how we get on after the event.
We've had quite a bit of rain here over the past few days, a lot of which has fallen as snow on the higher ground, so it's looking likely that the Austin's ability in snow will show up some of the less able moderns on the run. Whilst I do always carry the "équipements spéciaux" (a couple of lengths of rope to wrap round the tyres) I have never, ever, had to resort to them. In addition the more open tread pattern of the Longstones is much more efficient than the Avons I previously had. Biggest problem is ruts due to the car's narrow track.
Press photos from last year: (click on "dans la presse") https://www.ceze-auto-retro.fr/copie-de-hc2016
I will have a co-pilot this year, which will help with ballast and navigating, although I know virtually all the roads we'll be using - there's a limit to where you can go to do a 100 mile round trip.
I'll let you all know how we get on after the event.