Do i take the girlfriend ....

[Battlecat]

..... to Le Mans?

After going to Le Mans a couple of times when i was 13 and 14 with my brother, Dad and his mates (fond memories of me and my brother getting a front row standing possition in the stripper caravan and special attention from the ladies!), its been too long since i've been back. So i'm planning to go in 2006 and a few mates (including my brother - he's no fool) but the girlfriend wants to come with us.

The only motorsport of any kind that she's witnessed has been at Goodwood FOS and the Tempest Rally which, although she really enjoyed, is hardly a taster. We will be going to more events and races but then it might be too late to book. She's a typical girl who likes her showers and hair straighteners, but she seems pretty keen on being there.

So my question to you; should i take her and risk her hating every moment, or should i think up some good reasons and suggest after more motorsport exposure she comes next time?

[ChelseaTractor]

NOOOOO WAAAAAY.

Tell her straight, its mans business.

Trust me, it makes the whole trip sh1t when they start on about curling one out in a hole and washing in a trough.

Go with your mates again and slum it.

All IMHO of course!

[Piglet]

OK, a girls point of view!!

I'd think very carefully about taking her unless she is one of the more hardy varieties of our species!!

One female member of our party this year was an absolute pain in the arse and would of spoilt things for everyone except we wouldn't give her the satisfaction of it!

I've camped on both Houx and MB - Houx is pretty good for showers and toilets. MB had an adequate number of female loo's but there were always huge queues for the showers which in the burning heat wouldn't have been fun! Personally I just didn't shower for four days and washed in the tent!!!

You might manage to get electricity on some of the sites but it's always gonna be a bit hit and miss. The place is gonna be full of blokes getting pissed - it's just the way it is - it's Le Mans!!

I think you need to test her - take her camping - play REALLY loud music and porn next to her for three days and lock the toilets and showers whilst you get progressively more and more pissed with your mates.

IF you're still talking come the end of the weekend then take her - if not - forget it!!!

Does that help??

Edited to say - I've just been reminded you need to add some blokes on mini bikes revving up and down the road at all hours, a pissed bloked in a TVR doing donuts at 4am and of course, the fireworks!!!!

>> Edited by Piglet on Thursday 18th August 18:38

[remal]

It's great to hear the hardy womens view Piglet. have you been going for many years and what do you like about it?

I only ask as most women don't like the porn or loud music. Well most ladys i know. And god forbit I would ever take the wife

regards

[Piglet]

I've only been going since 2002 - mainly because I have an involvement in uk motorsport and am usually too knackered to plan a trip!!

I don't know what I love about it, just the whole atmosphere I think - I love the motorsport side of it and I love the stuff that goes on around it, the drivers parade, the stuff on the campsites, the fireworks that set off my car alarm. It's just Le Mans isn't it?

I'm less enthused by the dickheads who feel the urge to do donuts round the campsite in the middle of the night whilst pissed. One night they will take a tent and its occupants out and we'll all say how said it is when it's blindingly obvious what is going to happen.

And actually I managed to miss the porn - t'other half saw it I was disappointed that I managed to miss it - I think that may have been alcohol related......

Isn't time to go again yet?!!

[Big_M]

I have done Le Mans for the last two years and it is now a permanent fixture on our calendar. I love it. But then I am not a normal girlie having owned motorbikes in my younger years and I am more than happy to rough it.

I have always stayed in Houx which is civilised and has electric hook up. Never seen any porn at Le Mans tho Yes I do take my travel hairdryer but only because my hair goes frizzy if left to drip dry.

I haven't camped since the girl guides but I love it. Having the electric hook up does make it a lot softer - I have recently camped without tho' at Goodwood and Thruxton.

If your GF is a big nails and high heels type then forget it. But if she is the sort who would feel quite at home shovelling steaming pig poo onto the garden then she would probably cope with Le Mans.

Personally I had some of the best night's sleep this year at Le Mans, inspite of fireworks being let off, loud radios etc - and this was without ear plugs.

