End of season hoon

One trouble with being a petrolhead is the constant search for the next improvement. Be it trawling the car ads for the next purchase, or the parts catalogues for the one mod that if you could only afford would make your driving experience all the better. So much time can be spent dreaming, that we in fact forget to go do some driving!

With the road tax about to expire, I set the alarm for early o’clock. I woke to a frosty morning, but the sun was out strong. The outdoor thermometer still showing -2, I took the roof off and left it in the spare room – brave for late autumn in Ireland, but I had a good feeling about the day.

A highlight of the Elise experience is the way the little K seems to overfuel (a lot!) when cold. I made my way as quietly as possible out of the driveway and through town, but every upshift was met with a pop from the exhaust and downshifts set off something akin to machine gun fire from behind my head. I do feel a little bad about those still in bed, but I wouldn’t change this exhaust setup for anything.

I head west for the first road of interest, the famous Corkscrew hillclimb. It’s still very early and I have the place to myself. 

After a spin down the hill and a stop for photos I make my way on to Ballyvaughan and back along the coast road to Lisdoonvarna with stunning views over Galway Bay and out to the Aran Islands. From here it was back to the main road and head for Galway.

Being honest, after a few hours spent in Galway watching the autotesting, I was frozen to the core, so I hopped back into the car and head for home. The options were motorway spin or head over the hills, and with only a little thought required I headed for the hills on what I discovered must be one of the best roads in the country. Mostly 3rd and 4th gear corners and short straights, lots of long corners and plenty of yumps and jumps. A great stretch, and one which starts not too far from the front door, I look forward to getting to know it better!

My little Elise has come on leaps and bounds this year, and just maybe I've improved a little bit too - my confidence behind the wheel certainly has. It was tough to park it up for the winter after this spin, but the winter downtime is an ideal opportunity to get some fettling done while the option to drive is temporarily removed….