Hermann Zer German
Hermann is our 1967 Mercedes Pagoda. He is quietly good-looking and attracts waves and smiles and selfie shots everywhere he goes. Which in 2020 was across the whole of central Europe, and then at the end of 2021 he helped us escape Plague Island to chill out (or rather, warm up) on the Iberian peninsula. Hermann’s 2020 Grand Tour starts here and his achievements on the trip are celebrated here. His 2021 Holiday Trip starts here.
Teal, the Mini
Everybody loves a Mini, and they all think that Mini drivers are completely mad to drive around in anything so small. In fact, people often can’t believe how small a Mini is, and so they pull out in front of you in the confident knowledge that a) you are still a long way off and b) you have got plenty of room to stop in if they have misjudged it a bit. Equipped with some seriously upgraded seatbelts to help manage the emergency stops required, we took Teal round our Not The Thistle tour of Scotland where we also completely failed to get any discounts on the ferries despite being only 60% of the usual car length. Sid tells you more about Teal here.
Bicycles
You may have noticed that Sid and Doris have a habit of naming things, but for some reason the bikes that we used for the EuroEpic trip never did get named. Well, they got called lots of names but that is different. There’s no post that really describes the bikes, but this one talks about the bike fitting that we had the day before we left. You’ll find more information about the bikes in posts with the “Equipment” tag.
The Collective
Some people might wonder why Sid and Doris seem to have a collection of slightly tatty old toys. But appearances can be deceptive. You can find out more about the Collective here, and Mifter Bat and the Silk (writing with his cycling name of “S”) have even contributed posts to the blog, which you can find in the Tag list.
Bothy McWeevil
Bothy McWeevil is the proud proprietor of the famous Thistle Garden, a tourist attraction somewhere in deepest Scotland. It requires skill and determination to turn what is effectively a patch of set-aside land into a paying business, and Bothy joined us on the Not The Thistle tour of Scotland to give helpful feedback to other wannabe tourist farmers. His posts have been tagged with #bothymcweevil so you can find them in the Tag list.
“Call Me Al” – The Alvis
We have commissioned Earley Engineering to (re)build us a 1937 Alvis Speed 25 SC. We are planning to use it on an American road trip, if the US Government ever relent and allow the inhabitants of Plague Island to enter their country again. More information, pictures and plans will follow here… We are also thinking about a name, but before you make any suggestions, Alvis McAlface will not be considered.
The Jolly Green Giant
In a casual conversation with Matt, our American friend who also happens to be a professional classic car-buyer, Doris mentioned that she would love to have one of those big American cars with wooden bits down the side. Does it steer? Does it stop? Who cares. And by the way, it does have air conditioning, as you can see in the picture. More information, and some photos taken from a long way back to get the full 17’6″ in, are here. Our travels with the JGG start here, about four weeks into the Vamos! journey.