Roads? Who said roads?

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

All this chat about "What are you going to do to top the 'one Lap' -"

Karl Doll suggests Prudhoe Bay to Tierra Del Fuego, but says "The roads are a
little rough in the Central America segment, however..."

Roads? Who said roads?

In 1907 Prince Scipione Borghese, with co-driver Luigi Barzi and mechanic
Ettore Guizarri won the Peking-to-Paris race in an Itala, (Alfa not yet having
come into being), three weeks ahead of the second place car. Note I did not
say "road" race. Their route crossed China, Mongolia, Russia, Poland and
Germany, mostly without roads. They had it easy in one sense, however; for a
good part of the route they were able to bump over the ties of the Trans-
Siberian Railroad, which also simplified getting fuel shipped in, as well as
offering a pre-surveyed path with acceptable minimum widths and maximum
gradients.

Nothing that easy for Citroen, which took the southern route from Beirut
across Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet and China to Peking, following a
trail believed to have been used by Marco Polo, which included Himalayan
passes which had never experienced a wheeled vehicle, and temperatures of
forty below zero while crossing the unmarked sands of the Gobi Desert. Also a
couple of the countries had civil wars or rebellions in process. Took them
from April 4 1931 to February 22 1932, a remarkably short trip.

The closest Obligatory Alfa Content I can find was the 1973 Alfasud trip from
Milan across Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and India to Calcutta.
Piece o'cake.

Prudhoe Bay to Tierra Del Fuego is a very good suggestion, though. An
alternate would be One Lap of the Continent, which would leave One Lap of the
Hemisphere for later.

Have a nice trip, anyhow.

John H. 

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