The first European 'Adventure' for
Atomic and it is day 1 of the trip down to the French Riviera and a long one at that, having left home
at 2am and having driven south until 10pm!
We took the Channel Tunnel service beneath the English Channel which at 32 miles, it is the longest undersea tunnel in the
world and we left steady drizzle in England and upon landing in Calais,
continued south under a grey sky, visiting a Chateaux or two on the way. It hasn't taken long for the compliments to start, from French ladies blowing
kisses, to people shouting "c'est magnifique".
Tonight we are about 30 miles south of Clermont-Ferrand and while there have been some great roads,
it's been more of a mile muncher day, but Atomic has been a very comfortable host for the last 20 hours!
Today's mileage door to door was 741 miles and Atomic now reads 3193 on the clock.
Day two of our French Adventure and we set out early onto some new back roads which turned out to be all
we had hoped, fast, twisty, smooth and devoid of cars and... Gendarmes!
This was the first extended workout for Atomic giving me my first 'performance session' with the paddles and
I could not have been more impressed. Ample range in the gearing enabled me to down shift quickly into the
braking areas for corners and hot foot it out the other side, obtaining maximum torque between bends.
The French roads are a wonder. The majority are billiard table smooth with perfect camber built into the corners
and while high speeds on roads is not something I do on a regular basis, when the roads are built like this,
where you can drive for an hour with long range visibility and not see another car or village, it's impossible to resist.
So I pushed harder and harder, no sign of any under or over steer and the directional reaction of the steering
left me feeling in complete control. The ride is so much more stable than the C5 ever was, and even more so
than the base C6 Vert which I used in California - quite a relief for my passenger who is more used to putting me
through the same experience!
We had started the day at a chilly 26f and under cloud, but the sun came out as we climbed into our first low
level mountains and at 3000 feet, we found our first snow of the trip.
As night fell, we made our way to a little known race circuit where we discussed plans for future events and although
the track was closed and with night descending fast, I did manage to grab some nice shots on the main straight...how could I not?!
From there we headed towards our hotel for the night, passing under the world's tallest suspension bridge, the
Millau Viaduct that spans the valley of the River Tarn near Millau. This is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, with
a high point of 1,125 ft, even taller than the Eiffel Tower and only 125 ft shorter than the Empire State Building!
I love the Atomic Orange colour. On previous trips, my black C5 became gray and dull, yet even before we had reached France, the spray from the
freeways had caked my previously gleaming Atomic and you can't help but feel frustrated during the 30 minutes
tunnel crossing that you can't use the chance to wash her!
During the day, there were no jet washes to be found and we left one hotel
in the dark and arrived at tonight's just before midnight. Tomorrow is unlikely to see any improvement as there
certainly won't be any cleaning facilities where we are headed, but
still the colour stands out!
Today's mileage door to door was 345 miles, significantly lower than day 1, but out on the twisties, it was still
a 15 hour drive.
Into another early start for day 3, but low level cloud meant my planned early morning daylight shots at
the Millau Viaduct had to be abandoned and instead, we set off into the Gorges Du Tarn. This took us back
through around 100 miles of the most incredible terrain the Massif Central has to offer and had prompted
Total 911 Magazine to tell us it was the "Drive of their life" after we took their tour through the Mountain
range last year.
I'll include a few shots for the Gorge
although none really do it justice, but I hope they enable you to get a feel for the
beauty and scale of the Gorge.
Today there was nobody to be seen, no cars, motor bikes or walkers, we were totally alone out there and with
the added bonus of some sections having been resurfaced since our last visit. It has never been the smoothest
of roads but that always added to the sense of occasion with a jagged wall of rock one side and a sharp drop into
the River Tarn on the other - certainly it heightens awareness, but these smooth virgin surfaces today were
heaven sent.
Once clear, we had to take the easy way south, freeway all the way down to Cannes, home of the famous film
festival. We had much to do there and in the surrounding areas this evening, but once again, even as we drove
through these streets lined with gold, I was asked a few times if people could take photos of Atomic, even in her,
by now, totally filthy state - I was ashamed she was to be immortalised in their photographic collection
in this condition but with nothing I could do, I was happy to see their interest and excitement.
