One of the nice things about having to report out is that I get to relive some of the moments from this summer. Things like all the great people I met, including the fumbling with Rauno Aaltonen & Paddy Hopkirk. I finally get up the nerve… kind of by just asking if I can get Cecil’s photo with them. My concern always is not wanting to look like some crazed fanboy… but I also understand that I am intruding. Some expect it, but others don’t.
Here’s a Video of Paddy & Rauno talking about & reliving Monte Carlo.
Sue and I have discussed this over and over. When driving long distances in the U.S. you basically plan for around a mile a minute. I want to drive to Chicago that around 180 miles it should take around 3 hours. England is a little different… OK a lot different. It seemed that if we wanted to go 30 miles we should plan for it to take at least an hour if not longer. Now I will admit that part of it is an unfamiliarity with the rules of the road in England, but I think part of it has to do with roundabouts. It seemed that every roundabout (and there are a lot of them) while they kept traffic flowing- created some kind of time warp… the time inside the car is constant, but outside the car time travels faster… I need Hawking or Einstein or the good doctor to explain it. When I first planned out the trip, I was thinking in a U.S. mindset about a day trip (I have been known to drive to Chicago or Columbus Ohio for lunch), once I started to understand England, I had to reassess my plan and stick with things that were a little closer to my home base. Fortunately England is filled with interesting places to visit so while I missed some things, I saw others that I might have missed had I spent the day and night motoring. I know understand why many Brits will plan an overnight trip for anything greater than 40 miles.
Welcome back to Zoom’s Motoring Guide! It seems that in England there are four kinds of roads- M roads (Interstates), A Roads (two lane roads), B Roads (1 1/2 lane roads), and Single Lane Access Roads (3/4 lane roads). Where we are (and the way our GPS takes us) we end up on B or Single Lane roads. Consider the simple country road in the United States, usually two lanes and it goes straight to the horizon. Once or twice a year you have to worry about the crops getting too high. Here it seems that almost every road I drive on is surrounded by thick hedges that seem to tower over the car and has numerous turns. Lots of fun, if there weren’t any other cars on the road. You can’t see around corners and since you are driving on the left hand side of the road, the passenger is the one who is hanging on for dear life when another car (or worse a lorry) comes around a bend. Oh, one thing I didn’t put in the comic but is important for those US drivers, in this area of England there are few (if any) shoulders. The edge of the road ends in either a curb (in town) or hedge. I was wondering why they were very clear on damage to the sidewalls and wheels when I rented our MINI. I’m getting used to it, but I have been doing a lot of the driving- When Sue drives (and she is a great driver) I’m doing my best to bite my tongue.
Yes, I did know all of that before leaving… I have been cursing Charles Dodson for the whole “Looking Glass” bit every time I turn into the wrong lane. I have gotten better over three weeks of driving. It is a change- all the simple things I have done while driving for more years than I care to say all need to be relearned backwards. 25% of all MINIs are made right hand drive so it is a skill you don’t really need except in a few places. I’m just wishing for my simple 4-speed classic, 6-speeds is still a little too confusing for me.
Yesterday was great! We headed over to Coventry to check out the Transport Museum. they had a Dr. Who Exhibition along with a wonderful history of British auto-making. I learned the in the orignal Italian Job the tunnel sequences were actually shot in Coventry… kind of cool. For the Dr. Who Exhibition I learned that while I really like the Doctor, I am a late comer (I recall watching it in the 70’s, but didn’t have a chance to follow it since the last season on BBC America. So while I was fascinated by the displays, I was lost as to their significance. Guess it’s time to start watching more on DVD!
After Coventry we headed to ShakespeareLand, yes Stratford-Upon-Avon. Beautiful town, very, very touristy. We actually took a tour since, while I am familiar with the bard’s work, I am not a scholar. It was interesting. The thing I found really neat was that they had a “kids” version of the audio. I listened to a portion of that and it was really neat. geared to hold the attention of a 9 or 10 year old (no comments). When I compared notes with Sue it seemed the same information was dealt with, just in a different manner. Stopped by to get the MINI washed since poor Nigel was looking a little messy.
