130i Road, 172 Track
G'day, just realised I never posted about our forum's rather large drive day back in April that I organised. I was lucky enough to have use of my Dad's LY R26 for the day.
We ended up with about 30 Renaultsports plus a few ring-ins along the way for a 300-odd kilometre drive from Sydney, west through the Blue Mountains and back.
For anyone interested, this is the route we took: http://goo.gl/maps/osdER
With a few days of rain beforehand, the meteorological signs were ominous but we were greeted with a dry, albeit cold and grey, morning. It was an early start (about 5am), especially after only 3 hours sleep and a boozy evening beforehand, and we had a pre-meet in Balmain at 6am, close to the city, before heading out west to meet the rest of the group.
IMG_3197 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3198 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3200 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3204 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3206 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3207 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
We met the rest of the group out west near Richmond, which is on the outskirts of Sydney at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Everyone had a chat and we had a quick briefing before setting off. Unfortunately, none of the coffee shots were yet open for an early caffeine fix...
IMG_3208 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3210 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3212 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3213 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3215 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
This 182 has full Trophy suspension, wheels and rear spoiler
IMG_3218 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3221 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
We set off for Lithgow, which is at the end of a nice windy road over the mountains with some tight switchbacks at the end. We had a quick regroup there (35 cars in convoy tend to spread out a bit ) and then we were off again towards Oberon for breakfast, via some awesome winding country roads and some stunning scenery.
But along the way we stopped for a quick group photo session:
IMG_3227 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3235 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3237 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3244 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3246 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3249 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3250 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
We finally made it to Oberon, where we took up most of the main street's parking spots. The country cafes weren't quite ready for the sheer number of people we brought so we had to spread ourselves around a bit among the various offerings.
IMG_3258 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3263 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
Post-brekky, we made our way back home via a few more fun roads and a well-earned nap. The weather was kind, the roads were empty and the day was incident-free - couldn't ask for much more, really!
Won't be long till the next one, I'm sure.
We ended up with about 30 Renaultsports plus a few ring-ins along the way for a 300-odd kilometre drive from Sydney, west through the Blue Mountains and back.
For anyone interested, this is the route we took: http://goo.gl/maps/osdER
With a few days of rain beforehand, the meteorological signs were ominous but we were greeted with a dry, albeit cold and grey, morning. It was an early start (about 5am), especially after only 3 hours sleep and a boozy evening beforehand, and we had a pre-meet in Balmain at 6am, close to the city, before heading out west to meet the rest of the group.
IMG_3197 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3198 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3200 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3204 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3206 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3207 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
We met the rest of the group out west near Richmond, which is on the outskirts of Sydney at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Everyone had a chat and we had a quick briefing before setting off. Unfortunately, none of the coffee shots were yet open for an early caffeine fix...
IMG_3208 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3210 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3212 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3213 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3215 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
This 182 has full Trophy suspension, wheels and rear spoiler
IMG_3218 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3221 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
We set off for Lithgow, which is at the end of a nice windy road over the mountains with some tight switchbacks at the end. We had a quick regroup there (35 cars in convoy tend to spread out a bit
) and then we were off again towards Oberon for breakfast, via some awesome winding country roads and some stunning scenery.But along the way we stopped for a quick group photo session:
IMG_3227 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3235 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3237 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3244 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3246 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3249 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3250 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
We finally made it to Oberon, where we took up most of the main street's parking spots. The country cafes weren't quite ready for the sheer number of people we brought so we had to spread ourselves around a bit among the various offerings.
IMG_3258 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
IMG_3263 copy by www.autofocus.net.au, on Flickr
Post-brekky, we made our way back home via a few more fun roads and a well-earned nap. The weather was kind, the roads were empty and the day was incident-free - couldn't ask for much more, really!
Won't be long till the next one, I'm sure.
