A different mode of transport entirely

I contacted Oliver yesterday who, as well as being a friend, is also the mechanic who looks after my car and already has my Kia in ready to repair when the new fuel pump is available. I explained my dilemma to him about the part having arrived, but in Montignac where I can’t get to because of having no transport, and asked if he had an old vehicle available that I could use to do the journey.

He told me that he has two but that both are at present out with customers whose cars are in for repair. However, he had another suggestion. He said that he’s never loaned it to anyone else and I’m the only person who he’d entrust it to, but if I turned up at his workshop today at 1.00 pm I could borrow his Audi TT. What a fantastic offer!

So I rode there on my trusty e-bike and headed off to Montignac in it shortly after 1.15 pm. I just happened to drive the long way via Rouffignac, Plazac, Fanlac and Thonac, a route that just happens to include some gorgeous windy roads that you don’t have to drive that quickly on in an Audi TT to have fun. And great fun it was too.

When I was picking my parcel up I found that in my haste to leave the house I’d left behind my wallet, bank cards and all my money. This was a blessing in disguise. I’d intended to do some shopping in Intermarché to see me through the next few days while I don’t have a car. Imagine if I’d turned up at the checkout at Intermarché with a trolley-full of goods only to find I had no way to pay for them!

So after I’d picked up the fuel pump I had to go straight home again, pick up my wallet and then go straight out again to do my shopping in Rouffignac. Then I had to return home again before returning the TT to Oliver. Oh dear… all that extra driving 😀

Here are some shots that I took of the car before I jumped on my bike and headed back home again. It’s been around the block a bit and is charmingly scruffy inside but its body is in beautiful condition and is also excellent mechanically, as you’d expect.

Before leaving for home I mentioned to Oliver that just as he’d found someone to buy my old C-Max, if someone turned up who had a cheap runabout that they wanted to sell to let me know. You have to have a car down here and if your car breaks down, as mine currently has, your life is put on hold.

This especially applies for me with the work I’m doing on and in the house frequently requiring me to dash off to Leroy Merlin, Brico Depot and elsewhere at the drop of a hat. I can’t do that on my e-bike trusty as it is, so having a handy runabout in reserve that doesn’t incur anything like the costs that apply in the UK, would be very handy indeed.