Intermission 1: A cruise!

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of Father and myself, Robert is running on full steam - but you don't know that yet, as far as you are concerned the poor man is still on my driveway being repaired!

However, this weekend just past has seen another assemblage of completely disparate people into a group of mad, tiny-car driving lunatics with an unhealthy obsession for cars named for light emitting devices.

Well, there's no accounting for taste, is there?

On this event, the meetup location was to be originally at a mall, however that was soon changed due to rapidly spiking attendance numbers - twenty, if all people involved were telling the truth (they weren't).

So, an early morning, looking at a grey haze of sky and a bleak cold wind blowing from the west. Not exactly auspicious conditions to take several front wheel drive cars for a spirited run around the hills, to be sure. In fact, you would be hard pressed to say that it was good conditions at all, for anything, except perhaps getting very cold and wet.

And speaking of wet, the first arrival after myself and Robert was the organiser of this little expedition, in his slightly younger and more powerful TX3. Get off my lawn!

Being that he'd not cleaned it for a week or so, first things first, into the shower! Of course, it would all be for naught seeing as it was continuing to be doom and gloom in the sky, and I could even see the first pricklings of rain in the distance... headed towards us?

By the time the little tx3 was washed and drip drying in the carpark, nobody else had rocked up.

By which I mean, not a damn soul had actually decided to stick to the arranged meeting time.

*cue transition music and a fade-to-black* -A very long time later-

People started to arrive, and promptly decided that cleaning cars was a priority. Thankfully, I had cleaned mine the night before and it hadn't even rained a drop, for which I was rather grateful.

D'awww, who's a gorgeous little 28 year old laser? No, wait, manly thoughts, manly thoughts. Must have horsepower and loud noises! (You'll find out about that later)

Some hooligans (fellow laser owners) were standing around my car at this point and being that out of the twenty people attending, some twenty-five had decided to not turn up, we decided to call it quits and get moving, before anyone else decided to not turn up.

A short drive, a detour and a u-turn due to roadworks, with an increasingly heavy sky, this was not looking promising... not at all. The rain would cause the roads to be slick, and the slick roads would cause death and pain and destruction to everything within a five kilometer radius of any car that went anywhere near the speed limit, and then we would all be killed and sent to gaol! This would not do.

As we passed the outer limits of suburbia, we began to climb. As we climbed, my world transformed, the gods cried out 'This Shall Not Pass!' and the clouds parted to reveal the most glorious clear blue sky, filled with nothing but cool, dry air and the most staggering views. Suddenly, the day had turned from doom and gloom to bright and hopeful, and with a sudden cry from the engine of pure joy, the cruise began in earnest.

For hours we climbed, dipped and swooped, chasing each others' tails through the curvaceous Adelaide hills, from Chain of Ponds clear through the spine of the ranges, with nothing but brilliant sky, the fierce roar of the four pot engines blaring, all in their different tunes, with their varied ranges, assembled to create a wonderful symphony of horsepower.



It is truly a reminder of how beautiful this country is, and the wide range of views afforded by only a short jaunt out from a busy city, even one as small and quiet as Adelaide, are nothing short of amazing. Steep climbs, bracketed on one side by sharp, torn rubble and blind entry driveways, roads so narrow that you can smell the fear on the oncoming driver's breath as they pass your window at sixty or eighty, and then you blast out of the tight bits and onto long, rolling straights and sedate, high speed curves, with views only really afforded to the lucky few who live in this marvellous land.

One moment that caught my breath in my throat, and tried to capture, was the awe of going through the autumnal falls, still coloured vibrant reds, oranges and yellows, even this far into winter, and seeing the leaves swirl around the cars as we revved our way through the small towns, the cars eager to be unleashed again at the higher limits.


 When we reached our destination and had some lunch, we moved our cars to a carpark at a peak on the hills, nought more than gravel and mud. And while the cars ticked themselves cool, we were able to chatter and enjoy the company of like minded individuals. Because while we are, in our own ways, completely different, we are united by our passion for our vehicles.

Even though some may never name their cars, and even though some may never understand the passion that goes on under the surface, one thing that all car enthusiasts can agree on is this; The car is the place to go, when you are sad, when you are angry, when you are elated. Your car, be it a twenty eight year old laser or a brand new supercar, will never judge you, and will always support you, if you will support it.




Thank you, Robert. Thank you, for everything.