A Bright and Sun Shiny Day!

Time to take to the Road!

If it's a Sunday, and sunny and dry and warm, it's like a shot of adrenaline to all we petrol heads. It's time to bring our classic and much beloved cars and motorcycles out from beyond their covers, and to rouse them from their long winter's sleep and hit the road.

A day of really good weather is a call from the heart to get up, and to get out and play. Our spirits are sent soaring, if we have a convertible we put the top down, and for this day we are going to live it to the full. Suddenly, country restaurants that have had very quiet Sunday lunches over the winter are overcome with trade. Life has begun anew as we bask in the glorious rays of the sun, our best friend.

It'sgreat to shake off our blue funk and to smile towards one another. The first signs that Spring may be just around the corner are so hopeful. Even when winter truly sets in we know that with a little patience it will soon be Spring. However, I do admit that for me that may be easy to say, because I have not experienced what so many people have had to deal with concerning the conveyor belt of storms and flooding and such disasters. This time it was your turn, but I know that it will be my turn in the not too distant future. All I have to do is wait for it.

If you could have enjoyed this wonderful day, Sunday, February 23rd, 2014, then I certainly hope you did. It was one for the history books.

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael 

The loss of a beloved car is a death in the Family

A really sad sight.

On my other blog, "Formenseyesonly," I addressed extreme weather as the new normal. Of course people have to worry about the loss of the home, injuries to the person, possible sickness that might follow a severe storm, and even loss of life arising as a result of the trauma. When viewing scenes of mass destruction there will always be destroyed cars in the mix, however for most the loss of a car hardly even registers. Unless you are a petrol head who has a passion for a finely made vehicle.

When times are normal and we have the time to develop interests, many people choose to invest their focus in their cars or motorcycles. I belong to the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, a group of owners who should treat their wives or husbands as well as they do their cars. Sometimes I think we go way overboard in our passion. I own a Jag Sovereign that was manufactured in 1995, but looks and runs as though it just came out of the showroom. How can this be? For one thing, I drive it very rarely, only on sunny days, and I clean it before returning it to the garage, where I then cover it, including padding where it might be touched or something rested upon it. See what I mean about over the top?

However, even I think that some of my fellow members are really over the top with the type of care and loving attention they vest in their machines.

Now comes the conveyor-belt storms of recent times and rising floods. Do you stay to try and protect your house, or do you take your precious car and flee the area? Perhaps you do the latter, and like so many people the water on the roads overwhelms the car which becomes totally immersed, and it drowns, as though it were a living relative. How do you deal with that?

It's bad enough to have to cope with the loss of the family car and the lack of transport that follows, but something that has had your total focus is enough to drive a person to drink.

I have often wondered what happens to all those cars after the storm. It is no coincidence that the For Sale listing increases, and of course, many cars that have been salvaged from the water will be available for sale. Where only fresh water saturated the car it may be possible to return the car to use, but if salt water submerged the car I would not be interested. Salt is a major killer of cars. On my island, just normal usage where salt spray gets just about everywhere, I have had cars that rusted away from the engine.

So, let us spare a thought for those who loved their cars and motorcycles and lost them to the storms. For such people that must be like adding salt to a gaping wound.

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael 

Imagine my Surprise!

Every day there is a race taking place somewhere on the planet.

I live in a very sleepy town called Pedralba. There are about 800 people in the town itself, and nothing ever happens here of any great interest, or so I thought. In fact, at least once a year a 10K race, called the Carrera Popular Parque Natural is launched from the main street of Calle Colon in Pedralba. What I didn't realise was that this race draws people from all over the Valencian community. I was not aware because I live outside the town limits in the hills, the suburbs, if you will, and I have never bothered to come into town on this day.

This year I decided to see what happens on race day. Firstly, If you live within the town limits, between certain hours you are not allowed to use your vehicle. If you need to go somewhere you will have to move early. Everyone else can only park our cars and bikes on the outskirts. I parked in a farmer's field that had been flattened, but the dirt was very red. Thankfully, it didn't rain, but when the event was done I had to take my car directly to the carwash.

As I walked down into the town, runners who had arrived by car were running downhill, but others were running up hill. As I entered the town proper there were people running one way across town, while others were running in the opposite direction. In fact, choose any street and people were running one way or the other. To confuse things further, a police car, complete with screaming siren, that became even more agitated on corners seemed to be heading some runners, while others completely ignored  it.

As I got to the main road through the town I had to pinch myself because I had never seen so many people in Pedrabla. My estimate, including the townsfolk, is there were between three and four thousand people taking up every available bit of space. I try and imagine the reaction of the farmers, except I suspect they were all out in their fields.

There were runners from places far away, including Chinese, Brazilian, and Eastern Europe, etc, including one black guy and one black woman.

I discovered that there was a principal race that began at 11am. this was the 10K. There were about 1500 people for this event. It was interesting to note that the first runner passed under the starting arch promptly at 11am, and the last one crossed at 11:09.58. Almost 10 minutes to fully start the race.

The day was wonderful, being sunny with a light crisp wind. Not too bad to stand and wait for the runners to return to the end, but absolutely perfect to run in. The first person to cross the finish line did so at 11:34:33, and the last person finished at 13:15:34. She received a really terrific round of applause because she was a really largely built person, so it must have taken tremendous determination to complete the loop.

It was so exciting for me to see my town come so alive, and a whole lot more exciting to have been there than to simply read my account. However, my pride in my little town of Pedralba has grown tremendously. Normally most people don't have a clue where it is located. I always say that it is so remote that it doesn't even have a Chinese 5 and 10 shop. However, I suspect that the Chinese runners would have noticed that. I think we can expect a Chinese Bazar any day now.

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael

The Character of the road you drive on.

What lies ahead?

We generally think of a roadway as being something inanimate, without a soul or heart or character. However, that could hardly be farther from the truth. If we fail to recognize what the road has waiting for us up ahead, we could easily come unstuck.

It stands to reason that roadways are built to fit into the land that is available to the roads management group, which may mean that the road contains dangerous twists and turns that ideally should have not been in-built, but could not be avoided. As the driver we have to be on our guard at all times to adjust our speed and to heighten our caution.

A common mistake we make is that we assume that roads management always know what they are doing. Wrong! One classic clue is given when we are leaving a towm and the speed limit goes from 50 to 70, but then, a mere ten metres farther it is reduced back to 50. Why bother with the 70 sign? Is that really intelligent? Many a driver has said, "what the fuck!"

Roads management have done certain things in their design, presumably inadvertant, that give bad mis-direction, such as painting the road to encourage the driver to turn his car to the left at a stop sign, thereby cutting off his line of sight to be able to see oncoming traffic. You will most likely follow this signage at least once, but once could be all that it takes.

Then there is the matter of roundabouts. Here in Spain they have only recently found wide acceptance, but most drivers really are not comfortable using them. For entertainment purposes, find a bar with a terrace that overlooks a roundabout, especially one with several lanes. Good fun, that!

I could go on and on about the fact that roads are living things, but as drivers we only need to be aware that roads can be deadly or kind, to remember to pay strict attention at all times.

Wait until you are back at home to relax with a single malt whisky or a fine brandy. One more day as a survivor of the roads is worth celebrating.

Copyright (c) 2014   Eugene Carmichael