The end of a legend... or is it?

[Lugy]

I'm inspired

 

[tim.100]

At the risk of turning this place into Pistonheads, you're a nutter. No offence intended.

I took my Land Rover 90 to Maroc in 98, and have done the passes you mention. Fantastic driving. We also used the 90 to drive up and round the Draa Valley, and wild-camped there.

When I got nicked for speeding (once in 2000km) they just said 'Doucement' repeatedly as I nodded apologetically.

If my children ever need a confidence boost as they near adolescence, I might do the same trip with them. It's a good a reason as any to keep the 202 in good order.

 

[Spinal]

Thanks for the comments... yups, a nutter does fit the bill quite accurately. I've been told more than once I lack something in the sanity department... That said, I rarely willingly put others in danger; which is why I'm feeling very guilty about Alessia sitting on the doorframe as well. She's older & more mature than me, but she was copying me and if something had happened to her it would be unthinkable.

I did have travel insurance... called them and they said "here is a reference number for the hospital"... hehehe, the hospital essentially said "we're government run... we'll take the number and forget about it later..." Never again going for cheap travel insurance... global rescue for me next time!

A few more pictures attached... Now that I see the damage to the truck, I'm a bit under shock... My books were the Magnum Elite spider desert (i.e. the beige/sand coloured ones). You can see on the trucks bumper where my boots rubbed off, and I'm assuming the indicator was my hips as that's where I have the only deep cut... the driver's door didn't close properly once he opened it, so there was some... movement there as well...

All in all, I must have had someone or something looking over me... (or I'm a ghost and this is my soul's hell ). I'll get a picasa album tonight (ended up playing poker last night... wasn't so lucky )

M.

 

[Spinal]

One more...

 

[wemorgan]

no blood = no glory

 

[Spinal]

no blood = no glory

There was blood... quite a bit of it actually... I don't think I have picture of blood though; I can get you pictures of scabs, stiches and crusts though (and soon scars probably)

 

[wemorgan]

There was blood... quite a bit of it actually... I don't think I have picture of blood though; I can get you pictures of scabs, stiches and crusts though (and soon scars probably)

No need, just pulling your leg (non-damaged one).

You did well not to get your ankle ripped off, or trapped and pulled under the lorry!

 

[Spinal]

The pictures of the W202 don't really show the damage - I'll take some better ones this weekend... to give you an idea, the door has buckled on the inside, and there plastic trim has a "raised area" about 3 inches wide and equally as high on the inside just under the window. The window somehow didn't shatter, but won't close (hence the metal-tape & duct-tape).

I've got some pics of the wing mirror repair though, so I'll definetly upload a (humorous) how-to.

M.

 

[bennesspipers]

Thats got to have been a very painfull accident looking at the damage,especially to the truck bumper. Its a real wonder you've got a foot still. Haha proper tom boy aint ya !

 

[bennesspipers]

Michelle, what engine & gearbox has your 202 got in it ? (hoping you say 220 petrol, auto)

 

[oldcro]

What a stupid thing to do and I have no sympathy for any pain or financial loss you suffered Spinal for just showing off.

 

[Spinal]

What a stupid thing to do and I have no sympathy for any pain or financial loss you suffered Spinal for just showing off.

Stupid; yes, totally! Showing off? No... just trying to get that perfect picture without the added haze from the window... (or the lost time from stopping every 30 seconds). Had I been trying to show off, an abandoned road which has been superceeded by a new highway on the back end of Morocco wouldn't be the ideal spot... That truck was one of maybe 2 or 3 vehicles we encountered the whole day...

As I said before, I don't regret what I did, I don't like the cast (very annoying to walk in, especially as I tend to leave the crutches at home) but would do it again (not the accident but the sitting on the window part).

Financial losses? Well, there are some of those - but then again, they were expected as part of a trip that far into so many countries. i didn't expect to crash, but I was expecting to spend more money on the "unexpected".

The pain isn't that much actually... It's a nuisance more than pain. Broken bones don't hurt that much, the bone itself doesn't have any nerves (the nerves are around the outside). Painful is the test to see if your nerves respond, that involves shoving needles into your nerves, plugging those needles into a ohmeter then shoving some electricity down the line for good measure... THAT's painful... I've had an instance in my life where I had less than 0.75% chance of keeping all my limbs - having done nothing stupid to deserve it. It really opens your eyes and makes you realise that life isn't worth that much if you watch it pass... you need to play an active role in it.

