Sunday morning dawns & I open my eyes around 7am. If I’m away early enough I'll get out for a decent spin before North Tipp wakes up for Mass & hang sandwiches.
I sit in the kitchen eating a bowl of Cornflakes & checking the latest ramblings on t'internet. Enough of cyberworld now, time to get out & drive.
I have a quick glance over an OS map of the area and put together a loose plan for the trip. This morning is also going to be a first test for my new tyres. They were just fitted to the Subaru yesterday & are hardly scrubbed in yet. I’ve a full tank of Maxol’s finest vintage E5, Neil Young is cued up on the ipod & I’ve a tasty cup of fresh coffee in a travel cup. It’s going to be a good morning.....
The Warm up Run
A light frost overnight means the windscreen needs a dollop of water – hope it’s not icy on higher ground. I hop in, belt up & turn her over. The Flat Four starts with a familiar wup-wup, wuv-wuv-wuv & settles immediately into a rumbly idle. I have this Impreza for a while now, but there is still a sense of occasion when I fire it up. Engine notes are a big part of the driving experience & I love the offbeat thrum of this one.
So, out of the estate now sipping on my coffee & warming up the engine & drivetrain. The temperature gauge is firmly at the cold position as we head North towards Newport Co. Tipperary. A cold engine is a thing that I truly believe should be treated gently. I don’t understand how guys hop in & blast on up the road up at 4 & 5 thousand rpm, it’s just not proper. Back in the land of all that’s right, we’re negotiating the drive towards the mountains. I can see Keeper Hill in the distance, with some patches of snow still evident, in spite of the milder weather the last week or so.
About 5 minutes into the trip, the temperature gauge begins to head for the mid range. We have heat in the cabin & we’re motoring along at a happy 2500rpm. The coffee’s good & Neil Young plays gently in the background. First impressions of the new tyres are of much reduced road noise at cruising speed which should make for less fatigue on the longer trips.
I’m looking forward to seeing the other improvements….
Heading for the Hills
We’re fully up to temperature and heading firmly for bandit country! Traffic is light as we leave the town of Newport - so far the only car we’ve met was a fogged up little fiesta which was dispatched with ease. I take a last gulp of coffee & turn up the music, about half way through Powderfinger at this stage – class tune.
Starting to set a good pace now – the roads are abandoned & bone dry. My worries about slippy tarmac were unfounded, plenty of grip there. Sharp downhill stretch, blip the throttle on braking & change down to 3rd. Another blip and into 2nd.
Over the bridge now, check that it’s clear - then open the taps. On full boost now & back up through the ‘box. Not the fastest of gear shifts, it requires a brief pause as you cross the gate to get a smooth shift, all in the name of prolonging the equipment!
We're well on the way to the village of Silvermines, we’ll take in a 20mile route that is the one of toughest challenges I know of for a road car (locally at least!). It takes in steep inclines, hairpins, long flowing bends & undulating bog roads. The road width varies from about 20ft to 7ft in spots, depending on the time of year. It’s a road which is rife with sudden changes in surface & height, providing plenty of opportunity for drama if you’re caught napping. The E30 loved it…..
We’ve Arrived
On arrival to the T junction marking the beginning of the mountain route, we pause briefly & draw a breath. Right or straight-on? Right brings you East into the valley & immediately onto the mountain pass. Straight-on offers a 150m altitude drop on a 2 mile stretch of road, with plenty of crests and sharp dips to entertain, straight-on it is then!
Up through the gears now, not a hint of wheel spin from the 4wd system, just lots and lots of grip. The forced induction propels us forward at a rate of knots. All downhill stuff here, the road surface is very uneven with plenty of dips & humps to challenge the suspension, you can feel the dampers working very hard at this point. We’re braking down hard now for a series of tight bends. Looking down and to the left you can see the path of the new Limerick Dublin Motorway – its like another world.
A slight hint of ABS into the right hander and then onto the straighter sections. The road widens a bit here and is sighted for about 500metres – its clear ahead, back up into 4th now as we descend towards Shallee Cross – my ears have actually popped! I can see the final nasty crest now & brake down a little. Power-on at the last second to keep the nose up – a firm landing but no problems to report. We’ll have to revisit that crest I think….
Deliverance
We’re onto proper regional roads now. Nice sweeping bends & plenty of room to maneuver. Still haven’t met anyone since we passed the Fiesta back in Newport, I’m really enjoying this spin. Neilers has been reintroduced to the cabin. He got muted back at the twisty bridge, the flat four completely upstaged him!
The new tyres are really showing their worth, providing a noted increase in stability under braking & during turn in. Both of which were badly lacking in the old tyres.
Some severe potholes on the entrance to Silvermines village – nearly knocked my fillings out. Nice & quietly we burble up Main Street, heading for the mountain road. The church dominates the foreground, the backdrop is provided by the Silvermine Mountains themselves.
This coming section of road is pure torture for drivetrains. It’s a steep ascent of 250m over a distance of about 2miles. There are plenty of straight sections but you need to be hard on the brakes to a crawling pace for each bend. Both cars need to take the ditch if they meet in opposite directions. Best be sensible!
If you knew there was nothing else on the road you could really have fun here. The engine is on full song now, all whooshy & burbly on the overrun – tunes once again are muted! After a few minutes we reach the viewing point & hop out to take in the morning. At 300m above sea level, the views here are just spectacular. I can see Banagher, 40miles to the North, on the clearest of days you can see for over 100 miles.
Lough Derg looks like a duck pond from this height! The last time I was here was in the E30 & the smell of gear oil was thick in the air when we got to the top. It doesn’t seem to have knocked the slightest puff out of the Impreza.
Time now to head for the valley between Keeper and The Silvermine Mountains. The views of Keeper are just breathtaking. We are taking it nice & handy, plenty of unexpected, alloy-shattering things can happen on these narrow roads.
Dropping in height steadily now as we enter the wooded area. I'd love to be let loose here in a MkII escort. I just don’t have the confidence in my own ability to push it hard through these hairpins in my road car – those pines look very unforgiving! However, I do roll the window down & keep the revs high for effect!
On we go through the valley, lots of straight, sighted road here, the gravel peppers the bottom of the car. I can only imagine what it would be like here with the road closed off. A caged car with full race gear, sweaty palms under Sparco gloves. A co-driver roaring the 'notes out – up the middle here – stay on it, 500 into 4 right TIGHTENS – DON’T CUT! Speedo firmly past the 120mph mark. A ½ mile trail of gravel & smoke in the rear view - Legendry Stuff.
In reality I'm tipping along at 2500rpm – ‘Hey Hey, My My’ plays in the background. We’re back where we started now on the Newport Road – Still no sign of mass traffic.
Time for another lap…..
No comments:
Post a Comment