LondontoBrighton: Made famous on the big screen, the London Brighton run is a must in the classic car diary. Bob Montgomery joins this year's eldest competitor.
7.10am Hyde Park, London:
The 507 entries for the world's oldest motoring event gather in anticipation of its start. The sight, sound and smells of 500 cars, all manufactured before 1905, is truly astounding.
Their variety seems infinite, as infinite as their different approaches to solving the problem of motoring in those far-off early days of the automobile. But there are recurring themes and the most popular make is probably the De Dion Bouton, which has a water-cooled single-cylinder engine under the driver's seat turning the rear wheels.
Other popular makes, which are prominent amongst the entries, include Daimler, Clement, Oldsmobile and Renault.
The cars start the long run to Brighton in batches of 20 vehicles commencing at 7.15 am and followed four minutes later by the next batch of 20 cars. Oldest cars start first with the honour of being the oldest car in the 2005 Run falling to the 1892 Peugeot of noted collector Daniel Ward.
I'm here at the invitation of the eldest driver in the run - Osmond Bennett from Johnstown, Co Kilkenny. For Osmond this will be his 37th time to start this famous event.
As always, he will be behind the tiller steering of his 1901 De Dion Bouton, a car that has taken him safely to the finish of this event on all but one of those previous runs.
What makes this occasion stand out is that Osmond is 89, an age when most people would happily spend a November Sunday reading the newspaper in front of a comfortable fire.
7.29am:
After a tense few moments when our De Dion hesitated to start, we're now moving down to the start with the other cars in our group. Quite a few of them are similar De Dion Boutons to our own mount but there are also examples of Georges Richard, a rare Stephens and an Adler.
Osmond's son, William, is in the front seat facing the driver. Obviously, his seating position restricts the forward view of the driver who also has to contend with the peculiarities of the tiller steering which is somewhat imprecise at best.
With the first rush of speed as we move away from the start and travel out of Hyde Park at around 20 mph, one can feel the tension which had been building before the start evaporate as the De Dion and its driver return to their natural element, the open road.
Perhaps I should qualify 'the open road' as this road has plenty of modern traffic to contend with and far too many red traffic signals.
The weather so far is dry as we traverse Constitution Hill, Birdcage Walk and Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Road on our way to the A23, which will take us to Brighton.
This is a huge and unexpected bonus as heavy rain had been forecast for the duration of the run. At this early stage there are plenty of slower cars for us to pass while the much faster later model cars, which have started behind us, have yet to catch and pass us.
Osmond is taking everything in his stride, a fact which is a great relief to William and I as in the days before the event he had been unwell and his participation had been in doubt. Even now his ability to complete the run is doubtful.
Lambeth and Croydon appear and are left behind. We're running to a fine rhythm now and Osmond is in his element, dodging the many hazards that 21st century roads throw up for cars born in the 19th century.
A huge surprise for me is the vast number of smiling people who line the route waving enthusiastically to every passing veteran.
10.10 am, Redhill:
By the time we reach the first of the route's steady climbs at Redhill, the rain has begun to fall. From here on the journey is a question of survival for our driver, who I should say is showing great determination to add another finish to his tally.
The rain steadily increases until it's a constant companion. We've now completed more than 20 miles of the 60 mile route and while we're wet through, despite our protective gear, the temperature is still mild.
We've spotted two of the other Irish entrants so far: Dungarvan's Shane Houlihan passed us going very quickly on his magnificent Panhard et Levassor. In turn we passed the 1900 Cleveland of Reg Plunkett.
This unusual electric car started at number 43 and was the only Irish entry older than our De Dion Bouton (we started Number 86). Because the car is electric, and the range of early electric cars was very limited, Reg and his crew will have to change the batteries three times during the run.
By now the journey has become a hard slog to the official break at Cawley and it's a relief for all concerned when we pull into the parking area. It's not compulsory to stop here but it's a welcome stop to answer the calls of nature and grab a hot mug of coffee. For Osmond, it's a welcome relief to get some circulation back into his stiff limbs. The journey has taken a toll on his body and we need to support him as he takes a few faltering steps.
However, his determination to get to the finish is evident.
Restarting from Cawley, we now face several hills that are a feature of the route.
The run follows the original route taken in 1896 by the members of the Motor Club on their journey to Brighton and makes no concessions to the age of the cars. This becomes apparent on the hills and we slow to less than walking pace at times in the lower of the De Dion's two gears.
Several times we - William and I - have to jump off and run alongside the car as it slowly builds up speed. There's another sting in the tail now as the rain, which has been almost constant, is now accompanied by a sharp drop in temperature.
This coincides with the heaviest shower yet which falls as a headwind of rain.
Eventually, Burgess Hill and Clayton Hill are past and the worst is behind us. A half hour later, we are on the outskirts of Brighton and flying happily along its bus lanes to the finish.
12.58 pm
Madeira Drive, Brighton: As we cross the finish line to sustained applause for our driver, an interviewer is incredulous when he realises the age of our driver. Osmond declares that this has been one of the toughest runs he has made and suggests it will probably be his last. Somehow, having seen his determination to succeed, I would wager that he will grace the London to Brighton Run again in the future.