Collected the hire car at the counter and had to fight the luggage trolley from hell all the way to the hire car pickup point. The steering wheels on the luggage trolley had a mind of their own, giving me several scary moments as I was trying to maneuver the trolley with all the heavy luggage on and off pavements which were off camber. I was given a brand new Vauxhall Meriva with only 0.5 miles on the clock. Due to the height of the rear end, I was able to put the bike bag into the boot vertically. This is pretty good for a small car. That is why I cannot understand the preference people have for saloon/3 box cars (for example in Malaysia). Hatchbacks and things like the Meriva (and Jazz etc) make a lot more practical sense.
Vauxhall Meriva
I must admit that I revved the engine quite hard on the Meriva even though you are usually advised against it in a new car until it has done a few thousand miles. The small petrol engine meant that pulling in 4th or 5th gear took quite a while especially at motorway speeds. Needed to keep the revs up to have any torque or power. That's why modern diesels are so often preferred. Still managed to get it up to 140km/h but it felt slightly unstable in crosswinds, probably due to its height. Anyway, it was a decent little car but a bit lacking in handling and power.
After doing some unpacking, I decided to go for a run. Apparently natural sunlight is a good cure for jetlag. Did about 40 minutes over a fairly hill route (didn't use the HR monitor so no altitude profile this time) so it should be around 8km. Probably just under 50% of it was on trails and paths (or at least not along main roads) with a nice section coming down a grassy bank. The sun was out and it was quite warm, though certainly not as warm as an evening run at KLCC park. Felt a lot better after the run.
Photos taken with the camera on an S-E K700i
Location 52°N 2°W
