Grands Randonneurs Motorises organises four events a year in the South East of France. J33PER already took part in the 2009 Mille Rivieres and the Croissiere Blanche in January 2004. Trophee Cevenol was next on the list. Trophee Cevenol is the toughest of events that GRM organises. In 2010, this event was held from May 12 to 15.
As the Trophee Cevenol was supposed to be the most challenging, my usual copilot Caroline decided to stay at home. In her place I had Mike Rollins and his friend Jeff Phillips who had travelled all the way from Southern California. If you have been reading the pages on the Rubicon Trail and Moab, Mike Rollins may now be a name you're familiar with. Mike is a spotter extraordinaire. This combined with the awesome capability of J33PER's JK, it was promising to be a good event!
After Mike and Jeff flew in on the Sunday, we left Somerset on Monday for the 800 mile trip to Les Vans. The Channel Tunnel got us quickly to the other side. We made it as far as Troyes. The next day we still had to travel another 400 miles. Mike in the passenger seat and Jeff in the back. Eventually we arrived at our bed and breakfast. La Bastide des Pêchers, run by Chantal Ribes, surprised us all. Not just for the lovely accommodation but especially the extraordinary hospitality! If ever you make it to the Les Vans area, be sure to stay here! You won't be disappointed.
On the Wednesday we registered and were presented with the stickers and T-shirts. This probably was the most sociable time where we got a chance to talk to the outgoing Dutch contingent. At least they spoke English which proved useful for Mike and Jeff. Unfortunately, we weren't in the same group. The rest of the day was spent lazing about.
J33PER had been looking forward to way more difficult sections in this event. Yes, there were in comparison to the Mille Riviere but there were still a lot of lanes to drive in between interesting bits. It goes without saying that the lanes were narrow and overgrown which resulted in further scratches to the paintwork. The weather this year was relatively cold and there was a lot of rain on day one and two. Normally this event sees hot weather and dust. Had it been indeed dry, the sections would have been easy. The scenery in the Ardeche is stunning to say the least. My co-pilot soon got to grips with the Road Books which feature so called tulip diagrams. We didn't get lost too often.
Both on days one and two we eventually got to the restaurant for lunch at around 4 to 5 pm... After "lunch" we gave up which meant we only did about 2/3 of the routes. Planning obviously left something to be desired on the organisers' behalf! Watching the video above may lead you to think that it was all exciting sections. This is somewhat misleading.
I guess that the Trophee Cevenol is a bit more challenging than Mille Rivieres but as far as we were concerned, we could have done with more interesting bits and fewer miles on lanes. If we do it again, we would have more time in the Ardeche and not hurry home. The GRM events are not cheap (€810 for the three of us including lunch) and of course the 3.8L V6 consumes a lot of petrol too! All in all, we very much enjoyed ourselves.
It is rumoured that the 2010 TC event may be the last one due to pressures from environmentalists. The Croissiere Blanche is taking an entirely new format in 2011 and shall not be an off-road event.
Download a copy of the movie in iPhone format here!...
