James
Chairman
WELL DONE TO THEM!!
Below is a copy of the email Dan was kind enough to send me and some pictures
:
Hi All,
It was a surreal but we made it all the way... For those of you I havent
bored already, I've just taken part in the Mongol Rally 2005, and drove 7004
miles from Hyde Park to Ulaanbaatar in a 988cc 1991 Nissan Micra in 28 days.
We were laughed at for the first part of the journey across Europe and
towards Russia, complete strangers shaking our hands heartily and
looking like they knew something we didn't. Then once we got through a
particularly unsavoury corner of Kazakhstan, the police and border guards
were so impressed we had got that far I think we got out of several bribes.
I would have been more than happy to reach Mongolia and experience getting
out on the steppe on our own steam, but the Micra somehow just kept on going.
About a day and a half in, I smashed the underside of the car on a bloody
great big rock that was the same colour as the sandy track, ironically while
trying to avoid another bloody great big rock. There were lots of bloody
great big rocks.
But we patched her up, well I say we, Ben and I watched as the other guys in
our convoy fixed the car, and on we went (to see the impressive 'patch'
you'll have to order a video, which I'll be putting together when I'm back in
the UK and hopefully selling for a few of the finest sterling to up our total
for the rally charities.)
The driving was nothing short of incredible - along with rocks on
the 'roads' as we headed East we hit sand, stones, shingle, mud, dirt,
water, marsh, grass, scrub.... the list goes on. Waking up to a picturesque
sunrise in the Gobi before tearing off along the offroad track with the tunes
blaring and only camels and distant hills breaking the nothingness is an
awesome feeling.
There were a fair few nasties along the way though of course. At the end of
our 20-hour driving days across Russia, we would stop for a few hours vital
sleep in the cars in a truck stop or layby. You'd think that uninterrupted
sleep would be guaranteed, but waking up in a cold sweat behind the wheel and
finding myself slamming the brakes, manically grabbing for the handbrake and
jibbering in a half-conscious panic while trying to swerve round the
imaginary truck in my head became a regular feature. The rest of the guys
thought it was hilarious, as you can imagine.
I also saw some amazing sights towards the end of the days on Russia's never
ending highways - a bright red fox that could run at a consistent 60
miles an hour beside the car, two people walking/hovering behind the car
infront at a graceful 50 miles an hour, standing about 3 feet tall and
wearing robes with hoods... mmmmm. (Other far more entertaining unfortunate
situations included in the video...)
But all the crap bits were, without a doubt, worth it for the highs. The
emotional and psychological pendulum may have swung through extremes with an
annoying frequency, but hindsight always seems to fade the memory of the crap
stuff hey!?
Mongolia was the perfect final destination for the rally and the journey
through Russia's Altai Republic and on through Western Mongolia to
Ulaanbaatar was a continuous display of wilderness picture postcards,
interspersed with mad little towns, only one of which with a population of
more than about 25,000 before reaching Ulaanbaatar.
Although we've already raised a fair few quid with the help of various
people, we've set up an online donation page for anyone who wants to help us
top up our total for the rally charities - Bath based Send a Cow and Save the
Children in Mongolia, and the video is on the way. Hit the links below if you
feel inspired, or just rich, or drop me an email back and say hello and
pledge your urgent need to pre-order MicratoMongolia, the DVD!
For now I'm going to enjoy the city life in UB before flying to Beijing to be
a total tourist and get somebody else to drive me everywhere!
Back in the UK on the 13th - any job offers or career ideas welcome. Answers
on a postcard appreciated!
Hope you're all well,
Dan
(please send on to anyone who might be interested)
Total miles: 7004
Number of days: 28
Final mileage of the 1991 Mighty Micra: 165,505
www.micratomongolia.co.uk
www.mongolrally.co.uk
www.justgiving.com/micratomongolia
+44(0)7787 521995
Video of the trip available in a few weeks time...
Below is a copy of the email Dan was kind enough to send me and some pictures
:Hi All,
It was a surreal but we made it all the way... For those of you I havent
bored already, I've just taken part in the Mongol Rally 2005, and drove 7004
miles from Hyde Park to Ulaanbaatar in a 988cc 1991 Nissan Micra in 28 days.
We were laughed at for the first part of the journey across Europe and
towards Russia, complete strangers shaking our hands heartily and
looking like they knew something we didn't. Then once we got through a
particularly unsavoury corner of Kazakhstan, the police and border guards
were so impressed we had got that far I think we got out of several bribes.
I would have been more than happy to reach Mongolia and experience getting
out on the steppe on our own steam, but the Micra somehow just kept on going.
About a day and a half in, I smashed the underside of the car on a bloody
great big rock that was the same colour as the sandy track, ironically while
trying to avoid another bloody great big rock. There were lots of bloody
great big rocks.
But we patched her up, well I say we, Ben and I watched as the other guys in
our convoy fixed the car, and on we went (to see the impressive 'patch'
you'll have to order a video, which I'll be putting together when I'm back in
the UK and hopefully selling for a few of the finest sterling to up our total
for the rally charities.)
The driving was nothing short of incredible - along with rocks on
the 'roads' as we headed East we hit sand, stones, shingle, mud, dirt,
water, marsh, grass, scrub.... the list goes on. Waking up to a picturesque
sunrise in the Gobi before tearing off along the offroad track with the tunes
blaring and only camels and distant hills breaking the nothingness is an
awesome feeling.
There were a fair few nasties along the way though of course. At the end of
our 20-hour driving days across Russia, we would stop for a few hours vital
sleep in the cars in a truck stop or layby. You'd think that uninterrupted
sleep would be guaranteed, but waking up in a cold sweat behind the wheel and
finding myself slamming the brakes, manically grabbing for the handbrake and
jibbering in a half-conscious panic while trying to swerve round the
imaginary truck in my head became a regular feature. The rest of the guys
thought it was hilarious, as you can imagine.
I also saw some amazing sights towards the end of the days on Russia's never
ending highways - a bright red fox that could run at a consistent 60
miles an hour beside the car, two people walking/hovering behind the car
infront at a graceful 50 miles an hour, standing about 3 feet tall and
wearing robes with hoods... mmmmm. (Other far more entertaining unfortunate
situations included in the video...)
But all the crap bits were, without a doubt, worth it for the highs. The
emotional and psychological pendulum may have swung through extremes with an
annoying frequency, but hindsight always seems to fade the memory of the crap
stuff hey!?
Mongolia was the perfect final destination for the rally and the journey
through Russia's Altai Republic and on through Western Mongolia to
Ulaanbaatar was a continuous display of wilderness picture postcards,
interspersed with mad little towns, only one of which with a population of
more than about 25,000 before reaching Ulaanbaatar.
Although we've already raised a fair few quid with the help of various
people, we've set up an online donation page for anyone who wants to help us
top up our total for the rally charities - Bath based Send a Cow and Save the
Children in Mongolia, and the video is on the way. Hit the links below if you
feel inspired, or just rich, or drop me an email back and say hello and
pledge your urgent need to pre-order MicratoMongolia, the DVD!
For now I'm going to enjoy the city life in UB before flying to Beijing to be
a total tourist and get somebody else to drive me everywhere!
Back in the UK on the 13th - any job offers or career ideas welcome. Answers
on a postcard appreciated!
Hope you're all well,
Dan
(please send on to anyone who might be interested)
Total miles: 7004
Number of days: 28
Final mileage of the 1991 Mighty Micra: 165,505
www.micratomongolia.co.uk
www.mongolrally.co.uk
www.justgiving.com/micratomongolia
+44(0)7787 521995
Video of the trip available in a few weeks time...
