Pre Sabatical Jaunt

Ok so I'm going to try a little taster of a blog, a) to work out what I might do and b) how I might do it.  I don't really want to use Facebook when I'm away for saying what I've been up to mainly because I feel the journey will get lost in the FB ether.  Also there are a few people I want to be able to read what I'm up to without having to sign up to FB.  So here we are.

This is a little bit premature as I'm not on holiday yet but bare with me and I'll have a little practice explaining the fun I had last weekend.

Something like 18 months ago a friend of mine from the driving club said his new car wasn't really getting the use it should do.  Obviously I offered my services to ensure that the car didn't seize up in that I would happily take it for a drive whenever he wished.  After patiently waiting and only occasionally saying I was still waiting to help out was I offered a chance.  When would I be free... er how about anytime between May and July...!  And so it was that I turned up at Richard's house north of London at 9:30am last Saturday morning thanks to a lift there from Ewa.  She was going to just drop me off and go but she did stop to have a look at the car once out of the garage and help Richard pack the roof under the bonnet.  So there it was on the driveway -  Porsche Carrera GT.

With the roof panels eventually under the bonnet (we didn't have to look in the manual to work out how to do it - oh no...) we said goodbye to Ewa and set off north towards Aylesbury.  The dual carriageway was a little boring to start with but it got us a reasonable distance from Watford with little hassle, other than a few bikers that were just sat in any lane they wanted and ignoring us behind them.  Perhaps a little retribution for the cars that won't move out of their way, or more likely just 'weekend warriers' that weren't that clued up.

I had a goal in mind to aim for and so we headed in the general direction of Milton Keynes.  Once past Mursley after hitting the smaller cross country roads Richard stopped the car and we had a break for a few minutes and then it was my turn to drive.

Huge carbon ceramic brakes

This is going to be fun

The V10 5 litre engine covered up

While heading up there I'd been in touch with Lisa and was trying to get her to meet us at our destination - the one and only 'Super Sausage Cafe' on the A5 between Milton Keynes and Towcester.  I've been past it many times over the years but mostly it was closed when I passed it, think late Sunday night heading back from Leeds to MK) but after eating there post a spot of removal work a month or so ago I decided I had to go back at some point for some more of their all day breakfast.

We got there about noon and had a cuppa while waiting for Lisa to arrive.  Once she was on her way we ordered the food and it arrived not long after.  It was certainly up to previous standards and all three plates were promptly cleared.

After lunch Lisa was going to head back home but I suggested that Richard could perhaps take her for a quick ride up and down the road - which he did.  Heading back down the A5 they drove past me (in Lisa's Polo) so I followed.  The car clearly stands out amongst the regular traffic but its silver colour probably does mask it's curiosity somewhat.

A little later Richard stopped and offered to drive the Polo while I drove Lisa in the GT - what a nice man and very trusting - haha.  In the Woburn area I found a layby and we let Richard back in to his car and said au revoir to Lisa before heading south again.

Needless to say the car is just an awesome experience.  It's performance is stunning and on the road it felt nimble, easy to drive and surprisingly good over the UK's generally poor road surfaces.  Even the clutch that I'd read about and been told about a few times was reasonably easy to get used to.  Just remember not to use the throttle until you're moving with the clutch up and it's fairly straightforward.  I only managed to stall once and that was in the car park at the Cafe with quite a few people watching us roll in.  The most memorable thing about the car though is the sound.  With the revs climbing and the roof off the F1 soundtrack is very special and I would imagine fairly unique experience.

Thank you Richard for your generosity in letting me drive your pride and joy.  It was a fun day out.  Maybe next time we can put some miles on this.... ;o)