Car, guitar, europe.

[br d]

Lol! Hopeless with a camera!

Just been sitting out on the terrace playing the guitar overlooking the pool, very nice. There is nobody here to disturb apart from one couple across the gardens who are too far away. An unplugged electric guitar is very quiet.

It's lovely here, listening to the birdsong.

[br d]

swerni said:

Are you okay Brad?
I missed out on taking the mustang to meet Lilly, due to illness.

Take the guitar on a road trip to Ibiza, Its the kind of crazy place that Russ would have fitted in well

Hi Swerni hope you are good.
Yeah I'm okay thanks mate, always get a bit emotional when looking back at the times I spent with Russ.

Ibiza eh? Too old for the tablets but I'm sure it's a wonderful place!

[br d]

john2443 said:

I didn't know Russell had passed on I was at that amazing day at the hospice for Lily, 40 cars revving their wotsits off in the car park then blatting off down the A27 for a tunnel run with Lily and her family in various muscle and super cars, plus a few grand donation for the hospice - despite the sadness of the reason for being there it was an uplifting day, PH at its best.

3 of us who are local also went to her funeral, sort of on behalf of the rest of you. That was a bit emotional

Have a good trip Brad.

Hi John, we must have met on the day, amazing how the time passes.
Hope things are good for you.

[br d]

The Moose said:

I have enjoyed your previous threads!

Always wished I could play the guitar - tried to learn, I just don't have a musical bone in my body!!

Everyone has musical bones Moose, you've just got to find them.
Playing an instrument is a very liberating thing to do, once you get good enough to get to choose were your fingers are going next it opens up a whole new room in your head.
I dont really get art or anything, I don't seem to be the creative type at all but playing the guitar puts me in an entirely different place which I couldn't find otherwise.

Guitar talk coming up, switch off now if you've no interest!

I am a very private player, preferring just to sit and play alone, which is why a play pick and finger style so I can accompany myself.
I'm no Albert Lee or anything but after a few beers I will often get a vibe going and really surprise myself with the stuff that starts flowing through my hands. I don't know if that's common to all musicians but I suspect it is.

I'm fortunate enough to own some great guitars. These are my two Gretsches:



Won't mean an a lot to the uninitiated but that's a Setzer 6120 and a Billy Duffy White Falcon there, pretty much my dream garage as far as guitars go. My favourite stuff to play is Rockabilly, it's hard to do right but very rewarding which is why I love Gretsch.

I also love country picking and these two cover that:



I also have a decent acoustic and a bunch of other electrics that I occasionally use.

Funnily enough Russell and Lillie's guitar is an ideal Rock Axe, which the majority of guitar players seem to love. I can play rock, metal and indie a bit and I grew up loving that stuff but these days it doesn't interest me much.

The strange thing is though that Russell's guitar just covers all the bases.
It doesn't play rockabilly as well as my Gretsches and it doesn't play country like a Telecaster but unlike those guitars it can do just about anything without complaining. I'm honestly not just saying this because I have an emotional connection to the guitar it is genuinely the one I find myself picking up the most often.

The burning house scenario? This one first, then the Setzer if there's time. Everything else is replaceable and can fking burn!

Sorry for the tangent.

(As usual I can't get the pictures right!)

[br d]

Heaveho said:

Nice thread, don't have the Mac sadly, but do have an Ibanez, will keep looking out for updates. Have a great trip.

Be careful around Beaune, I got nicked there in a UK registered car by a couple of untruthful bike coppers for supposedly doing more than a ton, taken straight to the nearest Gendarmerie, and was lucky to escape without an on the spot ban. It's quite a well known area for such things.

Hi Heave. I've been driving around Beaune for many years and know some fantastic routes where you can floor it before everybody else gets up. Unfortunately though you are right, the creeping ruination of driving pleasure is showing its face here too.

Yesterday I took the Route Des Grandes Crus which runs out through the wine country and is a fantastic bit of road when no one is about but to my dismay they've started putting cameras on it.
Real sneaky bds too that wait for a couple of sweeping bends after the town exits and then appear just as you're breathing out. fkers.

