Observer
A suitable adventure for five British lads after a working holiday at a US kids' summer camp: a 3,000-mile drive from LA to NYC in a hulking van bought for $1,000. After a morning at Venice Beach, we set off. Rounding a bend on the LA freeway at rush hour, surrounded by smog-filled air, the traffic slowed. We, however, didn't. Barney, driving, announced the brakes had failed. A few tonnes of van was pulled on to the hard shoulder, and discovering the parking brake gone as well, we began to slow through engine braking - only to find a broken-down car on the hard shoulder around the next bend, forcing us to accelerate back into the traffic. Returning to the hard shoulder, we began to slow, getting to a near-stop before edging over the lip of a downhill slip road and picking up speed again. Barney suggested I try and stop the van. After clinging to the door frame, wearing only a pair of swimming shorts and bouncing barefoot down the road, I let go. Sore-footed, I watched the van pick up speed towards a queue of expensive-looking cars, feeling sure Barney would do something heroic. But then I realised he was standing beside me, watching the driverless van, too.· Do you have a memorable journey? Send it to us on journeys@observer.co.uk