Personally, I choose to do some very stupid things. I put my hands up and admit it. I don't look for sympathy, pity (or even understanding really) - I can live with the consequences of my actions. I'm not the kind of person to blame the speed camera for the points on my license; I'll accept I did something wrong, learn from it and take my license plates off before I go by a speed camera next time (just kidding... let's hope no-one takes that seriously...) Others find different ways to get by. We all have our preferences and we all make our choices; I have no qualms with that as long as people take responsability for their actions and live with the consequences.

In summary, I'm not looking for pity nor sympathy. I'm sharing a story of something that's happened to my car on a motoring foum.

Michelle, what engine & gearbox has your 202 got in it ? (hoping you say 220 petrol, auto)

It's a C180 petrol, manual... and I'm not breaking her!

I'm going to drive her to Timbuktu next year, next time the challenge is on... just need to find some new doors and a way to get my fuel tank flap to close... oh and ideally find out why the engine sounds... odd... I think I may have finally worn the clutch down...

M.

 

[wemorgan]

I'm going to drive her to Timbuktu next year, next time the challenge is on...

Did I miss something, or why will you not take the Shogan?

I still didn't get why you didn't take the Shogan on the above trip. I would have thought after all that effort to prepare it, you'd be keen to stretch its legs.

 

[Spinal]

Did I miss something, or why will you not take the Shogan?

I still didn't get why you didn't take the Shogan on the above trip. I would have thought after all that effort to prepare it, you'd be keen to stretch its legs.

The plan was to take the shogun to Bamako - but as crossing the desert had been called off by the event organisers, we decided to do Morocco more in depth and then 2 weeks in Europe... This meant that an off-road, desert prepared car wasn't as ideal as a W202 with winter-tyres and snow chains in the boot... (not too mention MUCH more fuel efficient... we got 40/41mpg on the motorway!)

Now, I don't want to scrap my W202 - it wouldn't be a dignified end to a travel companion I've grown to close too. A final trip together across the desert and then she'll find a new life in Mali, where a car in her condition is "like new, with one careful owner"

M.

 

[tim.100]

I'm going to drive her to Timbuktu next year,

M.

You'll be the first person to post in 'Wheels and Tyres' about raising the ride height! The answer includes Africa specification springs.

 

[bennesspipers]

Quite astounding girl,astounding, my hats off to ya

 

[Spinal]

You'll be the first person to post in 'Wheels and Tyres' about raising the ride height! The answer includes Africa specification springs.

Funny you mention that, I was considering finding a way to raise the suspension... then I thought of the 2000miles down through Europe and Morocco on motorways

Quite astounding girl,astounding, my hats off to ya

Girl?!

Michele (not Michelle) is a male name in Italy (where I was born and half my family is from). Oh yeah... and I couldn't find my razor...

M.

 

[bennesspipers]

Oops sorry

 

[Spinal]

Oops sorry

No problem, it's a common mistake.

I know, I'm not so cute once you realise I'm a guy... and suddenly my antics go from "aww, you're insane... how cute" to "immature male tw*t"... but hey, not much I can do there

M.

 

[Spinal]

Well, All I can say is it was a certainly interesting read. I did find it quite funny (Sorry). But hey you both are still here and that's always good. A car accident in Morocco, killed my nephews mate and his mates mother a couple of years back. Good to see you still have a good sense of humour even though your car is wrecked...

My condolences for your nephews mate & mother.

I do like to think I have a sense of humour; if you don't laugh at life sometimes (or most of the time in my case ) you end up (or I would end up) depressed!

The strange part is people seem concerned that I would be sad, depressed, angry or in a bad mood over my injuries or the accident itself.

The way I see it, it could have turned out MUCH worst. The car would have been scrapped in a few years due to rust anyhow, so this has given me a way to give her a better end. I didn't die, and no-one else got hurt, so I don't feel too guilty about allowing them to be in so much danger on my car.

So whats to be sad about? It's all turned out quite well; the accident coudn't have been avoided given how the truck was driving... we may have hit the front, or rolled down the hill... or a miriad of other options... but at the end of the day, we're all alive, no-one was seriously injured and the made it back to the UK without missing a beat.

M.