Interesting but rather muddy experience Last Sunday …
Charity Passenger Rides for Wales Air Ambulance.
A couple of weeks ago, I spotted an opportunity on offer in the August edition of Outpost, the BMMC Northwest newsletter — for a donation of £25 to the Air Ambulance, you could get a passenger ride in a rally car somewhere in the middle of nowhere in North Wales. Obviously too good an opportunity to miss! Posted off my cheque forthwith and in due course got instructions by email to head for a location on the B4501 between Llyn Brenig and Alwen Reservoir.
After doing my duties at the 9 o’clock service at St Lukes, we dashed home to change into suitable attire and set off for the specified location. Opted to go via A55 to St Asaph, thinking the good roads would be quicker, but was frustrated by a lot of slow traffic on the A51 when we set off; and when Google Navigator on my phone elected to take us on a rather tortuous and at times quite narrow route avoiding Denbigh, began think we should have opted for the direct route via Wrexham. Still, we got there in good enough time, in the end.
Arriving at the site, we were directed up a forest track, lined on one side by loads of parked cars; guy arriving ahead of us dived into a vacant slot quite quickly, and we began to understand why as the route became muddier, narrower (with sharp drop-off both sides) and more crowded — wondered what we were getting into! Eventually arrived at the end, and had to be directed backwards to an empty slot where we could park.
Signed in and had a “briefing” — this amounted to, “Don’t touch anything. If you feel it’s too fast for you, raise your hand. Use the sick-bag if you need to!” There was obviously going to be a bit of a wait, so I returned to the car and we ate our butties. Then I joined the queue to borrow a helmet, then stood around for maybe a quarter of an hour until my turn came to get in a car.
My ride was in a 40-year-old Saab, probably a 96, though could have been a 93, driven by a guy who looked like he’d been rallying for about the same number of years. The run lasted about three or four minutes, I guess, though I didn’t time it. Definitely an interesting experience! Most noticeable thing I think (apart from the speed at which the trees flew past) was the noise of the gravel, rocks or whaLlangoltever hammering against the underside of the car. You’d probably want to do it a number of times, to fully appreciate the skill involved.
Once I’d handed back the headgear and exchanged a few pleasantries with the lass in charge, the remaining challenge was to N-point turn the car without sliding of the edge of the track. That accomplished, we made our way back to the main road.
Returned home via Llangollen, with a stop “for comfort” in Corwen. Llangollen absolutely heaving — I’d thought we might have a coffee there in passing, but the car park was rammed, so we kept going up to the Horseshoe Pass and drank our flask there. Thence to Wrexham (bypass) and so home.
Spent some time on Monday morning removing quite a lot of North Wales from the wheel-arches and driver’s foot-well!