Syd Stelvio - London to Lisbon Day 4
Limoge to Toulouse – 370km
Today was our penultimate day in France, and it began with dew on the windscreens and a slight chill in the air, not that this would last long mind you. It was another hot one, so thank goodness for the aircon, also known as winding the window down. Thankfully there were a few less kilometres to cover today, though each new click on the trip was well earned as the roads challenged both drivers and navigators.
It was straight into the action, too, with just a short run to the first route section that took place in the hills above Limoges. The tulips directed the cars along a mix of roads enclosed by dense forest and open sections through swathes of undulating farmland. Dogs barked and Cockerel’s crowed as the unusual traffic made its way along tarmac that is normally the domain of farm machinery.
The route section was 20km long in total, requiring plenty of concentration from the navigators, so it was a kindness to offer a control and a chance for a coffee and pastry almost straight afterwards in the village of Masseret, in the shadow of La Tour de Masseret, a folly that looks to be straight out of a Disney film. I would love to tell you that it is an historical tower, one that provided the weddings of the local nobility during medieval times, or was inhabited by an evil Prince, but it was built in 1957 and so isn’t even as old as many of the cars on this event. The coffee was good though.
After some hefty transit, and a bit of traffic to deal with, another route section followed in a similar vein to the first of the morning. After this there was another long transit section, but on a fabulous road that all of the drivers will have enjoyed and many cruised along in chains of five or six cars, just a group of mates together, enjoying the open road.
Whilst Masseret hadn’t quite provided the history, the midday halt would, as we were all fortunate to be invited to Château de Sermet, the home of Club des Autos. The 13th century Château was an imposing sight, but its cool interior provided a welcome respite from the heat of the day where we were able to enjoy a fantastic lunch and, for those happy in their skin, a dip in the Chateau’s outdoor pool.
So far, the Sweeps hadn’t had too much to do, but there were about to be a few emergency calls to the mechanics, as the cars got back underway after lunch. Mike and Sarah Thorne were the first customers, as the Porsche’s fan belt broke just 5 clicks down the road. Thankfully they suffered their mechanical nice and close to the location of the mechanics, who were able to get the white Porker back on the road before the closing car arrived.
Ivan Pusnik needed the Sweeps help next, with the Alfa Giulia having sprung a mystery water leak. Bad news at any time, but certainly on a day as hot as today. Eventually the source of the leak was identified as coming from the navigator, Tisa Pusnik, or her swimming costume at least, discarded in the car and soaking wet after she had taken a lunchtime dip. Well, you can’t be too careful…
The afternoon was moving on by now, but before the cars could head to Toulouse the final route section needed to be despatched. At 22km in length, it was certainly a distance and there were plenty of opportunities for navigational confusion as the country roads often split into several directions at the junctions. The roads finally ran through some vineyards, which have so far been non-existent on our journey South. It is quite some achievement to travel over 1000km through this country and not come across someone making a bit of plonk, and no doubt after navigating their way through this section a lot of the navigators fancied a drink or two themselves!
There followed a pleasant run towards base, through avenues of Sycamore Tree’s, offering pockets of shelter from the sun that was still beating down. Unfortunately, we arrived at the evenings halt to the news that car 5 is out of the rally, the BMW 328 of Ali Ghandour and Nicolas Abdelnour has succumbed to a broken steering rack, and they will travel no further.
It's a tough pill, especially as tomorrow we have the Spanish border and the Pyrenees to look forward to, when the expectations of the route will rise as quickly as the altitude. It should be a great day, and in the evening, we will spend our first night in Spain, in Pamplona. Until then.
Syd.