Bags of Courage

 Bradley Harrold claims the spoils at the Kia sponsored 'Park'n'Ride' Festival in Majorca

The great thing about park-off events is that everyone uses the same car and the whole thing is done in-front of a crowd. There can be no talk of modifications, or flankers being brought in after the fact. "I once had someone accuse me of using a crane!" said Bradley who took first place in the adjusted reverse at the 2010 'Kia Park'n'Ride'. Bradley lead the line for British drivers with Darren Caulwell, having a torrid time, complaining of a migraine and forced into fifth in the Men's Single Reverse when he lost points for clipping.

Bradley is pictured in his trademark sock-less sneakers with his winnings: several Kia branded garments and a few delicious goody bags from a local supermarket.

Talking about the relative merits of the Adjusted over the Single Reverse, Bradley was quite the diplomat. "They are both crowd pleaser's, the Adjusted makes for better pictures, you have a full ten minutes to move in and out, you can even switch things up, try a completely different line if you need to, in the single though it's all about that one fluid movement. While its not my drug of choice I can see that there is a certain simplistic natural beauty to it, that and it's so much faster, you can see ten guys pull in in under an hour and then you still have the rest of the day."

Speaking of the rest of the day it was a mixed one for the Brits  with the French Drivers, Juliene La Roche, and Tierry Absalonne  driving well above their usual standard and taking first and second respectively in the Perpendicular and Single Reverse and La Roche adding a silver to his roster in the Adjusted Reverse.

Royal Flush

 

 

'Some day's you just get it right.'

'I felt good that morning. The sun was shining, conditions were perfect. I was driving around for just  seven minutes before I spotted this hole and my heart started beating like steam-train. Not only is it a bare 5cm longer than the car itself, (leaving just 2.5cm of wiggle at either end) the gap holds the extra pressure of being flanked by a Mercedes S400 and Toyota Mr2 Spyder. Not the kind of thing to take on if you value your no-claims bonus.

Judging by the rich guy cars and affluent housing in the area, the owners of these two high price pieces of machinery couldn't have been far away, any slip on the clutch here could easily have lead so some  serious physical, as well as financial pain. 

There was no way that I wasn't going to give it a try. I knew, as soon as I saw it that it was a once in a life time gap.'

These are the words of Darren Caulwell, At just 31 years old, Darren is a young driver, new to the sport, but already making waves with some super-sick reverses. The two pics above were all it took to lift him above the run of the mill and earn him some special recognition from 100% Awesome. 

In fact, the shots are so impressive that when they first started making the rounds a lot of people accused Darren of faking the reverse by bringing in the two flankers after the fact. Some even suggested that he had had his own car modified so that the front wheels would turn a full 90. None of which is true.

It's a shame that when new-blood comes on the scene the first thoughts of the old guard are to suspect foul play. Having seen the boy in action myself, and met his charming mother who he lives with, I can personally guarantee that this is not the case. 

He has a perfect sense of position and his clutch control is exemplary. 

These are exciting times for Parking, someone young and charismatic like Caulwell could really ignite the public imagination and take our sport to a whole new level. 

Darren favours a Rover 200 it's an unconventional choice as it doesn't have the greatest turning circle in the world and has quite a long wheel base.

It's cheap, it's got great bumpers and the open turning circle actually suites the long wheelbase, it's a slower curve but if the positioning is right then it doesn't matter; I find that you can always wiggle in. Because of the size of the car, it's true that sometimes I have to drive past holes that a pro in a Nissan Micra would fit into easily. But the pay off is that I tend to find that the gaps that a regular Joe in IQ or Smart Car leaves behind, make ideal super-tights for me and my Rover which would be much too wide to consider challenging enough in a smaller vehicle.

It's out of the box thinking like that that has made him the rising star he is today.