Today's mileage door to door was 303 miles, still seemingly low, but once again out on the twisties, that's a good
distance to cover.
Day four started in a perfect way,
stunning views from our hotel on a private beach followed by
pulling out onto the wonderful French Riviera Costal road - I even had a
local in a Porsche wanting to play a little which was fun.
We then ventured onto a new road that we wanted to check and what a
find! It was driving nirvana and with the sun out, dry and empty roads
Competitive driving mode was on and Atomic simply came to life, easily
the most enjoyable 'spirited' driving session to date.
This road had it all, hairpin bends, banked curves, long open straights and once again, despite being a little
used back road, it was billiard table smooth, easily the best driving experience yet in Atomic, totally exhilarating
and she took everything I threw her way.
As I've mentioned before, the layout of their fast sweeping bends gives you almost a banking effect and the
perfect camber making for great road holding and perfect for carrying speed through a
corner and 25 miles on and with no signs of Atomic biting me back for pushing so hard, it was time for a reward - finally -
a chance to wash her!
From there we headed out onto the famous Route
Napoleon. It's a great road, make no mistake, but normally
you have to share it with caravans, campers and a few suicidal bikers. Today however, it was empty which was
a very pleasant surprise.
Whilst it is a road often featured in magazines and on shows like Top Gear, it's too obvious for us and we have
our own back roads in the region that are little known and even more fun, so we made
our way across country before heading up into the mountains.
We found snow once again and lots of it, too much in fact as after 90 minutes climbing, the road was blocked
and we had no choice but to turnaround and return to the bottom to navigate around the base rather than our
intended up and over route.
So quite a serious delay and it meant we arrived to see a Castle in the dark. A stunning place, but sadly no
exterior shots.
By now it was getting late and as we headed up another mountain and the temperature plummeted to 16f, after
16 hours of driving, coupled with the altitude, I was very glad to see my bed in a little known ski resort.
Another great day though and I am very happy that I managed to also get some interesting shots along the way, while I just know the scenery when we leave tomorrow in daylight will be sensational!
Today's mileage door to door was 369 miles.
Day five of the French Adventure starts on top of a very snowy mountain where we are alone in a hotel apart from maybe 5 other people.
I was worried whilst I was managing not to sleep last night, about the extreme cold outside and if it would have
any impact on Atomic, so I nursed her gently back to life this morning.
Thankfully the overnight low was not as bad as I had thought and the
tyres were the only obvious sign of the cold as at start up, they were down to 24 and no way to put more air in up here, so gently does it would be the
order of the day. Pretty easy actually given the beautiful scenery.
In places the snow was 2-3 times deeper than the depth of the car, but as usual here in Europe, as in America, they know how to
clear a road and not a sign of any snow, ice or even grit! How is it then that if we get 1 inch of snow in
England, all roads close?....
Naturally there were many photo opportunities, so my apologies for all the snow shots!
Even up at altitude, Atomic seems to attract admirers like flies and it is astonishing that every day so far, at least
2-3 people have asked if it is a Ferrari? - Corvette should be paying me for all this PR and advertising!
Once we had left the French Alps, we made swift progress north back up to Dijon and our last night at a Chateaux.
Centuries old and with a fabulous courtyard, it was very surreal to walk about the empty buildings, especially when
we learned that we were the only residents and that they had only opened it to welcome us. After sunset, it
became quite spooky and I was disappointed to wake this morning not having seen any apparitions!
Mileage door to door was 261 miles.
We also woke this morning to our first rain, heavy too - even the deer walking around outside look dejected.
My colleague seems to have acquired a stomach bug and is none too good - we have a very long drive back to
England today, so with 'emergency' stops, it could be even longer!
We covered 565 miles on the final day, for a total trip mileage of 2584 and a total cumulative of 5035 miles
now on Atomic's clock. The C6 didn't miss a beat as it ventured through
all kinds of terrains, temperatures and weather, it truly is an all
round sports touring car.
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