Driving the Putty Road north heading to Armidale is an absolute joy, it’s got to be one of the best driving roads in Australia and I guess that’s why so many motor bikes use it. It’s around 178km of concentration and if you drive at speed you cannot afford to break your focus for a second. Many have died on this stretch of road because they use it as a time trial and also a test of man and machine. This time however I drove very sedately adhering to the speed limit and not pushing it through the corners, after all the Olde Ford has 460,000 KM racked up and it would be silly and unfair to drive like a looney with my old friend. Give me someone else’s car and I will give it a go for sure.
Many moons ago, back at the turn of the century or even before that I drove this road many times and one time I decided to give it absolute laldy and I drove the 178 km in under two hours which is quite an achievement really. Many have come a cropper and I nearly did too when I was flying down this straight just after the Halfway Roadhouse and some kangaroos decided to wander out from the grass and stand in my path, I couldn’t stop and so I waited till the last minute before swerving to the left to avoid them. They’re fickle creatures and as daft as a brush and more often than not they will turn towards you rather than
move away……Thankfully they went the other way.
At times it feels as if you are in a video game and the trees and roads are
just a blur as your focus is directly ahead, it feels as if you are at warp
speed and if you make one mistake, then you are fucked!
The road has a lot more restrictions now than it did all those years ago
mainly due to the many deaths and accidents, but there are some sections of the road that are utterly sublime and as you accelerate up through the series of sweeping bends , holding the car in the appropriate gear it’s just magical. This is a road where a manual car will excel, as there is only so much you can do with an auto. If you have a Golf GTI or equivalent then it would be a riot!
Many moons ago, back at the turn of the century or even before that I drove this road many times and one time I decided to give it absolute laldy and I drove the 178 km in under two hours which is quite an achievement really. Many have come a cropper and I nearly did too when I was flying down this straight just after the Halfway Roadhouse and some kangaroos decided to wander out from the grass and stand in my path, I couldn’t stop and so I waited till the last minute before swerving to the left to avoid them. They’re fickle creatures and as daft as a brush and more often than not they will turn towards you rather than
move away……Thankfully they went the other way.
At times it feels as if you are in a video game and the trees and roads are
just a blur as your focus is directly ahead, it feels as if you are at warp
speed and if you make one mistake, then you are fucked!
The road has a lot more restrictions now than it did all those years ago
mainly due to the many deaths and accidents, but there are some sections of the road that are utterly sublime and as you accelerate up through the series of sweeping bends , holding the car in the appropriate gear it’s just magical. This is a road where a manual car will excel, as there is only so much you can do with an auto. If you have a Golf GTI or equivalent then it would be a riot!