Memories of man and machine

I’m lying in the back of the family Citroen DS Safari, happily drifting in and out of consciousness and, no doubt, suffering from dehydration during a 1970s’ heatwave.

Around me is the luggage for two weeks and there are five other people along for the ride : my sister, my mum, two family friends and my dad, who is driving.

For 20 hours straight.

Nobody else gets behind the wheel, but we have two backseat drivers with very different styles. Renee is gung-ho, encouraging every overtake on the French N and D roads, while Annette screams “Non!” with each manoeuvre. My dad, Benson and Hedges glued between his lips, motors on regardless.

This is my first real road trip memory. Stopping only to refuel and snack we cut through France, arriving just before dawn. Dispatching the length of a country in a day (and a night). My father as one machine operating another.

I gazed and snoozed in a continuous cycle, waking each time hundreds of miles down the road and with a different vista, delivered by DS and dad.

We never completed such a journey again as a family - I think everyone in the car except me and my dad found the experience too exhausting.

For me, it was inspirational.

Words Nik Berg Twitter | Instagram
Photography Ivan Berg