It was pretty cold and very misty. You could see only 50 meters on the roads and it pretty much remained that way all day. Our destination was some coördinates in the shade of the Prins Claus fly-over near The Hague, Netherlands. Because of the fog it became a mysterious adventure. We were heading for the “bush”.

Once we arrived, it seemed as if ALL members of the LRCH had received the message that a new site was found. Maybe slightly exaggerated, but it was nice and (very) busy! Even to park the car in order to sign up, you had to wait until someone exited the area so you could get a spot. And that in itself was an achievement! A chaos of mud. Winches and ropes brought into action, tires became ‘slicks’,  deep ruts and the clay, the clay …. Great to watch and subsequently end up being stuck as well. You barely signed-in, and still at the club tent, giving full throttle but going nowhere!

Because of a repair, we could not take our ‘Muddyboots’, so we had little alternative but to show up with’Rusti’. On normal road tyres, while even the competition vehicles were struggling on certain parts… As always, there are plenty of people willing to help drag you out of a tough spot. And I think everybody got stuck that day. Just on the flat ground at the club tent. But the Offroad Commission had once again done its best to set out some trails. Some were extended rides through long grass where you felt as if you were on safari. Other blue paths were soon turned to red-flagged challenges – yes, that slippery clay. Steep “mountains” had to be conquered. Deep puddles. For everyone there was a challenge. We spent a few hours and probably didn’t even seen half of the site. Through the fog we had trouble orienting ourselves, so the terrain seemed very big. A bit strange to drive through the reeds into the fog and suddenly out of the gloom looms a commuter train heading for Utrecht? And behind that you see a faint shadow of the highways. Fortunately we were able to follow the ribbon trails they had set out for us. If it was a roadbook that had to be deciphered in the tall grass, we would probably still be there looking for the exit!

The club tent was cozy and warm, where you could thaw out your fingers with coffee or soup. And you also have too little time to have a chat with everyone. Thanks to the committees for organizing another special offroad day. We looked around and saw only big smiles among the hundreds of cars. Two words: worth repeating.

How was YOUR misty sunday?

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