Andy's right. A mate of mine camped there last year, and when he woke up in the morning, he was certain that he'd been 'interfered with'.
H

Holy shinola! Those prices are right up there, I'd bet my best pair of socks that the seller might stretch to a Top Deck Shandy or two just to celebrate.
Wonder if the buyer wants a Mark 2 to complete the set?
Classics seem to be selling well these days, although I hardly ever see any of the buggers on the road. Maybe they're being used for dogging and I should get out a bit more.
H

And here it is! Talk about flying time, this was 2001.
It looks more like BRG than EE blue in the pic, so it must have had a respray. After all. they have to match.

Wowsers, that lot will fetch a few bob. Sadly, no bobs of mine, but it'll be interesting to see where they go. I might have hold of the wrong end of the stick of course, but it seems to me that classic cars are no longer being bought by enthusiasts, but by city boys with money to invest. Interest rates have been going in the same direction as a pair of beige slacks in a Brian Rix farce, so an investment in cars like these bad boys is a better bet.

I remember that transporter in Maison Blanche about six or seven (or more?) years ago, it might have been the same jags that were on it then that are for sale now, and I think I remember chatting to Barrie 'Whizzo' Williams as he put his feet up after a few laps of the circuit. It did look fantastic and all.

H

Fran, I'd have welcomed a 'magic' anything at 3 in the morning. Granted, the 'magic shovel' doesn't have the same sort of ring to it, but it would have done nicely.

Si, - it sounds like the beginning of a plan, entries don't have to be in till around the end of July, so plenty of time. My oppo from this year is already talking about going back next year and trying for 500, - since he's mentioned it I've spent a lot of time behind the sofa. A team of two was no picnic, and it was no co-incidence that the field of duo's seemed, to me, to be largely populated by nutcases.

Anyway, here's a pic of our favourite circuit, no prizes for guessing whereabouts on the loop. I think at that particular moment I was re-living some dialogue from Withnail And I, - something along the lines of "the f*cker shall rue the day". Which I was...

H

Thanks guys, and gal.

Yep, I think 4 would be a good option, you'd have time for a decent break, - I think there were more 4's and 6's than any other category, - 6 or 8 would definitely give you time for a Leffe/tartiflette/complete skinfull and a lap dance, if you felt the urge. According to my computer I burnt over 10,000 calories, and with the short breaks you don't get a chance to replace them, which is probably why I felt like Albert Steptoe the next day.

There were a couple of teams running adapted MTB's, but I'm not sure what their pace was like, I just spotted them in the pits, but didn't see them on the course. Mind you, the run up to the Dunlop Bridge felt like it needed an MTB, I'm sure the cars don't notice it much, but it was a real nuisance pedalling up it. The reward was the run down the other side and the huge right hander onto the Bugatti, it was impossible to take it too quickly! There's a big double apex corner (Le Garage Vert?) a little further on which could be hit at about 40mph, and was tricky to get right, but was stonking when you did.

Not feeling too bad now, - my arse has stepped down from DEFCON 3...

H

Holy saddle sores, that was a day out!

It was all a bit bizarre seeing the place with empty campsites and no cars, but just fantastic to get to ride round the Bugatti. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but it was obviously taken very, very seriously by everyone, and there was no mistaking that this was a big race for the French, with a lot of Pro teams, ex Pros, a few riders from last years TDF and even a past TDF winner. The pits were full of team paraphernalia, turbo trainers, masseurs etc, - our Milletts camp bed in the corner of pit 41 looked a bit on the sad side. I can confirm that a pit garage at 3 in the morning, is pretty f-freezing, and frankly, missing a little bit of soft furnishings and soft lighting. we were a team of two (well, someone has to apply the Sudocrem...), and rode 1 hour stints, hoping that this would give us an hours rest between stints, but it turned out at more like 45 minutes or less, and it wasn't exactly quality rest. Anyway, we managed 437 miles in 24 hours, so we were pretty pleased with that. I won the toss and got to do the first stint and the start.

The start was quite an experience, with the flag girls, national anthems, Thus Spake Zarathustra and then the "run" across the track to the bike. I had a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat by the time I got my $rse on the saddle!

H

IIRC there was talk about a bridge or road being closed in Ruoen for a few months. How did this pan out, - what's the best route through at the moment? I'll be hitting it early afternoon tomorrow, so I know it could be trying...
H

Wahaay! I'm off to our favourite place for the weekend, and I suppose I better be a good boy, - no beer or barbies!

http://www.24heuresvelo.fr/en/24-HOURS-CYCLING-RACE-7.htm

I'm number 222, riding for the world famous 'Sudocrem Cycling Club'. Ok, it doesn't exist, but I had to make something up on the spur of the moment...

I understand that once things kick off at 3:00 on Saturday, the lap times and standings are shown on http://www.ris-timin.../2013/index.htm if anyone can be arsed.

Got to say, I'm not really sure what to expect, - I think the first lap or two will be fantastic, and then it's going to be a head job for the next 23.5 hours. As well as an arse job.

Better start pumping my tyres.

H

Yep, it's been on my list of things to do for a while too, although I'm not entirely sure why. A bit like you, I couldn't get anyone interested, and the idea of doing it on my Jack is taking the Billy-No-Mates scenario to the extreme. There's two of us going to do it, and our target is 400 miles. We're in garage 22, and I need to look up and see which of my LM heroes have been in there before me, - I'm hoping Derek Bell or Jan Lammers, but might have to settle for Mr Blobby. Just riding somewhere without potholes that the NCB would have been proud of will be a pleasant change, although I don't think it will be pleasant for long. It's quite amusing to see that there's a 'Le Mans' start, with all the riders hobbling across the tarmac to jump on their bikes. I see that as the first hurdle...

