Thanks for the Memories

Mileage: 250,743

And so the time has come to wrap this weblog up. It's been fun, but the quarter of a million mile mark has now been both reached and, I feel, suitably reflected upon.

Over the last 6 weeks I've documented the journey here and have brought some of the stories surrounding the Cavalier - old and new - into the light of day.

Thanks to you - the readers - for being a part of the journey too. I've been surprised by how many people have said that they've read this thing in the past month or so. It's been an enjoyable experience for me - the milestone, the blog, and subsequent conversations - but this is the final curtain, at least for now ...

Only 249,257 miles to go til the next big landmark. :)

The Aftermath

Mileage: 250,743

Prior to the below story it had been 16 whole days since my last post.

The reason for that of course is that since that time car-wise my life has returned to ordinary. The Cavalier has travelled another 700 or so miles, but these have hardly been significant or in any way noteworthy. This is a sad reflection of the fact that the 250k point has been and gone - any future milestones are a long way off!

Whilst the quarter of a million mark is now becoming an ever increasingly distant memory it's still a matter of pride to me to know that I'm the owner of a car with such a mileage - a car that has been in the family since it was built. And that will be more than enough to help me to move on as I bring to a close this overly-obsessive account of its approach to this milestone.

Celebratory Outing

Mileage: 250,743

Last Friday I went on a little outing with a few friends, which was organised partly to celebrate my car passing 250,000 miles. We went to McDonalds in Uxbridge (for old times' sake you'll understand) - classy! Various kinds of fast food products were purchased and consumed. Admittedly it probably wasn't quite as much of a carnival celebratory atmosphere as it could have been - it was the end of the working week and I was tired and not quite in party mood - but still it was good to do something that was a hark back to old times to celebrate this milestone.

Special mention must go to Matt, SJ, Jono and Andy who were in the car at the time and to those in the second car (you know who you are!).

250,000!

Mileage:250,016

This morning was simply horrendous: 2 whole hours to get to work. And it's less than 20 miles from my own front door. So that was 2 hours of clutching and braking and moving at an average of less than 10 miles per hour. My legs are still killing me now (almost literally).

But today wasn't about this morning. Today was about the glorious journey home from work this evening! Having made it through the day knowing that my car was just 6 miles from a quarter of a million it was with a certain sense of pride that I made my way to the car at the end of the day. And on my way home the milestone I did reach - down the road on motorway number 4. So I went home happy to have my dinner.

More reflections on what this milestone means coming up in the next few days (you didn't think that was it quite yet, did you?!)

[By the way if you're thinking the tone in which this post and the last few have been written is too serious, you're probably right!]



The location where I reached 250k: approaching junction 3 westbound on the M4 - magical!



And there's your evidence: please note I do not generally endorse taking photos whilst driving, especially not at 70mph - this was a one-off (or a two-off - see above pic!)

Tomorrow is the Day

Mileage: 249,972

All being well, tomorrow I should pass 250,000 miles. This is thanks to the fact that I've been able to amass in excess of 200 miles today with a trip to Birmingham to see my brother and uncle and go to a football match (those of you who are football fans will know the match to which I allude, but I won't make further mention of it here as the outcome was something of a disappointment to me).

The excitement is getting a bit much for me - I've a feeling I may not sleep tonight! Ok, maybe not quite that excited. But I think I might wake up eagerly with a spring in my step (a rare thing for me, except for when I've had cramp in the middle of the night ...). I'll make my way to work and then on the way home from work, boy could I be in for a treat! Hehe.


Above: The mileometer a little earlier today, whilst I was in Birmingham.