As for the Pics above. It's certainly tight and even, the wheels are straight and it's definitely flush with the line, But lets face it Darren, there is no slope to speak of and road is extremely wide. We at 100% would like to see how you would handle this same gap on a one-lane urban side-street with a 35 degree slope. Pull that off and we'll really be impressed.


PS. Darren is currently looking for a sponsor, so if you are into parking and want to get in on the next big thing... get in touch and 100% Awesome will set something up.

CaliFITication

Home of the Brave

America isn't known for it's parking. Sadly the excess of space and the proliferation of garages and 'lots' makes it a nearly impossibility to find a challenge worthy of a full blooded parking enthusiast. Most of the Pic's and vids that you see from the states are from artificially created and sometimes even pre-measured gaps. While it makes for an impressive photograph, for me, pre-measurement takes the fun out of our sport. 

In the world of parking half the battle is finding the opportunity to shine.  The perfect gap is out there, but it is up to you to go and find it.  

In pre-measured  parking, where is the glorious realisation that yes, what you are attempting to do is possible, that you were correct in your original assessment and you will not have to pull out and start your search anew?

Being sure of the length of your vehicle and your ability to control it, should be the name of the game. 

I've decided to run this pic today because I know that it is a genuine 'organic' gap  and one with it's fair share of historical significance.  Outside the Bank of America outlet on Poca Road In Santa Rosa California, There is a short-stop, three car line that really only has enough room for 2 and 2/3rds of a vehicle. It has been a popular break since the mid 1980's. 

Because it's outside a bank, there is a constant demand for spaces as well as a fast turnover of drivers. As a result you get a lot of variety in a short space of time and just to spice things up a little, every job you pull has a time limit: you have to work faster than the desk jockeys inside the bank or one of your flankers could well disappear before you are able to finish.

Felix Maude, (The dude in the black T-shirt) used to come by as a boy, just to watch the greats at play, pioneers like DJ Piotrowski and Michael Millington who, in clapped out Camero's without the aid of powersteering, could pull no-look-back reverses in under a minute, leaving just fractions of an inch of air at both ends... .

Standing on the shoulders of giants, Felix has worked hard to keep the US organic scene alive in extremely difficult circumstances and we at 100% Awesome would like to recognise that fact.  

As for the picture... It's a great park job Felix, we salute you. That said, it could be a little more even and next time you might want to straighten the front wheel before you run outside with your camera.

No.2 Slot

 

Sweet Jesus! 

This isn't the greatest gap the world, there is no slope, it's uneven and you could probably get a bus into the air off the front end but we at 100% Awesome love it and what we love about this reverse is the story behind it. 

This is a student area near the Whiteladies Road in Bristol, it's prime spot for super-tight gaps especially between rush hours when you have shoppers, students and office workers all competing for the same patch of turf. According to his email, Carl Nougat, had pretty much given up the hunt and was putting his Peugeot into a disappointing 8 meter drive-in, when a Smart Car pulled out of the line leaving this "more interesting" sized hole. 

Sadly before he could get out of his space, a beautiful 19 year old student switched on her indicator and started making a few attempts. After she repeatedly failed, Carl, ever the gentleman, stepped in... offering his easy spot in exchange for the challenge of spot number 2.

"You'll never make it," said the grateful student... but make it he did! 

Apparently the girl was so impressed by his feather-light clutch-control that she hung around to watch and even gave him a round of applause when he was done. ( Reportedly jumping up and down in a tight top and short plaid skirt.) Carl said it was a dream come true. 

Unfortunately the Student (who refused to have her name or image used on this blog) later revealed that she had a boyfriend. On a happier note she did tell chivalrous Carl that he could be number two on her list, should she ever break up with her boyfriend.

'It ain't no thing' said Carl playing it cool, 'I'm second on a lot of girl's lists'

I think this little story proves beyond any doubt that there is no better feeling in the world than being watched by and attractive girl as the front end of your car swings into a perfect line with the car in front and your rear bumper draws level, just a millimetre away from the car behind. 

It's positively beatific.