Darryl Sleath is the co-founder of the irreverent motoring magazine MotorPunk where he blogs about grassroots motorsport, automotive adventures and his ramshackle car collection. He has written for numerous print magazines, contributed to 1001 Cars to Dream of Driving Before You Die and various motoring blogs including Jalopnik and Silodrome.
Darryl has also produced several short films about classic cars and historic motorsport for MotorsTV, and regularly presents on CBS’s motoring channel Carfection. And then some.
Besides all this, Darryl Sleath is author of some epic books about road tripping: The Road Trip Book: 1001 Drives of a Lifetime, 1001 Road Trips To Drive Before You Die and 1001 Drives You Must Experience Before You Die. He has experienced many of these drives firsthand so if someone deserves a spot on these pages, it’s Darryl.
Check some of the adventures of Darryl and his mates here:
But now for some questions. The floor is yours, Darryl!
What makes road tripping special?
“I love road tripping because of the freedom to change plans and do things at our own pace. We often set over ambitious itineraries and never get as much done as we’d like too. ‘Spose that always gives a reason to come back. Mostly we like to retrace a route that played a part in motorsport or has an historical story to tell.”
What’s your best road trip?
“The best road trip I’ve been on in the last 12 months is a close tie between our adventures over the Atlas mountains of Morocco and the off-road trip we took to southern Iceland. We have been working on these trips for MotorPunk Magazine.”
“I think Morocco just wins as it was more exotic. Having a small group of five mates travelling together adds a different dynamic too. We travelled from Marrakech over the mountains towards the Tizn Tichka pass over the Atlas towards the desert town of Ouarzazat on the fringes of the Sahara. This was a weird place that was famous for its huge mud-built kasbah and a shabby film set that’s been used in things like Game of Thrones and Gladiator. But it was the endless dried up river beds and half abandoned towns that really made it feel ‘foreign’. In fact it is probably the most alien place you can do on a budget fly drive from the UK.”
“We rented Dacia Dusters, partly because they were made in Morocco, but most mostly because they were cheap and had air con. This last thing is the most important thing you’ll need driving into the Sahara. On the radio we had a lot of 90s Indie tunes because were are old blokes. The stand out tune however was Egyptian Reggae from the film Baby Driver. Seemed appropriate.”
Which road trip is on your bucket list?
“My bucket list trip is to have full week with a big 4×4 in Iceland and do the whole Route 1 loop but mixing it up with F Roads. Ideally, I’d like to do it with a gang of friends as it’s handy to have someone to tow you out the river crossings when you misjudge things!”
What means of transport would you use on that road trip?
“My dream ride in Morocco would be an Ariel Nomad to get off road and into the maze of gravel roads that just sprawl everywhere.”
Who would you be travelling with?
“My co-editor and Rich and I usually drive together. We talk about almost anything, although we have a running joke about a run down Soviet Water World … it’s a lot funny when Rich does it in a Russian accent, honestly!”
What about music on the road?
“Music tastes are pretty eclectic. I’m a 90s Indie / Grunge fan. Rich likes Israeli Jazz!”