Europe's still better than Essex that's for sure which is why I continue to come out here but it's gradually being reeled in.
Driving for fun is not on the agenda and once driverless cars are with us I believe all the rules of the road will be reconstituted to give them priority. It's the dying days for motoring and I feel for the young car enthusiast.

I'm about to order a 720S, but I'm pretty sure that will be the last fast car I bother with. I may have a few awkward years of fun with that but I can't see a performance car being worth having in 5 years time.

More depressing stuff. I'm supposed to be on holiday!

Edited by br d on Tuesday 13th June 15:48

[br d]

Talloires, on Lake Aneccy. Beautiful.
Lovely hotel. Got here a bit frazzled, grabbed a beer and found the pool:





A nice waterfall you can sit under, it's very hot here.



I'm at the foot of the French Alps. My usual crap photography:



Going to just relax today but will be getting into the Alpine roads tomorrow.

[br d]

Long drive down, usual shenanigans!
I did about a hundred miles on the A40, I was listening to an audio book which I find good for eating up time. Listening to music is fine but on really long boring journeys I can lose myself in a book.

Was listening to Gregg Allmans book because I love Duane as a player. After a hundred miles or so of motorway I got a bit somnambulistic and found myself sitting behind a lorry doing about 60 mph on Auto.
I was awoken from my trance by three French guys in a van behind me (about 3 feet behind me, they all do that here) waving their fists, holding there phones up and goading me to floor it.

Well what could I do?

By this point even the car had gone to sleep so I thought we needed a blast. I dropped 5 gears and fking hammered it past the 6 or 7 lorries that were lined up in the slow lane. I flicked through 3rd and 4th and the world was a roaring blur!
It felt good to hear the turbos spooling up and I had a heavy right foot and a wide smile! Until I looked at the satnav and realised I'd missed the turn off I'd been waiting for the last 150K.

fk.

All the way up the motorway to the next junction and back. It was worth it though!

[br d]

The last 50 miles as you drop down to Aneccy are amazing. Stupidly high stilted roads hanging precariously over lush valleys with tiny sun bleached villages beneath. Stunning stuff.
Plenty of long tunnels which I slowed right down in and then hammered through without changing up just to get the noise coming in through the open roof.

While it's true that the McLaren roar doesn't compare to a Lambo V 10 howl but it's still worth hearing.
I'm going to download a recorder on the phone and try to capture it over the next couple of days.
I'll probably fk it up though.

As you drop into the valley and start spotting the Lake it really grabs you, you're here, it's the Alps man. I've never been here before.

Then there's the fking peage.

[br d]

For some reason the tag didn't work at the peage as I came into the Alps. I normally wave it out of the open roof to be sure but this time it didn't register and the machine spat out a ticket.
Once it does that you're stuffed. You have to pull up really close to the concrete walls on the left side and ease up the door making sure not to scuff it on the concrete on the other side.
There's not a lot of room because of course they don't expect you to be getting out of the car. Left handers just pull the ticket through the window.

All the other drivers have now piled in behind you and can't back out so you're immediately pissing everybody off.

I wave, apologise and do that "Sorry the tag didn't work" mime that none of them seem to understand.

So, I drive on. Another 20k or so and here comes another peage. I know I have to get out, walk around and fk about with the money so I pull hard left, jump out and point to the empty lane next to me to the bloke behind. I'm trying to indicate that I maybe some time and I don't want to hold him up.

He completely ignores this, gives me a gallic shrug and pulls up the regulation 6 inches behind my bumper. Followed by 4 or 5 more behind him.

I go to the machine. I put in the ticket, the screen flashes up
Prix 8.60.

Fine. I get a ten euro note, put it in the cash input and nothing happens. Then all the screens go blank.
Great.

So I'm fking about pushing this note hopelessly into an unreceptive slot like a flaccid drunk trying to shag his sleeping wife while the anger is palpably building behind me.

