The DDK Scottish Highland Tour Live Blog

[210bhp]

Turn up the volume

https://vimeo.com/104344631

https://vimeo.com/104344967







Regards
Mike

[Gary71]

Climbing up Applecross




Maybe oil... Maybe tyre smoke!

[left4dead]

Aside from the unbelievably high attrition rate it looks like fun was had by all (I hope you enjoyed yourself despite the tough circumstance, Tomas). I will make one of these things one of these days if it bl**dy kills me! Please keep the photos/videos coming for those of us who couldn't make it. Gary, that shot is a m a z i n g...

Edit: good to see your E out again, Mike. Your chariot of choice these days it would appear. Lovely.

[VG65]

Wonderful weekend. Much appreciation for all the organisation and preparation tnat made it such a success. Many thanks Brendan and of course Mike.
The weather was perfect, the roads even better which were of course surpassed only by the people and the laughter that is DDK.
A few pics just from my i phone

Who didn't hum that Ram Jam song?



What better roads?










Best seafood in Oban



The last to fall in the worst place.... safely escorted off the premises



DDK dress for the occasion Burma Shave style




Until the next time....

[210bhp]

Talking of seafood we met this Geordie couple with their two wonderful kids at the Oban seafood shack. Just been on a island hopping summer holiday and heading home. The two kids were totally opposite to what we all think modern kids are like. The wee girl swallowed down a raw oyster nae bother and asked for more! The wee boy was just as eager to try everything on the seafood platter. It was great to watch. I could imagine most kids would have turned their noses up at such fayre. It was such an inspiration to watch that it made Tom and I bite the bullet and try our first ever oysters.





Regards
Mike

[johnM]

Just dome the maths.

A total of 1732 Kms or 1082 miles

A total of 249.38 Litres of Super unleaded

A total cost of £341.30 of fuel.

And 19.7 miles per gallon.

No better way of burning money.

[sladey]

OK I had quite an eventful week-end. First time Suzanne has been with me on one of these events and the first time she's been in the car while driving fast. Saturday I was on my own whilst Suzanne went on a bike ride (just the 55 miles then!).

At Oban we had the second casualty


Luckily due to expert help no-one got their hair out of place while we were standing around


Later on after a great run unsuccessfully trying to shake off Peter we ended up at this Gaff - not too shabby


Later in the evening Richard shows his true allegiance to Apple


So that was Saturday!

Was a bit nervous going to bed Saturday night - we'd driven 185 miles during the day and I was knackered. I was nervous because Sunday's drive promised 350 miles. Also bit concerned about how slow I would have to go with Suzanne in the passenger seat.

Sunday started out with a bit of inconvenience as the starter motors stopped working properly - it was whirring really fast but not engaging. This mean getting a push regularly and/or parking on a slope

Sunday was an amazing drive

Took a selfie at the Commando Monument


Then had a fantastic drive through Glen Coe and on to Eileen's Castle. Was gradually getting faster and able to overtake with minimal intakes of breath. This was the first time I'd driven through Glen Coe - I had Frank Sinatra singing My way at the time - as the the song gets to a crescendo it's a huge colossal song - it was a greta match for the majesty of Glencoe.

After Eileen's castle we set off for Applecross - we were just behind Tim. The next hour was some of the most enjoyable driving I've had and Suzanne loved it too. Result! We turned off the main road and then had an amazing run alongside a loch on roads that varied massively in width, texture and altitude. Eventually we caught up with the previous group (naturally ) just in time for the run up Bealach na ba. WE did this in 2 stages - stopping part way to let the road clear. The word 'awesome' is massively used but Bealach na ba really inspires feelings of Awe - it's hard for you to take in properly what you are seeing. Driving up it at speed with my mates - and Suzanne next to me loving every minute - was fantastic.

We got to the top and all compared notes on how we'd all done. This was the furthest point and everyone was due to turn round and head back. Suzanne wanted to head down the other side into Applecross though - she'd done a previous cycling holiday round here and wanted us to have a half of shandy in the pub.

We bump-started out of the car park and left everyone behind. The other side was pretty rough too and we bottomed out a few times. All was going well until we came round a corner and had a big bottoming out - there was a drop in the road and a big bang as the underside hit the floor. Thought all was OK until I realised I'd lost all power. Pulled into a layby.

Logic told me something had come undone. I started looking in the engine - all seemed OK but I'm not the world's best diagnostic person. I tried starting it again and the starter motor actually caught this time and the engine started - only to die within 10 seconds. I realised I was going to need help and the best chance of this was the guys still parked at the top of the mountain.

I flagged down the next car coming up the mountain

Me "HI - I've broken down. There are a load of porsches at the top of the hill - can you tell them that Sladey's broken down and needs help"
Bloke "Is that a 356?"
Me "No it's a 911 - anyway if you coul-"
Bloke "Oh So it's an Early 911 then?"
Me "Yes that's right - so if you could "
Bloke "It's not HER's is it????"
Me "No it's mine - but if you could just ask them at the top to come and help that would be great"

Bizarre.

By the time he got up there everyone had gone (I assume - he may have been distracted by a ball of string on the way)

After 10 minutes I realised no-one was coming. I'd got no signal on my phone at all so wasn't sure what to do next. Then Ian (Deeman) showed up with his son - they'd been to Applecross and were on the way back. Ian very kindly ran me up to the top where I got enough signal to phone the AA, and then brought me back down. It was going to be an hour's wait for the AA and I has half way down the mountain.

After some discussion we decided it would be a good idea to roll the car the couple of miles down the hill to Applecross. Ian ran "interference" ahead of me - letting cars know I couldn't stop - this worked with all of them (we're talking single track with passing places) except for one who didn't listen. I just sounded my horn and drove at him - he managed to pull over.

