Re: Wild rides (was *959 Sighting Doubtful...)

["Barton P. Chambers" <bchambers@atlantic.nos.noaa.gov>]

 "Graydon D. Stuckey" replies to Ernest
:
> On Thu, 23 Mar 1995, Ernest Wong wrote:
> 
> > >        I had a ride in a Z-1 at an autocross a couple years ago. 

> > 
> > Are there any other 'wild' rides you haven't told us about!
> 
> 	I have had some _very_ wild rides, but they were....
> 
> 	Actually, being a bonafide carnut, I have managed to swindle a 
> few interesting, if not wild, rides.  Probably the wildest was the 

G'day Gents,

At the risk of boring the living sh*t out of you, my wildest ride (in which I 
was the driver) was in my 'blown '59 Karman Ghia, back in the days when I was
a bone-fide FalschirmJaeger.  My classmate, fellow carnut and best buddy at 
the time and I found our selves suddenly with the need to be in Buamholder, 
(in the Idar mountains, down near the French border) in 45 minutes, or be "in a 
world of hurt" (army for "Deep Sh*t).  Unfortunately, we were in Wiesbaden at
the time we learned this, and Baumholder was normally a two-hour drive away.

(Booo!  Hiss! you exclaim!  a VW!  Jeez, what could this guy know about 
*wild*...)

(ahem...)  We were on time.  Along the way (Nice, scenic drive down a narrow, 
two-lane highway through the picturesque Idar mountains), while WFO (full 
throttle) in a 4-wheel drift around a blind curve to the right (mountain side), 
what should our wondering eyes benold but a Cherry-picker, outriggers fully 
extended, boom up, man working on high power-pole.  

If you want to know what *exciting* means, try steering around a *very* large 
object while all 4 wheels are drifting and you have no power reserves to call 
upon.  And a Stone wall on one side of the road, and a large drop is on the 
other...

We *did* fishtail, one wag each side, managing to gently clip curbs on both 
sides of the road.  Curbs?  Oh yes, it seems that there was a little village
(about a block long) just beyond the cherry-picker.  We did *not* lift-off 
(recipie for disaster in a rear-engined toy), but pressed-on.

The sad epilog is that my buddy, classmate, fellow batchelor paratrooper, 
Fraulein-chasing, beer drinkin', ride sharing (we had three cars between us 
(Jack's Alpha Gullietta & MGA) but seldom more than operable at any given time),
and fellow carnut, Buddy, Jack Nevins, *refused* to ride back with me.
(I didn't smell anything, but maybe he did...)


Cheers, <vbg>

Bart,
Frau, Dora
'77 Feline Varmint, Felix, Gray
'86 Carrera Cabriolet, Indischrot
'87 Syncro (Stealth Quattro) Alpenweiss