I press the button to talk to someone and the conversation goes like this. I swear on my life, exactly like this:

Hello, my apologies, do you speak English?
(my basic French is nowhere near good enough to cover this)
Yes, what is the problem?
I have put in the ticket but it isn't working.
Have you a ticket?
Yes, I have put it in the machine.
You have no ticket?
Yes, I have put it in the machine but it is not working.
Non. This does not happen, you have no ticket.

(Now the queue behind me is getting apoplectic)

I DO HAVE A TICKET BUT THE MACHINE HAS GONE BLANK, I CANNOT PROCEED!

Non, you have no ticket.

(The screen then pops up 50 Euros.)

What's this? I'm not paying 50 euros, the machine is not working!

You will pay 50 euros, you do not have a ticket.

[click...]

Speaker goes off.

I am now fuming, ready to kick the fking machine but nobody is listening anymore and the queue behind me are now at birthing kittens point.

So I'm screaming at the machine... You fking robbing fking s you've taken my fking money...

Etc etc etc...

I put in 50 euros, the barrier opens. I get in the car and as I pull forward the fking machine lights up like a Vegas one armed bandit and 41.40 fking euros in change comes tumbling out of it into the change compartment!

I briefly slam on considering getting out and grabbing it but I haven't yet passed the barrier and I'm thinking it's going to ask for another 50 if I get out.

So I drive on through. And matey behind me who's life has clearly been entirely ruined by waiting 4 minutes for me to get the barrier up gets 41.40 euros for his troubles.

fk!

Edited by br d on Tuesday 13th June 16:45

[br d]

GuitarTech said:

Shame you can't get up here, maybe next time

Maybe this time GT. Would make a lovely PH event. Let me see how things work out.

[br d]

The hotel after this one seems to be a celebrity type thing. People on Trip Advisor saying the car park is full of Supercars.

Just had an email from them including this:

To make your visit well organized and garantee the availability, please advice the following :

- Your arrival time at the hotel
- Do you require any shared or private transfers?
- Would you like to book any activities (paragliding, helicopter flight...)?
- Do you wish to make any reservations in our spa by Clarins or in our restaurant “Le Matafan” represented by the chef Mickey Bourdillat.

Paragliding?

Good grief.

[br d]

7th to 2nd! That's a lot of faffing with the left paddle!

[br d]

Strange watching the France England game here. Not a single replay of Mbappe's absurd diving but they show every angle of any free kick England gave away.

Very dissapointing, or perhaps I'm just displaying confirmation bias? Do we do the same?

[br d]

The lake is beautiful:



And here's a Donkey being loud:



Going to feed that trappy bd before I leave!

[br d]

Yeah sorry guys, not been keeping up.
I would really like to fill this thread with car stuff but there just isn't anything down here in the French Alps remotely car related, except the stuff I'm doing myself.

I'll post the nonsense I've been up to but it all seems a bit inane in comparison to what is going on back home.

Still, these threads are supposed to be relief from all the bad news.

[br d]

This looked like it might be fun on a dirt track, don't know what it is:





Fed the mad Donkey, a few apples and he turned into a pussycat!



Drove up to overlook Lake Aneccy on the recommendation of the lady who owns the hotel. Great road, ruined by the 3 abreast lycra mob. I'm not anti - cyclist, enjoy a mountain bike myself but some of them are proper ignorant. You sit patiently behind them while they take up the whole road and when you finally get a straight section you can pass them on you get all the shouting and hand waving. fk off eh lads, you're not the only people who've come a thousand miles to enjoy the place.

Anyway, great views over the lake:



What you're looking at here is the take off ramp for the hangliders and paragliders:



You pay 60 euros or so, they strap you in next to them, run down that ramp and jump off. You will land somewhere miles away across the lake.

Nope.

[br d]

This was better, the Col des Alviras, or something similar.