Then we had the wait in Applecross


When the guy finally came he had no way of fixing the car there - he brought a truck to transport the car back to his garage where someone could look at it. If you think Bealach na ba is scary driving down, try it in a large truck with your car on the back


The driver was great though.

Got back to the garage. I wanted him to reverse the polarity on the fuel pump to see if that would clear the blockage. He tried but when it started to spark he chickened out. Don't know if he was doing it properly and I wasn't in a position to tell him what to do - I knew a previous AA mad had done something similar 10 years before on my car and it worked then but I don't know exactly how he did it. Anyway we established beyond doubt that no fuel was getting through.


Then I phoned the AA to discuss how I get home. I don't know if you're in the AA but they have a 'single recovery' policy - they will recover you to one place and one place only. Initially they started to say I'd already been recovered! that argument didn't last long. I tried to get them to recover me back to Loch Tay and then recover me on the next day but they weren't having any of it.

Then I accepted it would need to be recovered home and I would get a hire car. This is when it got farcical. The nearest car hire place open was at Glasgow airport. They would take me to Glasgow airport (1.5 hours beyond Loch Tay) and I would then have to dirve back up to Loch Tay.

I suggested they drop me off at Loch Tay on the way and I'd get a lift to Glasgow the next day. This was apparently completely impossible. I explained we'd practically be driving past the camp site. It got a bit exasperating. I asked if this was a new thing for them - you know people on holiday having a car that broke down - as it seemed to be causing them a lot of problems. He said he'd look into where exactly Loch Tay was and come back to me. Eventually I got a call back to say they'd agree to my original request and do 2 recoveries - back to Loch Tay tonight and then back to Nottingham the next day.

Bear in mind we were 3.5 hours away from Loch Tay and by now it was after 8pm. They also weren't allowed to recover me all the way so would have to set up another recovery from Fort William.

The first recovery driver brought his wife with him. They were lovely. Whilst waiting in the pub Suzanne got chatting to an 80 year old bloke who was lovely and offered to put us both up for the night.


Anyhow - after changing trucks half way we got in about 1:00am - second truck was a covered wagon - posh!


I got a call part way home from Jason who told me that during the evening dinner I'd been awarded the "Spirit of DDK' award. I was really made up, but gutted to be missing my own party! Brendan and Thomas managed to keep the restaurant open for me and I trotted down the hill to find the two of them pretty much bladdered. They presented me with my prize (lovely looking bottle of single malt) and we were kicked out.

Had a few drams with Thomas on the way back and off into bed.

Our last day was spent on 3 separate trucks (that's why they call it relay - they each drive 100 yards) - left at around 10:00 am and got home around 12:30am - 14 and a half hours travelling.

Thankfully the last guy loaded the car straight into my garage


In spite of the breakdown, we had a fantastic time - thank you to Brendan and Mike for organising it, and thank you to Bootsy for the award - it really means a lot to me to get an award from people I really care about.

Major plus point is that Suzanne and I both love the highlands, and Suzanne really enjoyed the fast bits. We're now planning another holiday to finish what we started - it will be a mix of cycling and driving.

Cheers

Mark

[jury]

Great write up Mark!

Sorry to hear of your problems but it makes it all the more memorable.....I think. Hope you get it sorted soon


Congrats on your 'Spirit of DDK' award. Well deserved


Cheers
Chris

[Black Betty]

I actually just got home 5 minutes ago and the first thing I did was fire up the old iMac at home to see what news there is on this 'live blog'. My iPhone stopped working on my drive to Newcastle so I had no SatNav to get there

I arrived at the ferry yesterday afternoon at 16:00 and was just in time to get on!
The other good news: I kept it dry the whole way to Newcastle!

I had a fantastic weekend and I want to thank everybody that was involved in making it an unforgettable one!

Scotland rulezzzz!!!

I will upload my pictures after I unpacked (which I'm doing next )...

And... What's wrong with Scottish weather? On my way home from the ferry here in Holland I got soakin' wet during my 40 minutes drive home! it's raining cats and dogs here in the Netherlands!

[210bhp]

Regards
Mike

[Gary71]

Great story Mark, always sad to see a breakdown, and this trip certainly had it's share, but it's all part of the story for future years.

Oh and at least you did most of the driving before it broke and just think of the fuel you saved not driving home!

Spirit of DDK

[sladey]

Did anyone video any part of Bootsy's speech etc - it would be nice to know what I missed out on - by the time I got there he was down to the abridged version - more hugs and swearing

[Burma-Shave]

Bad luck Mark. If its any consolation your car looked frickin great on the road..
Congratulations on being man of the match!

[Lightweight_911]

There's not much more to add to what's already been said - a fantastic weekend with fabulous weather, stunning scenery, superb driving roads & probably too much drink (!) - all experienced in the company of a truly great bunch of people.

Des had previously only spent very brief periods of time in the 904 but she loved every minute of the weekend - especially after I'd fitted the megaphones !!!

I tried to keep behind everyone else as much as possible - but apologies to anyone I may have deafened !

We did ~ 1200 miles door-to-door &, once again, the car amazed me by returning 30mpg overall.

Thanks to Mike & Brendan for organising another memorable trip.

When's the next one ? .....

[Schnellmann2]

I got back without problem on Sunday night.

Apologies for having to leave early. When stopped at the Commando memorial I have my wife a quick call and was surprised to hear that she wasn't feeling well (dizzy and unsteady on her feet). She didn't want me to go back but I didn't feel comfortable being so far away from home. Luckily she is feeling a bit better.

It was a great trip, whilst it lasted. A pity I missed Applecross and the final dinner.

Nice to have met you all and hopefully I will be able to join next year.