The Road is Life!

Culture

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OK, despite the meteorological evidence out there, it is the height of summer. And the height of summer is the time of the Road Trip. For any dyed-in-the-wool lover of cars, there is no better way to pay homage to the Holy Month of August than to jump into your ride of choice and head for the horizon.

So, in honour of this time when the automotive shackles come off and you reach out to the further reaches of road-going possibility, we have put together a thread of features to highlight the best things about being out of the workaday realities of existence and heading out on the road.

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No road trip, for example, could be complete without the perfect playlist. We have selected, from a straw poll of the Influx devotees, some of the most essential tunes to keep the motorway tripping through peripheral vision and the landscape opening up around you.

If you’re just about to set off on the big adventure, we’ve selected our top ten cinematic road trips. The road has been mythologized by film makers since the dawn of the moving image, from Vanishing Point to Easy Rider and beyond. We respectfully present some on-screen action that will inspire you to take your trip further.

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And while we’re on the subject of road trippin’, who better to evoke the essential creativity of being behind the wheel than King of the Beats and Holy Goof of the Road Neal Cassady. Jack Kerouac’s wing man is bought to you by in-house artist Paul Willoughby and Cuckoo’s Nest author Ken Kesey.

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Thinking about the purchase of the ultimate road trip vehicle? Then check out Mickey G and Justine’s classic Canterbury Conversion Transit Camper. Never was a road-wagon more suited to experiential discovery. And never was an affordable vehicle more suited to nurturing and appreciation than one of the truly classic retro campers.

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For pure unadulterated adventure, take a look at the selection of tales from Influx scribes Rich Beach, Ben Oliver and Michael Fordham, who have used their hard-earned press cards as magic carpets in miniature, little tickets to the back and beyond of automotive adventure that tell us something serious about the road as metaphor for the best things in life.

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Probably more road miles have been travelled in the VW camper than any other road-going ride meanwhile: and we take a look at the evolution of this classic – from utopian family vehicle to Extreme Sports icon and everything in between.

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The Road is Life: Influx brings you some tales from the fringes….

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One Response to “The Road is Life!”

  1. Going to try for a European Road Trip in 2010 if all goes well, went to Lemans in 2007 and that was great, 1000mile round trip