Geneva to Rotterdam, via the M4: PH Blog
It takes nine hours to drive from Geneva to the ferry home; Dan had eight
No criticism of the colleagues I was taking the car over from; Geneva traffic can be a nightmare but finally the call came, an improvised handover outside the airport was arranged and I was off through the accessories hall to meet the car. Though we'd timed the rendezvous to perfection the Swiss police were already on the scene and it was a case of hurried exchange of pleasantries and a rolling start while still removing coat and plugging in essentials like phone, nav and - oh yes - seatbelt.
Direct route arrival time? 1952h. Ferry loading time? Not specified but probably about the same. This was going to be close.
Dreams of a chilled drive evaporating I simply pointed the car north into the Jura up what looked like a promisingly squiggly piece of road. In the rushed handover I'd clocked the car didn't have the trademark Competition Pack 20s, instead wearing some plain five-spokes and winter tyres. In white it looked more like a 420d but, given the fussy styling of the new wheels, perhaps the better for it. They better suited the conditions too, the comedy value of getting tyre squeal on standing water and (mainly) comedy low-speed under-into-oversteer around the hairpins an entertaining get-to-know-you with the car. Saying that with 12,000 miles in a regular M4 it wasn't taking long.
Emerging in Poligny - home of Comte, cheese fans! - I was on familiar ground again, hitting the peage towards Dijon. Having scaled back my Autobahn ambitions my main goal was to avoid Brussels. So I planned in a diversion via Luxembourg and the quiet squirt north that bypasses Prum (where, from the other direction, I turn off for the 'ring), crosses the Belgian border and then skirts Spa. Before that I was able to finally stretch the BMW's legs a little, the novelty of legally cruising at 120mph-plus only offset by the plunging fuel needle and worries about whether I'd have time for a splash and dash. Sod it. Having noted the 149mph speed restriction for the winter tyres I conducted a scientific test and established the 155mph limiter on the Competition Pack car is ... relaxed. A teasing taste of what I'd missed out on with my long-termer back in the UK. That being a prison sentence, mainly.
After snow in France and sunshine in Germany the predictable happened as soon as I hit Belgium, weather and driving standards taking a dramatic turn for the worse. At least it's dependable, the woeful lack of drainage on Belgian motorways making line markings invisible and the spray reducing visibility to about five metres. Or at least double the distance your average Belgian driver leaves. Before making an erratic lane change for no apparent reason. And then indicating his intentions afterwards.
Three tanks of fuel, a past-its-sell-by tuna baton and a huge bag of cheesy bugle crisps later, I arrived at Rotterdam's Europort bang on the predicted time after passing the astounding Blade Runner-esque landscape on the final approach. "You hit some traffic or something?" smirked the Dutch customs official, tempted out of his hut long after he thought he'd checked his last passport for the Hull crossing that evening. A Stella on a ferry never tasted so good...
And the car? More on this shortly. But for all the stress a 1,000km, to-the-wire dash across Europe in a fast car most definitely still has the capacity to thrill. Next time I'll definitely avoid Belgium though.
Dan
Follow the route here.
Are you sure you were in Belgium? This sounds like the UK.
Are you sure you were in Belgium? This sounds like the UK.
France has speed cameras on their auto-route network now and the time when you could cross France at a 120mph cruise is surely gone. Wouldn't using more of Germany have worked out quicker?
Just curious
Andy Burrows
Bern is a horrible snarl up, and most of the motorway between Bern and the Basel turn off is 100kmh with cameras I think
Basel gets super busy at the border
There are awful roadworks just north of Karlsruhe at Bruchsal
Going back to the article, I'm surprised the author shunned Bruxelles but then went for Antwerp, the ring motorway of which is just the most awful place to be in rush hour. I know, I was stuck there for 90 mins last week
::EDIT:: The roadworks on the A5 at Bruchsal have apparently finished, as of end 2015, at least until June 2016 when it all starts up again on the southbound side. Apologies for any confusion.
And you're right about the Antwerpen Ring - I once got 'stuck' on it trying to find my exit and ended up doing two laps of the thing. Couldn't get off it! Nightmare! It is, at least, better than Brussels. Or less bad.
And I had all sorts of plots hatched to give me 'more' Germany but with every minute ticking by waiting for the car I was having to amend them and by the time I actually got the keys it was bin The Plan, point car north and make it up as I go along. Credit to the iDrive control and BMW's nav - it's very easy to do this and make it up as you go along but I guess I know my way around it after the long-term spell with the M4. And, to be fair, the Jura section was fun, going via Poligny is my usual way to that region, though I usually come in via Metabief.
Best laid plans and all that. But I didn't skid off into a snow drift, scored some Autobahn time, managed not to get crashed into by any Belgians and (just) made my ferry. Hopefully I'll get more time to plan a proper route next time but the pointers are noted and welcome!
Cheers,
Dan
Though there is enough time to pose the car, clean it (I guess) several times, in several locations for photos?
Bit like "Jeremy makes a detour through some woods, where there happens to be a camera crew to film his blokey exploits"
Coming any minute to Pistonheads...the formulaic Shed Of The Week, with 'comedy' preamble...
Direct link - http://www.autobahnatlas-online.de/Limitkarte.pdf
De-restricted sections are blue, but there's a full key at http://www.autobahnatlas-online.de/LegendeLimit_e....
It's very out-of-date though; it would be nice to look at google street view to confirm limits but most of Germany's not covered.
Though there is enough time to pose the car, clean it (I guess) several times, in several locations for photos?
Bit like "Jeremy makes a detour through some woods, where there happens to be a camera crew to film his blokey exploits"
Coming any minute to Pistonheads...the formulaic Shed Of The Week, with 'comedy' preamble...
Actually, I'll take it as a compliment you think these snatched shots were properly posed, organised and the car cleaned and prepped for them. Rather than just screeching to a halt at the side of the road, leaving the engine running, grabbing camera from passenger seat and getting rolling again before the cars I'd just battled past crashed into the back of the stationary BMW in the middle of the road!
Shed coming up shortly too...
Dan
I can usually do the Frejus Tunnel to Calais in 9hrs in a V10 Toerag without risking losing my licence!
What is it with Belgian drivers and last minute lane changes? It happens SO often that it's not a generalisation!
Dan
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