Can I be the first to say "baboons arse"?

H

Some great pix there Mr Lynx, they capture the classic jag ethos very smartly. I'll be down in your neck of the woods in a few weeks, which I'm (sort of) looking forward to, as it's been 3 years or so since I was last down to LM. I'll also be getting to go round the circuit, which on the face of it sounds great, but on the arse of it, really doesn't:

http://www.24heuresvelo.fr/en/24-HOURS-CYCLING-RACE-7.htm

Anyway, here's a pic to dovetail Steve's and yours nicely.

You've got me hooked Si, keep us up to date!

H

I'm with you Si, or at least I have been, and may be again.

I no longer really need a 5 seat 4 door classic, and I've put few miles on it this last 3 years or so. But what's the alternative? A lot of the alternatives were affordable when I bought it 25 years ago, but appreciation seems to be a very fickle and unpredictable thing, and anything I fancy seems to have appreciated through the roof.

I remember turning down a very good C type replica (kit-car...) about 6 or 7 years ago, and I really wish I'd gone for it now, but like you can't really say "replica" without barking "kit-car" straight after. Maybe its an age thing, I grew up before the word 'replica' was coined in the car world, - apart from maybe along with Fraser Nash', but that's different. Some of the kits on the road in the 80s and 90s were real shockers. A VW based Ferrari GTO anyone? Or perhaps a Cortina based Cobra?

As far as word association goes for me, "replica" is closely followed by 'glass fibre', 'jag diff', 'leaks', 'drum brakes' and 'failed MOT'. And of course 'arse' and 'drink', but they're associated with most words, I think. And possibly 'cheap porn under the passenger seat'. I don't know if that's been a snob or not, or just a purist. Maybe 'awkward b$stard'.

But times, and prices, are changing. And I'd like to think that quality of vision and workmanship has moved on too. If I did go down that route, I think I'd be looking for things like continuity of the mechanicals (Cortina- right out) and accuracy of the dimensions most of all. I'm no expert, but it seems that the 'replica' market is really diverse now, from cheap glass fibre knock offs to top quality stuff that costs almost as much as the real thing. At least there's now a chance of seeing some art and craftsmanship in the product, which was missing a few years ago.

Personally, I wouldn't rule it out, but would try and keep it simple.

H

It's not nice down here.

I live in the epicentre of the 'stockbroker belt' (and I have to say, here and now, I'm not a stockbroker, and never will be...). The two biggest problems are 'erberts in Range Rovers who insist on travelling at full throttle and giving way to no-one, and the desperate state of the roads. There's plenty of angry men in vans too. Surrey seems to be famous for being pathologically unfriendly, I've worked in various parts of the world, and some of them pretty dodgy, and haven't met a more unfriendly populace. There was some lads in West Africa once who had the real hump and tried to eat me, but it was all a misunderstanding, and once we sorted that out we got along like a christian on fire. Strangely, it's noticably different once you cross the borders into East and West Sussex.

Cycling in the country lanes is still damn fine though, mainly because it takes a while to learn the network, and generally satnav doesn't send people into them. A mate of mine lives just south of Berwick, and I had a day or two riding with him last year, and it was fan-shimano-tastic! I'll be doing that again. I missed the whippet sh!t though.

Take plastic bags for your maps Si, - June is a good time for sudden French deluges (I love the Speedtribe film of LM, - that's raining alright!), and mine turned into paper mache.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI7o-FJM8f4

H

I think I was part of the litter...
Dog sh*t!! that's it! It's up my nose, in my hair, it barely has time to cool after emerging from the canine bung hole before it's spread all over. Like Brut. It was definitely the culprit Andy, and I'll swear in a court of law. In fact, the language will be terrible. Will there be any kangaroos? I hope so, I love the little bastards.

Doesn't sound like you need much advice on gear Si, - slicks, a bit more psi and smaller cassette if you can be arsed, will do it. I found the French roads great, but unlike the Brit roads you very rarely come across any signs of life or habitation. Over here you can rely on a village grocers or the odd petrol station fot a bit of grub, but not over there. It's worth planning your route to arrive near some sort of civilisation when you reckon you'll be turning hungry, and/or carry a bit of grub with you.

H

Hey Si! Just seen this.

It was a great way to get there alright, and I'd recommend it, some of the rural (ie, most) roads were just fantastic to ride along. many times I had to stop just to drink up the absolute silence and beautiful rolling vistas. (IIRC Savaloy rolled me a few vistas too, once I got there) I'm not sure I can offer much useful advice with the logistics though. A mate drove my car down to LM, and once I made it to LM, the bike went in the back and stayed there till we got back to the UK. I understand what you mean about been out of sight of your pride and joy though. And the bike and all. I did it in 3 stages, - London to Portsmouth/Cherbourg, Cherbourg to somewhere half way down, and then into LM on the 3rd day. Average was about 100 miles a day. Near perfect road surfaces meant punctures or mechanicals never really came into it, although I did come a cropper over a workmans hose. The good quality of the roads means you'll probably average a little better in the mph dept than you would in the UK.

Currently struggling a bit at chez H, - I was down at Ditchling Beacon (a hill on the south downs) doing some hill reps about 3 months ago and had a bit of an off, suffering a fractured skull, a few other bones, and what the docs helpfully call multiple injuries and a TBI. I still can't walk in a straight line (constant vertigo), and have no sense of smell or taste, -apart from the constant pungent pong of burning which I've got 24/7. All of which have their advantages.

I'm hoping I can get my act together to enter this:

http://www.24heuresvelo.fr/en/

Let me know if there's anything specific I can help with.

H