ROARR - Rythm of a Road Rallies

Great Arc Of India - January 2009

A month to go and all the Rally is beginning to falling into place. My trip last month to meet up with Rod and Jim inevitable ended up changing the route as with each day now has a minimum of four days research, it is inevitable changes, and for creation of better driving days, will follow.

Some area it is near impossible to find a road worth running, to our camp site in Hampi is one. But after a week’s work it has been done and a great collection of roads has been joined together to get us onto the bank of the Tungabhadra River. This is a stunning location looking up river to the ruins of Hampi. This is Rod top choice of camp.

(One of the Great Arc Bench March Stones)

It is a long day from Mysore to Hampi but it is a great 500km drive on good to great roads, finishing in a fantastic location. Driving does not get any better than this.

Except the drive from Bhopal to Oachha, or even better the drive from Bharatpur to Kesroli. Rod top drive is Nagpur to Pachmari. I have added in Gwalior as the rural drive from Oachha to Datia takes up most of the day, worth it, before running into Gwalior. On top of the drive, the Usha Kiran Palace hotel is, I understand, India finest Palace hotel?

(Usha Kiran Palace Hotel, Gwalior)

For me the Kaddam Dam camp setting is India’s Kipling. It is as near as perfect a camp setting you can find. I expect to see Shere Khan and Bagheera at the water hole. And why not Mowgli?

One day which has been on our mines for some time is the first Rally day KanyaKumari to Palani. Rod and Jim have already spent a week on this day eventually stitching a rural route together on reasonable roads. It is long, 8 / 10 hrs, 400km. A pretty drive, but late into camp which has concerns for me.

But Jim has just returned to Cochin from a seven days route ‘checking’ survey and assures he has found ‘the perfect drive’. Jim is being insistent this ‘drive’ must be included. It’s a pity as it will exclude KanyaKumair, but the ‘drive’ is the number one stimulus for the rally and must come above sentimentality. I know the drive Jim refers to and have driven part of the route before, but not for 10 years, so for me the drive is a little bit cloudy. I am flying out Thursday for a week as there are a number of issues to deal with and I will drive this route myself and then make a decision.

(Jim, Rod, chi and a map)

As with last year the press have taken an interest. I enclose an article from The Hindu with ‘Brod’ and the ‘Gentleman Adventure’! (Tracy can we add in article as a web connection to click on to?)

I have taken the liberty of informing Leah the Rally will have about £10,000 surplus to contribute towards the new hospital. It is off course your money but I trust there is no problem in making this contribution to Leah.

I visited the clinic and meet with ladies who have benefitted from the work of Leah and Usha. It was a Sunday but they all made the time to open the clinic and meet with me. It was very pleasant and humble experience.

Leah will be joining us at Kaddam Dam campsite to thank you all personally for your contribution to making the new hospital possible.

At our first camp at Palani Hills Kawaljeet Singh has kindly offered to toast our first camp night with a taste of his Banyan Wines. The wines are New World in character, offering five differing styles. I am sure you will not be disappointed and Kawaljeet will take order for the other camps. www.bigbanyanwines.com

Once we reach Mussoorie the experience of the Great Arc is not over. There is no better place to finish than at the home of George Everest.

Hathipaon, with the views of the great India plan to the south and the mighty peaks to the Himalayas to the north, has the finest setting of any house on this small earth. It is truly surreal and you can see how Everest could only have ever been contentment working away to understand his life’s work, The Great Arc of the Meridian.

And a few words on Japan.

The web site should be up and running by the month end. The provisional route has been finished which has added a few more days. I can e-mail this to anyone who wants to study, and please do comment at this early stage. I am happy entries are being received in such a short time. I will be out in April driving Sakurajima Island to Hokkaido Island. More to follow.

Conrad Birch

Great Arc Headquarters England.

Great Arc Of India & Rising Sun - November 2008

It was with great sadness I learnt of the tragedy unfolding in Mumbai last Thursday morning. I know both hotels well and therefore could picture the terrible scenes as reported on the radio. Whoever is responsible and whatever their motive it is a brutality against innocent people and against India.

Most of us rally enthusiasts have travelled to many parts of the world and if we allowed this sort of terror to terrorise us we would not leave our homes and consequently not take pleasure in the immense hospitality this world has to offer.

Being resilient, and not to allow intimidation, to show support for India, there are no changes to the rally programme and the Great Arc of India will start as planned in KanyaKumari and finish in Mussoorie.

The Great Arc, I am pleased to report, is full. Sorry I could not take everyone on the adventure.

A number of people have asked, and for the benefit of any doubt, John Brigden is no longer working for Rhythm of a Road Rallies Ltd and I wish him the best for the future.

Tracy Davies is now running the office at Rhythm of a Road and we will be moving into our new offices in early December. Tracy will e-mail out our new address, telephone numbers and e-mail address shortly. Tracy worked on the very first rally, The Jewel of India, in 1999 and has been working for me on other business since and will now be working two & half days a week on preparing and dealing with the paperwork for my rallies. Tracy’s first job was to choose the interior coverings for the Great Arc tents. A colourful choice has been made.