Bring on 2006

[20vt_mk2dub]

Only if she has a real interest in motorsports, doesnt mind watching things like leman 24hrs on telly, f1 etc..

only if she doesnt mind roughing it and talking non stop about the sight, sound etc of the cars all the time...

if she would still enjoy it after all this....

then bring her along to the spectacle that is le mans.

Above all else be 100% sure she wants to go for the event, NOT to join everyone else or so she can be with you.

[roosevelt]

Only if you are trying to dump her!

[rsvmilly]

Our LM possee have always managed to disuade our other halfs by regaling them with tales of filthy toilets, poor hygiene and a diet of BBQ'd dodgy sausages.

We've always kept it as a lad's get together. About the only time we are all in the same place nowadays, what with family pressures etc.

I've noticed that more girls are going, though!

[remal]

rsvmilly said:

I've noticed that more girls are going, though!

Nothing wrong with that. Give you something else to look at. As long as the other half does not go

>> Edited by remal on Thursday 18th August 21:37

[wedge girl]

Will she enjoy it?

If not she'd be better off spending the money a ticket costs on a trip to Paris/New York with the girls.

[supaspark]

rsvmilly said:

I've noticed that more girls are going, though!

Exactly the reason why you don't take your partner..

[Piglet]

I found t'other half at Le Mans - still haven't managed to lose him over a year later. Second thoughts that's probably a good reason TO take your girlfriend!!

[Battlecat]

Piglet said:

I think you need to test her - take her camping - play REALLY loud music and porn next to her for three days and lock the toilets and showers whilst you get progressively more and more pissed with your mates.

Play loud music and watch porn for three days whilst getting pissed with my mates - Ok, but only because you told me to.

Can you call her and run it pass her though?!!

Going camping does sound like a really good idea, thanks.

[Battlecat]

20vt_mk2dub said:

Only if she has a real interest in motorsports, doesnt mind watching things like leman 24hrs on telly, f1 etc..

Good idea - sit her infront of the F1 this weekend and see how long it takes her to pick up a magazine. I could even quiz her afterwards.

20vt_mk2dub said:

Above all else be 100% sure she wants to go for the event, NOT to join everyone else or so she can be with you.

This is a concern. Not living together means that "our time together is important"

[ding]

I agree with the other ladies who have posted.

If she is the hardy sort and can cope with beered up blokes then she may enjoy herself.

If her tolerance level is anything less than 100% then leave her out of it. You should have time with your mates and it would spoil it for you and your friends if she was unhappy.

If you do go together make sure you are in a mixed group so some of the time can be spent apart. She could clear off with the other ladies who are not so 'Le Mans attuned'.

As said Houx is slightly more civilised.

Make sure she is aware that it is dirty, beery and noisy then she cannot say she wasn't warned!

Elizabeth

[Podie]

Big_M said:

If your GF is a big nails and high heels type then forget it.

er... I think we both know of an exception to that rule... indeed she showed a few of the lads how to do it.


At the risk of pointing out the obvious, why not ask your girlfriend if she wants to go...?

[DJFish]

My other half was thinking about coming along at some point to see what the fuss is about though the wimmin usually do a spa day whilst we're in France.

This year she picked me up from the campsite to go and do coupley stuff, she took one look at the carnage on Sunday evening and now has no interest whatsoever!
She's also told all the other girlies not to bother as well.

Fair do's if your a girlie of the female persuasion and are up for the whole experience, but I'll wager its not the sort of thing that most would enjoy.

[Battlecat]

Podie said:

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, why not ask your girlfriend if she wants to go...?

She has said that she'd like to go, and i've tried to describe what its like but i'm sure her expectations aren't the same as the reality. Its issues like the heat and relentless noise that i hope going to see a few races will give her more of an idea.

[rude girl]

Podie said:

er... I think we both know of an exception to that rule... indeed she showed a few of the lads how to do it.

