Last week I managed to combine a family errand to visit relatives in France, with an excuse to put 1400 miles on the Zed and also fulfil an ambition to drive a Paris street circuit I've been working up. All sane humans know that driving Paris, in a car you want to keep in good nick, is a foolish idea. There's not even time to blink, let alone sightsee. So I devised a plan. Why not do it at 2 in the morning, when the lunatics are at home sleeping off a garlic binge?
The most tedious bit was the first day in England - braving the mentals of the M25 (why can't they drive in just one lane? no one is getting there any quicker than you ) but it was all fun from there. I've grown to love the effortless chunnel journey (has crossing borders even been so easy?). Then it was just foot down and cruise through France for 6 or so hours and some raids on cheap French petrol stations.
A long journey on the French autoroutes is a real pleasure. A road surface made of entirely one decent material, no potholes, no traffic, no queues, a sensible speed limit and just for fun, the weird rest stops to enjoy - sponsored by 90s popular beat combo "Air". I was at first delighted to find this particular rest stop deserted and took a celebratory photo whilst I stretched.
I was much less delighted when I noticed the mist was clearing and that I wasn't at all alone, a Latvian truck driver was making eyes at me from his cab
I wasn't looking forward to the French peage, driving alone I didn't fancy getting in and out at every stinking toll booth, so I picked up one of their magic tags for the windscreen. Worked like a charm and suggest you pick one up if you're doing any serious miles in France, 26 euro, bargain.
A little snap at my destination.
Bit of smut for Granvile too...
This was my first proper run out with the Michelin Alpin PA4s and I can't fault them. It rained almost solidly for 4 hours on the way back and they dealt with some fairly hefty pools of standing water, at good speeds, didn't stop me puckering up when I hit them but I never had that awful feeling when the steering goes light
When I was off the proper roads and enjoying the deserted back roads, they preformed beautifully and I'd be hard pushed to pick them from my previous MPSS, other than a bit more road noise (particularly on the UK motorways - almost silent in France) and an occasional glimpse of the slip light. Never had winter rubber before, so I've been enjoying trying something new and getting the feel for them.
Here's the Paris Circuit I put together http://goo.gl/maps/5Ei5N for my stop off on the way back to Drive Paris.
Managed to squeeze in the big stuff, the Louvre, Notre Dame, three beautiful bridges, Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Place de la Concord and some good stretches along the banks of the Seine. It was an absolute pleasure to drive the city at that time of night and the buildings were all lit up beautifully. Got a little snap along the way too...
Glad I did it in the Zed, not just some rental car. How many other people can say they had a little sideways fun on a deserted Arc de Triomphe roundabout and boomed the sound of their V6 off the ancient walls
Here's a short movie I made of the Paris run. Took a bout 45 minutes in total to drive the route, with some stops along the way to drink the city in. I've managed to cut it down a bit.
Loved putting the miles into her last week, If you get a chance to do this, do it Need to get back over in 2015 - anyone driven Scandinavia before...
EPILOGUE
Needless to say, the Zed was absolutely filthy when I got back. Sadly I caught a bit of mild Ebola whilst I was away, so spent a couple of frustrating days in bed when I got back with the car sitting filthy outside - I could hear her pining for a washmitt. Pics before I could get out of bed and take care of her
No reflections
Dirtiest I've ever seen The Shark and DJ Apple iFoam was no match for the caked filth.
Left side, after pressure washer rinse of snow foam. Right side, just after the snow foam has run off - crap cleaning power
For such a big job I lined up some of my favourite products for this last serious clean of 2014.
I've been saving my last bit of AMMO Foam Paint Cleanser for a special occasion and was happy to finish it off with this big wash Not used the Envy for a while now as I've been trying a few others, as is my want, It's a great shampoo and cut right through the rubbish on my wheels, barely even needed the Sonax. Also revisited Poorboys QD+, as it has been hiding behind a bucket for a while. If the spray nozzle was any good, I think I'd really like this - intrigued to see how it stands up to the current weather.
Invisible Glass was actually something I purchased in desperation in a Wallmart in Florida. The rental car had a mysterious goop on it, which was invisible in the dry but imposible to see through in the rain. Bought some of this and brought it back, great glass cleaner - only complaint would be that the aerosol dispenser is a PITA if you use it in highish wind (20 mph)
An hour or so later
​Thanks for having a look, hope some of you get inspired to do a similar run - Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam???