Rod & Jim are now very engrossed in the survey of the Great Arc for next February. Their e-mail reports have been very amusing, Rod has become the Jeremy Clarkson of the rally world (not sure if this is a complement, but Rod, like Clarkson, is very thick skinned.) They have been on the road for over a month and covered 12 days of the route. As you can see below progress is slow as they check out each and every roadway!

But their brief is to produce our best route and our best road book in 10 years of rallies and they are doing just that. Rod came on the Great Arc on a rally bike this year and he knows which routes I am looking for to cross rural India.

This year the camp sites were set in quite wonderful locations. So far they both have assured me they have found locations, each one better that this year, setting high expectations.

With Tracy in charge of admin the office is on top of the paperwork for The Great Arc. I am off to India to run the route and to check Jim & Rod’s toil this week. I will drive the MG from Islamabad to Mussoorie and down the Great Arc to KanyaKumari.

Rising Sun Classic Car Rally – Japan 2009

Looking to the future, I have been to Cuba twice in the last two months to drive this most amazing island, but after driving in Japan last November I will be going with the Rising Sun Classic Car Rally of Japan in September & October 2009.

Why Japan?

I have been to Japan numerous times over the last 20 years and always found it a fascinating country. Next to India, no country on earth is as foreign as Japan. With very contrasting reasons it holds a similar attraction. Last year I decided it was time again to visit the land of the Rising Sun to look at it from the perspective of a possible rally. I have now made the decision to rally in Japan.

Most important, and fundamental to any rally, is the adventure of the driving. Japan has first class roads. More important, Japan is one big mountain with countless country roads which are a delight to criss cross from one wonderful mountain landscape to another. The main road network is so good the country roads are left alone. One can drive with enjoyment, peace and tranquillity, exploring the rural areas.

Not only is Japan a delight to drive, this rally will be a cultural experience of the country. Japan shapes our lives in so many ways, but we know so little about her ways.

This rally will be different in the sense that in India you are an observer of her cultural ways. You do not go into the Ganges with the Hindu’s to wash and expect to be cleansed. In Japan we will become, in the best ways we can, engrossed in her culture and more importantly learn her etiquette. The rally will stay in many traditional Ryokans and Onsens - traditional inns with certain but important customs. Everything fine and genteel that one associates with the Japan of old is encapsulated in these traditional inns. We will observe and enjoy bathing as the Japanese do, being part of this time-honoured Japanese experience. There are many surprises and much to be gained. 

You may want to experience the totally acceptable use of a Love Hotel if you have an hour to spare or even indulge in a sun bath with the locals. 

Etiquette at the table is as important as the food. Bowing is more than a hello or goodbye and Karaoke is a phenomenally serious pastime. Karaoke is not there to laugh at people’s inadequacies, but show respect for an art and so they can sing very well. Here in Japan Karaoke needs to be seen to be believed. 

Drink and be merry on Saki. It is as fine and as varied as whisky and by the time we reach Sapporo some appreciation of the varieties of this rice wine will be apparent. 

You will also see infrastructure that is quite outstanding. Engineering stretched to new limits. Bridges of quite magnificent magnitude. Double-decker flyovers stretching some 50 km across a city. Mighty retaining walls built to prevent the inconvenience of land slippage on quiet country roads.

Our journey starts in the deep south at Kagoshima on the island of Kyushu, and finishes in the extreme north of Japan at Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. Between the two we will see the five volcanoes of Mt Aso; the Takachiho mountain ranges, Little Tibet valley, Ise, Noto & Kii Peninsulas, Mt Fuji and her lakes & the Kitakami Sanchi low lands.

Historical town of Nikko, Uchiko, and Takayama. I have driven to a few out of the way places over the years, and found forgotten towns with streets of old houses – the more neglected the more original.

Drive along the Nichian coast and into the Kirishima, Akan, Nikko, Shiretoko, Shikotsu Toya National Parks, seeing and experiencing the great diversity of Japans terrain - from mountains to rice fields.

Cities of Nara, Kyoto & Hiroshima, castles towns of Kanazawa & Himeji. Garden of Koraku-en, Daisen-in & the Imperial Palace.

I propose to give you 23 days of fascinating adventure across the immense landscapes of Japan and I hope will have an improved knowledge of the second largest economy on earth.

Entry is £16,950 per car with the entry covering the same as our other rallies.

I have also included a car collection from your home to port for UK based cars with return.

Entry will be limited to 15 cars. Provisionally I aim to start on September 20th and finish on 12th October 2009.

Hope others want to join me on this quite unique and exclusive tour of Japan.

Web site with full details to be up and running by year end with marketing from January.

I am away from 29th November to 22nd December in India preparing for the Great Arc in February. If the Rising Sun Classic Car Rally of Japan is of interest please do e-mail me, or phone me on my return in 22nd December or speak to Tracy at the new office from 8th December. Tracy will forward the new office details shortly.

All the best Conrad Birch