You come up a beautiful sweeping mountain road with some of those tunnels with the side slat thing going on. Much quieter, much quicker! There seems to be a lot of works going on so you have to watch for big tipper lorries appearing from nowhere, they seem to drive with the same gleeful abandon that ours do. Get out of their way cos they ain't getting out of yours.

This is proper eidelvise country, cattle bells, snowcapped peaks and those timbered chalet things dotted all over the place. You half expect to see Heidi sitting 2 foot off your bumper in a crappy old clio.

The local cows get properly used here!



They make absolutely everything out of the poor bds!

Got some real screaming performance out of car on the last couple of miles up to here. Really good, flat land with the mountains rising on either side. Sounded good. The left paddle definitely gets a work out here, dropping a gear too low at any excuse and flooring it!

[br d]

Chamonix.

I seem to state that everywhere I go on these trips is beautiful . I think it's because I'm just so amazed that I've some how managed to drag myself into the position where I can do this stuff and I'm just so happy with the privilege.

But Chamonix is something else.

I think this may be my favourite place ever.
It probably helps that I'm staying in a stunning hotel with a balcony that looks straight up to the pinnacle of Mont Blanc.

The Alps are new to me but I know many of you have been here. Mont Blanc is fking stupendous isn't it?
I mean, I've taken a hundred pictures trying to capture the majesty of the thing but it's hopeless, you can only get it by just standing here and gazing skywards at the clouds rolling over the snowy peaks. It's just frikking awesome!

The roads in the town are awful, no doubt as a result of them being frozen for 4 months of the year but once you get out in the mountains this is car heaven.

Here's a pitiful attempt at a pic of Mont Blanc:

[br d]

The girls on the desk here suggested I go up to Col Des Montets for some good driving.
Good roads certainly but I was a little late in the morning and it was awash with camper vans and coaches.

I parked up at the highest point of the pass and (after dealing with the tracker people who were moaning that the fob signal had been lost) I had a good hard stare at some of the peaks. I want to get some hiking and biking into this trip and this bugger took my eye:



Stuck some climbing boots on (mistake, should have kept the trainers), put a bottle of water and the binoculars in my backpack and headed up.

Jesus fking christ it was hard! Boiling hot, straight up rock climbing (or stumbling in my case) and my dodgy lungs screaming for air.
I must have stopped 20 times and said "That's it, you've got to go back". Somehow I staggered on, it wasn't fun believe me.

At around about this point I realised I haven't actually put any pics of my car on this thread, which is maybe a little remiss because I'm sure people are interested in seeing it in these environs.

So I took one:



3 hours and 15 minutes of knee popping hell later I came out onto the top. Tried to take some pics to give an idea of the scale but again they don't convey it well.



That's a town at the bottom left of the pic.

Sneaked up on these guys as well:





It was actually very beautiful at the top, there are lakes and huge swaths of snow even in this heat.

Hour and a half to get back down, no water left and my knees ready to throw it all in.

On the drive back down there was much less traffic. A BMW fastback in front of me floored it and obviously wanted to play. I was up for it. He had the advantage because I'm sitting up against the wall of the mountain and he has better visibility on the corners but there was no contest power wise and I didn't even have to try hard. He started getting a bit desperate and cutting over the center line on some pretty blind bends to try to get a couple of seconds.

I kept thinking about those tipper trucks.

In the end I just backed off and let him go as he was getting really silly.

No doubt he'll be boasting about losing me!

Edited by br d on Friday 16th June 20:23

[br d]

This is the hotel car park:



I was joking with the manager that he should be paying me because about 50 people an hour walk in and take pictures, I said that's a hell of a lot of Facebook promotion this hotel is getting out of me for nothing!

Yesterday the car was right under the hotel banner and it was non stop picture taking the whole time I was here.

This is a rich little town. Plenty of summer custom and the skiing all through the winter but there are no nice cars here, which is why mine is getting more than normal attention.

Off to Germany tomorrow, driving straight through Switzerland because I've been there before and it's not my cup of tea.

Must get more car content in Germany.

Fingers crossed.