1/2 The Volkswagen Golf even has eyelashes. (Photo: Karin Kamp)
Two adventurers from Udenhout, a 24-year-old Volkswagen Golf and a road trip of about 3500 kilometers. Astrid (48) and Marie-Charlotte (54) will soon be leaving for the most adventurous journey of their lives: the Carbage Run.
The street rally is also known as the biggest and craziest race in the world. It once started modestly with 64 cars that appeared at the start, but this time 1400 people from all over the world race in a huge procession of 500 vehicles.
That car, that must really be an old cart that is not worth more than 500 euros. And the organization checks that closely. If the barrel is worth more, you start the road trip with penalty points.
Marie-Charlotte and Astrid bought their Volkswagen Golf through Marktplaats, painted it in sunny colors and renamed the car the ‘Go Go Girls’ car. Complete with eyelashes around the headlights.
On Sunday, the women will drive to Harz, in the middle of Germany, where the start will take place. That’s a journey of about 500 kilometers, and immediately a test by fire for the cheerfully painted car. “Last week we decided to take a little trip to an ice cream parlor nearby,” Astrid says. “Then we immediately had a problem, because the car wouldn’t start.”
“We already had a problem on the first stage, because the car did not start.”
Jumper cables managed to get it going, after which the ladies left. Eventually there were also bitterballen and wine on the terrace, and when they wanted to return to Udenhout after a few hours, the car again showed no sign of life.
“We then found out that we immediately had to drive for half an hour to fully charge the battery again. Well,” they laugh, “that won’t happen to us a second time.”
The fuel gauge is broken. “Yes, it is always at zero, so we have to calculate how far we can drive, so that we don’t run out of fuel. And just to be sure, we also take a jerry can with petrol.”
From the starting point, the rally will take you through Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The participants of the Carbage Run sleep on simple campsites. And that’s exactly what the pair are most concerned about.
“We both like breakfast with an egg and a banana.”
“A pop-up tent like that, it’s not really comfortable. And we both like breakfast with an egg and a banana, so we also take a gas burner with us,” says Marie-Charlotte. Leave the hair straightener at home, because there is not that much space in the car.
There are also assignments along the way, the crazier, the better. What those are is still a secret, but in the winter edition of the Carbage Run to the Arctic Circle, the rally drivers had to cut out a block of ice and take it with them. They also went fishing in the middle of a lake, at 10 degrees below zero.
Furthermore, the race is purely for fun. Everything is possible, everything is allowed. “If your car breaks down on the road, you help each other,” says Astrid.
In previous editions, there were regular breaks along the road, a chip pan from the trunk and a few frikandels in the grease thrown. “Very pleasant, and we make every day an adventure. It is not a knock-out race, we all cross the finish line”, says Marie-Charlotte.