h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The important difference being that the rally drivers were travelling between stages of the rally and should have been sticking to the rules.

So how is the challange going so far GD?

I did get a double flash in my mirrors one day last week. It can't have been me that set it off as I was a good 200 yards down the roas when it happened. I reckon it was triggered by a car going too fast on the opposite side of the road.

That said I did do an overtaking manouvre a bit wrong last week - it was complicated it involved two sets of traffic lights at either end of a short secton of dual carriageway (200 yards long or less, really a tuning lane come to think of it) along what is for its entire length of a piece of single carriage way road. I ended up double overtaking one car in the run up to the first set of lights and in so doing overtaking the other three cars and a bus that I was trying to overtake as they slowed for the lights. Then the lights changed as I got to them and my momentum carried me past another two cars that were moving away from the second set of lights. and filtering from two lanes into one. It was all a bit confusing but it did save me a couple of minutes on my journey as I never saw any of those cars again as they disapeared into the distance in my rear view mirror.

I think I follow that!

In that case, could you explain it to me because it's got me completely bamboozled. I think I understand enough of it though to know that it's the kind of driving of which I thoroughly disapprove

If I have understood right it certainly that kind of driving that leaves me irritated in the morning and hoping that people around them are paying attention or there will be new shapes in peoples metalwork (at hopefully nothing more)!

One of the reasons that I had to carry on with the manouevre once I had started it was that there was a guy behind me trying the same thing, but I wasn't convinced that he was paying proper attention based on the way he'd been driving earlier. Therefore I didn't want him driving into the back of me if I backed off.

being driven into the back of is not good as my recent experience reinforced

I'm still getting used to the car. I am struggling a bit with one of the gear change points, and to some extent with the clutch.

I've managed to stall it a couple of times in first gear when I've not been putting enough revs down. Fortunately it's not been in a dangerous position, though one time it was in a potentially embarrassing position ie just outside of Mina's house, but fortunately she and J had gone back inside and didn't see me go clunk.

The other problem is that I tend to over rev the second gear phase. Now this isn't a major problem in and of itself. However when I do change up to third and the revs cut down, they cut down to just the point in the third gear cycle that the turbo kicks in, and hence the car goes into launch mode - not fun when you've got a little old lady driving an Austin Maestro 10 feet in front of you.

We would have understood - over the years I've driven lots of different cars and usually stall them all to start with - especially when I'm swapping cars within days, if not hours!

Stalling is something my other half seems to do with alarming regularity. He can't seem to adjust between van mode and car mode, so the poor little car gets a beating.

I've been stopped by the fuzz and been given a talking to.

The copper reckoned that I was doing 80 along the A27 and then 45 down in a 40mph zone. I believe that I was doing 70 to 75 and then stuck to faithfully to 40 in the 40 zone.

I didn't get a ticket but I have promised to get my speedo looked at (yeah right ). In my view it could have equally been the cop's speedo that was at fault.

Did it hurt when they grabbed your fuzz?

(Someone had to do it??). I think there has to be two of them to prosecute on their car's evidence.

I think you meant "Did it hurt when you were grabbed by the fuzz."

Oh no, I liked my version better.