Feroz's Day Off…...

[yoda]

[yoda]

What a beast!

[yoda]

My trusty steed! As much as I have enjoyed driving my others cars in Wales, I find this the perfect balance of size and speed. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[yoda]

Mr Moss's GT350R ...... bad to the bone and what a noise Lots of trick details and seriously menacing in your rear view mirror! Nice ass too

[Darren65]

.....Might be a good time to refresh the route a bit.....

But then you could never miss out this place! ......

[yoda]

Took a few days off last week to visit North Wales with a slightly different purpose to the usual B road blasting with mates. I foolishly signed up to walk the "Welsh 3000s" in 24 hours to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. The aim is to walk all 15 Welsh peaks over 3000 in 24 hours with no assistance / transport. It covers about 32 miles with a total climb of just under 15,000 ft across the Snowdon, Glyders and Carneddau mountain ranges. People usually take a day to do each range as none are individually that strenuous but together I was told it would be quite challenging. Some information on the walk can be found here http://www.welsh3000s.co.uk/

What could possibly go wrong ...... The day before our walk was one of the wettest in North Wales so far this year and we were greeted at our 3am start by torrential rain and howling winds. I usually try and arrange good weather for my Welsh trips but failed miserably this time. This weather persisted for the first 12 hours and we were soaked through in the first 3. 60-80mph winds and our attempts to keep out of the rain meant there was very little chat and, not surprisingly, we didn't see anyone else on the mountains.

The second half was much better as the sun came out and we took in some great views and enjoyed the company. We managed to finish at about 4am the following day and got back to the hotel at 6am. Peak to peak time was 22 hours and total time on our feet was closer to 26 hours. 6 out of 12 of us managed to finish and so far we have raised nearly £15k for MNDA.

Here is a link to the just giving website if you would like to support the cause https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ ... sh3000Trek

A very tough day and I learned a lot about myself. Not sure I would do it again in that weather though!

And seeing as I had to get to North Wales and back I thought it would be rude not to take the scenic route so decided to drive up with a friend who was also doing the walk. I thought about going modern as I wondered if driving back in an old 911 after the walk would be comfortable but opted to take my trusty 911E. My friend drove up in his (my ex) 993 and I think we cut a dash in the pouring rain on the way up.

[yoda]

The driving was as good as ever, even in the pouring rain. I am astonished how much grip there is in the skinny tyres even when very wet. My friend's tyres were a little worn which probably wasn't ideal given the conditions so both his rears were twitching as we made our way up to Snowdonia though mid Wales.

The car performed faultlessly and was actually very comfortable. I was a bit sceptical about driving all the way to London the day after the walk so we planned to take our time, drop in on a friend and stop over near Brecon before making our way home. We woke up after a short sleep, having got in at 6am we had to check out of the hotel at 10am! A serious fry up followed and then we made our way through some great roads down to Llanidloes to see Moggy and check out his "Electric Classic Cars".

[yoda]

We got to Moggy's late afternoon and were greeted by his infectious enthusiasm and a great cup of tea (and lots of Penguin bars - what is the story there James?). Moggy is an avid car enthusiast but has lost his love of petrol so has come up with what I have to admit is a great alternative. I was really blown away by the level of engineering that goes into the cars and also the end result. I know another DDK'r has a classic Range Rover with Moggy at the moment for conversion so it can be applied to all sorts of cars and the company have a good order book to fill at the moment.

He was just putting the finishing touches to this rather nice 911 Targa, cunningly sporting a "911E" badge on the rear deck lid.




After having a good look over the 911 conversion, we found this beast in the shed.




The engine even looks good!




He took us out for a spin in his Beetle and even 3 up, the car was entertaining. Feels like a fast electric radio controlled car with proper acceleration due to the very flat torque curve. He also demonstrated the cars overtaking ability on several occasions down the local A and B roads before we stopped in his local for a quick drink.

Great engineering and lovely cars. I was about as far away from buying an electric car as you could imagine but having seen Moggy's work I would really reconsider. Thanks Moggy!

[yoda]

For our overnight stop, we thought we deserved a decent bed and a good meal to help wash away the tiredness so stayed at a place called Llangoed Hall in Llyswen (just outside Brecon). It's a lovely building set in beautiful grounds and serves really top notch food. The service was excellent and nothing was too much trouble. It is set up like a "house" so there is a dining room, library, games room etc on the ground floor and bedrooms on the upper floors. Worth a stay if you want to treat yourself.




The view from my room wasn't bad either




We also managed a super breakfast on the terrace before heading out

[yoda]

The trip reminded me how good an all round car the E is. Not super fast but very rewarding and entertaining if you put in the effort. It was great fun to hustle it down narrow B roads and so much fun. Particularly interesting to drive it back to back with the 993 and it confirmed why I sold that car. Nothing wrong with the 993 but you feel a foot further from the action compared to an older 911.

Despite falling in love with the car again (as I do on every Wales road trip), I still have a hankering for an S. I recently drove a very nice 73S and there was lots to like about it including better performance and a more civilised ride etc. I wonder if I would miss the nasty snarl of the 2.2 engine as it sounds so much more exciting than the 2.4. As well as the E vs S debate, I am also now thinking about 2.2 vs 2.4!

I was surprised at how quiet the roads were but I guess a week day off season and it should be expected. I had a rude awakening when I got back on to the M4 on my way home at around 5pm as there was so much traffic and the rain started to pour again. Had a little emergency with a sticking horn (people were making very unfriendly gestures at me) so had to pull over and disconnect it (thank you Mr Parr for your help).

All in all, another excellent trip over some great roads.

[jtparr]

Nice story Feroz and congratulations on the walking...take my hat off to you sir..!

[Darren65]

Congratulations Feroz, superb effort

Great report too, thanks for sharing

[23e Heure]

We got to Moggy's late afternoon and were greeted by his infectious enthusiasm and a great cup of tea and lots of Penguin bars - what is the story there James?

Who... me?...
I just buy the things for him... 600 of them since January.
That's all I can tell you

[Darren65]

Sometimes you need more than just a day off.....

[Darren65]

Sometimes you need more than just a day off.....

.....so after signing up with Feroz Excursions Inc. earlier in the year the time finally came for.....

Feroz's 2017 Alpine Tour

9th September 2017
2,669 Miles
708 Litres of Fuel.....@ £/€/CHF1,050!

Jura - Aravis - Petit St Bernatd - Great St Bernard - Fourclaz - Simplon - Furka (twice) - Oberlap - Splugen - Bernina (twice) - Stelvio (twice) - Umbrail (twice) - Offen - Fluela - Julier - Livigno - Albulla - Oberlap - Gothard - Newfellan - Susten (twice) - Grimsel - Klausen (twice) +++.......and a whole lot in between!

8 Days of intense driving with good friends and about a billion smiles!



Will post a few details, photos and vid soon