Mission 6
Start Point: Hilton, Berlin
Finish Point: Hilton, Antwerp
Mileage: 500
Today’s mission pack is accompanied by a warning that we should avoid the
Rhineland – apparently foolish Gumballers on previous events have left Polizei
with a distinct dislike for participants in any such event.
We have a dilemma.
We’re 3 hours behind the field, and through the Rhineland’s the most direct
route.
We decide that alone, in a German car, we’ll take our chances.
Fastnet have also adopted this approach, and they’ll call on the mobile if we
look like hitting any trouble.
We fill the tank with diesel and buy food for the day: We’re not stopping unless
bladders dictate it absolutely necessary!
Rain and road works cause annoyance at times, but Dave, happier with the car’s
performance today, again slots easily into ‘Champion’ mode.
We’re wondering quite what’s acceptable on German roads – even where the 130kph
limit is observed, we’re being flashed aside by VW Passat Estates doing looney
speeds!
We crack on, and flash through Germany and Netherlands into Belgium. The 500
miles leg is completed, point to point, in 6.5 hours. Despite this, we’ll have
dropped from our 9th position of the previous night, because we got moving 3
hours after checkpoint closes – this game is all about average speeds.
We hit the checkpoint, get the car underground, and get into the usual
drinks/dinner/drinks in cool club routine for the evening. Geordie Chris goes
for a semi-naked midnight jog, which results in a €1,500 repair bill for a car
park barrier the next morning…time to retire…..