I think it would be fair to say that they broke the mould when they made that lady

My 'girl's view' then.. I think it would only be fair to give your girlfriend a warts and all run down of what it's like, then she can make a more informed decision (and remember to hold her tongue if she gets there and doesn't like it). In fact, print this off if you like and show it to her (I've been going for 4 years now).

1) Dirt. Le Mans (the event, not the town) is dirty. Filthy in fact. If the weather's fine, it's dusty. So dusty that your skin gets grufty and you get tide marks where you sweat (and oh boy will you sweat!) If the weather's bad and it rains, it's not impossible that you could wake up in the morning with an inch of water in your tent; mud can get inches thick. The camping isn't like a campsite; it's just rough ground (with very little shade) with some portaloos on it. I always take Tescos value socks and knickers and throw them away after use. Same with shoes - a pair of Matalan sneakers to be binned before coming home. Take baby wetwipes with you to maintain basic hygiene (more important for girls than boys ), and don't worry too much about crusty t-shirts etc. Everyone's in the same boat. Dress code is jeans or shorts and t-shirt (PH/race team/car club/something rude). Take a fleece for if it's cold. Oh and a waterproof.

2)Toilet facilities. At peak times (between about 6.30am and 11am, and early evening, expect to queue for about 2 hours for a shower. There are some proper toilets, but there are also a lot of 'squat on the floor and pee in a hole' toilets. They are mostly clean. The portaloo showers will almost certainly struggle to keep up with demand so expect a few cold showers.

3)Weather Will be either baking hot (this year we were drinking a litre of water to walk 20 minutes) and too hot to sleep, or it can be freezing cold at night. If it rains, you just won't be able to get dry at all - that's the most miserable of all the possibilities.

4)Food BBQ is the way to go. Hard work, and unless you're in a big group and have taken a transit full of facilities, you'll be drinking warm water, and going to the Carrefour constantly for fresh food.

5)Racing Fantastic. If you like that sort of thing. There is plenty to do other than racing, but the itinerary is set by the racing. It's better if you follow the series and understand what's going on/know what at least some of the cars are - much more enjoyable that way. If you're not going to take an interest, don't waste your money on a grandstand seat.

6) Noise I'm always stunned by the people who whinge about the noise. You're camping inside a race track. There won't be any quiet at all (day or night)from Friday morning 'til Sunday night. But it's ok, because on Saturday night, the sound of the racing will be completely drowned out by fireworks - about 6 hours solid of bangers and rockets. Oh, and the sound systems on the campsite. And people revving engines. And shouting and laughing and saying rude words. Seriously, it's impossible to describe the noise - even sitting by a racetrack all day here doesn't give you any idea; it's intense. After a while, your eardrums can start to hurt. Take some earplugs.

7) Beer The day starts with a breakfast of beer and continues through in the same vein, finishing with a supper of beer. 'Nuff said.

8) Totty There's totty, but don't worry if you don't go. The boys don't go to LM to pull . They go to have a boys' weekend, and that sometimes involves leering at totty and saying blokey stuff.

9) Security There is a lot of pocket picking/ nicking stuff from tents. Don't take a handbag, don't take any jewellery that you're not going to keep on all the time (even when sleeping). Definitely don't take your best stuff. You won't need pretty necklaces or earrings, trust me!


10) Being a girl at Le Mans. Don't be. If you want to go to LM, you've got to be a lad. The ladies who go with their partners become an honorary bloke for the weekend. There are some who try and export their extensive preening regimes to a field in France, but frankly they largely get ignored (or laughed at). Forget makeup or hairdrying (put a hat on), wax legs before you go. If you're prepared to pull your weight, not get too upset at toilet humour or liberal use of f and c words, live in filth, spend most of your day hiking to and from the circuit (oh, the bridge where all the lads get caught short gets pretty ripe by Saturday too...), you'll love it. If not, don't go. Really, don't go.

But if you're the type to tolerate the discomfort, you might just fall in love with the event.

edited to add a couple of things I forgot.


>> Edited by rude girl on Friday 19th August 11:14

>> Edited by rude girl on Friday 19th August 11:18