At home in the Alps

[adrian.clarke]

Hi all, new to the forum!

Having been living in the French Alps for quite a while, i've been looking at getting something worthy of driving on the local roads...

Two weeks ago i found that car - a 172 Cup with 50,000 on the clock, well looked after (by an ex Clio Sport member). A long weekend of driving later, she arrives home in France. Here are a few photos of the first real drive since arriving back..

Closed roads (still snow around) make for great driving:

One of my favourite sections:

Home:

More to come next weekend

 

[Tony Hunter]

Very nice matey, car and roads.

 

[JackJack]

Stunning!

 

[Stefan.]

very jealous you get to drive on road like that, they look amazing!

 

[497adam]

Where in the alps are you?

 

[KMB]

I'm in Lyon and spend a bit of time in the Alps, every weekend in snowboarding season. Back roads from Annecy to Lyon are something else after a jaunt on the slopes

Who are you insuring the car with for year round EU cover? Mine is with Stuart Collins but he needs some competition to drive the price down

 

[adrian.clarke]

Where in the alps are you?

I'm in Morzine, in Haute Savoie

I'm in Lyon and spend a bit of time in the Alps, every weekend in snowboarding season. Back roads from Annecy to Lyon are something else after a jaunt on the slopes

Who are you insuring the car with for year round EU cover? Mine is with Stuart Collins but he needs some competition to drive the price down

Ah nice! That's why i moved here originally - for the snow! The car is covered with French insurance - AXA. It's only 3rd party cover as i've not got the best insurance record, but it comes out at about 1200 Euros for the year (25 yrs, not sure of no claims coefficient but its not great..)

 

[v15ben]

I'm bloody jealous of you for having that car on those roads.
I loved driving my old 182 in the Alps!

 

[andywa]

Lovely car and great back drop. Looking forward to seeing some more pics.

 

[497adam]

there are so many great roads in the alps, loved driving there when i did my ski seasons although normally in a transit!

 

[Scrooge]

Welcome, nice pictures!

 

[Matt W]

Welcome

Stunning roads. Need to visit morzine one summer on the dh bike!

 

[sladen1720]

Looks spot on.

 

[adrian.clarke]

Wednesday night, before the storm

 

[adrian.clarke]

Snow has arrived over here, which means a lot of fun to be had!

Snow tires were put on last week, and so I took full advantage of the empty roads at 7am Saturday morning up to the mountain (around 30 odd hairpins

 

[bomber]

Jealous, much!

I've recently said to the wife if I didn't need to work, I would be spending circa 1/2 the year in the alps!

Will be in Morzine next August, technically LesGets but only over the hill
Those roads are epic, we did an alps road trip a couple of years ago and the mountain roads were incredible, and to have them on your doorstep...perfect!

 

[Ghm]

How are you able to keep the Northern Irish/Uk plate on the car? Some very nice locations!

 

[adrian.clarke]

bomber - will you be over for the biking? Maybe see you up the hill / on the road!

Ghm - its a bit of a grey area - car is insured by Axa France, who cover UK registered cars. The car still has its road tax and MOT from the UK (runs out next year). At this point, i'll either need to re-register it in France, or drive it back for an MOT. Either option is quite expensive...

 

[Sam@NP]

Epic roads and a tidy looking cup, awesomesauce. Can not wait to go skiing!

 

[Leeshez]

Amazing car and place .

 

[bomber]

I miss skiing too Sam, usually got every year but got married this year which set that plan back.

Adrian, sure will be biking. Staying with 'downhill from here' where ever they have a chalet in Les Gets, never been biking in the alps before but cannot wait. August 3rd, you can be our personal guide

 

[HoleInOne]

Great pic and very jealous.

I have been to Morzine Summer (Mountain biking) and winter (Not to ski though :S )

Always stay with Martin in the Chalet Sherpa and have a fantastic time.

 

[adrian.clarke]

Photos from this past winter / Spring, and with new rims to match the snow, thanks to Ben (Coops Turbo )

 

[Saamm93]

So jeloius. Not only do you get beautiful roads to dive on. You get to live an hour away from ski resorts. It takes us just over 13 hours to drive

 

[Willliams]

Would absolutely love to spend more time in France, love it! What a great car to enjoy those Cols in I have a friend in Sainte Foye, so try and visitor winters

kerp those pics coming to remind us less fortunate folk what were missing lol

 

[cordell174]

Welcome. Lovely photos there! The car looks right at home on those roads! Looks like there's a lot of fun to be had there even when the snow clears.

I do love Morzine. Never been there without it all being covered in snow mind. It's definitely our no.1 location for skiing and has been for a long time!

 

[cupoftea172]

It's nice to see my old car looking so well after a year

 

[adrian.clarke]

She's doing alright! Currently at the Renault dealership having the cambelts, timing belts, pump, dephaser, etc. etc. done, as i've now hit 72,000 (daily driver). Unfortunately in France, this means a bill of around 1,200.. i'll find out the damage tomorrow!

Apart from that the car's sweet - i seem to get through a lot of wheel bearings from bouncing around there roads however!

If anyone is planning a trip over here in the near future, let me know and i'd be happy to show you some nice pistes / trails / roads / watering holes! We've also got the Mont Blanc Rally again September, which is worth a watch

​http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtnhli_rallye-du-mont-blanc-2012-n-2_auto#.Uc0Wovnvh8E

 

[jon_r]

Very, very jealous. I used to go on many a driving holiday to the Alps in years gone by. Someone mentioned the Lyon to Annecy road earlier as well. I know that one very well!

You are living the (my) dream sir.

 

[Chris_MK3]

She's doing alright! Currently at the Renault dealership having the cambelts, timing belts, pump, dephaser, etc. etc. done, as i've now hit 72,000 (daily driver). Unfortunately in France, this means a bill of around 1,200.. i'll find out the damage tomorrow!

Apart from that the car's sweet - i seem to get through a lot of wheel bearings from bouncing around there roads however!

If anyone is planning a trip over here in the near future, let me know and i'd be happy to show you some nice pistes / trails / roads / watering holes! We've also got the Mont Blanc Rally again September, which is worth a watch

​http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtnhli_rallye-du-mont-blanc-2012-n-2_auto#.Uc0Wovnvh8E

View attachment 100129

hopefully, if we have the time in a few months me and a few friends will be taking the clio's to the alpes, Should be well worth it