Our first update date from the boys in France!

Follwoing a drive all through the night, Chris and Dave rocked up in Bergerac at 8am, to stay with Chris's friend ian who happens to own a lovely barn, (available to hire) and get a well earned rest after driving 20 hours of the first 24 of the rally!


OK. Thanks Gav. What a 36 hours that was. We have arrived 'safely' in Bergerac and are staying with Annabelle and Ian at their lovely little pile and are slowly regaining our sanity! Sunday was a bit of a blur as we'd got up around 7am after a meal out to say goodbye to Steffi and Kate in Brighton. A little hungover and it was off up to London for the Start Line official in Hyde Park. In keeping with the general theme of disorganisation, the launch was hectic, great fun seeing everyone's pimped out cars and we managed to leave without everyone after getting confused about what was supposed to be happening! Massive thanks to everyone that showed up, it was wicked to see you all!

Off to the ferry for 3:30pm and we were feeling quite sorted at this point and following via michelin directions were steaming south. It all started to go wrong about 2am when the fog set in. May I just say that it was FOG not just whispy uk fog and we were in it for around the next six hours! The 15ft of visability meant that you had to stay 100% concentrated all the time which was increasingly hard the more tired you were. After a breif nap at 3am, things really started to go crazy at about 4am when the gearbox started to make a catching, intermittent whining sound in fifth gear. Bugger. This continued and coupled with our tiredness, started to make us go completely paranoid and we narrowed it down to main drive bearing or one of the gearbox bearings/cogs/synchromesh/dog clutch... Anyway, we pulled over and checked the transmition oil level. Fine. Went 100m and then checked the engine oil level - not much. We toppedup the engine oil, I stood in the oil and covered my shoes, then got in to drive and realised that I couldn'toperate the pedals as I was slipping off! Doh! Drove in sock for an hour whilst Chris wiped my shoe clean. By now complete exhaustion, the limoge effect (when limoge is signposted as 20km for what seems like three hours without getting any closer) and complete runaway paranoia about the gearbox meant we were gibbering wrecks, with one driving,the other pointing out useful facts like bends in the road and that you've got your wipers on full blast in dry air...

We arrived at 8am and let ourselves in and both couldn'twind down enough to sleep for half an hour...

Dave

Alarm woke the pair of us at 11 despite wishing we could sleep for about another day. Personally it took me about 2 hours and a shower before I was anywhere operating at full capacity. Lunch lunched we drove up to see a mechanic Ian knows, turned out he'd had mroe than his fair share of prepping 4x4s for the desert. Having arched his eyebrows at the wagon he offered to try and track down another gearbox tomorrow, loosen all the retaining bolts and show us how the box would come out should the need arise.

We dropped the gearbox oil and found the inevitable glimmer of bearing material followed by shards of wear debris left behind in the drop tray, in short. Either 5th gear or one of the main shaft bearings is wearing rapidly. We're hoping it's only fith and it's not that rapid!!! Tom we will see if we matey has found another box and will top up on relevant lube and bowser so I don't have to have another bath in the bloody stuff!

If this was going to happen on the rally this is probably the best place aside from spitting distance from the finish line, somewhat aggrieved it couldn't play silly buggers a month ago so could rectiywith the help of glorious leader and Gary but 'what can you do', beer calls.

Chris

As mike says.... CHILLAAAAX!