The Unprofessionals - Mongol Rally 2009 Team

1. Mongolia - Part Three

So….that final video. The idea had been to have my team mate Matt run in slow motion towards the car as it crept forward, they would embrace, and the whole thing would be cut to sappy music in our video. I drove and the first take...

2. Mongolia - Part Two

The road to Altai was horrendous. The gravel track turned into this weird, corrugated surface which rattled your bones to their very core. How it forms I have no idea - if it’s natural, it’s proof mother nature is evil. if...

3. Mongolia - Part One

The crossing into Mongolia was incredibly easy. A few forms and stamps at the Russian side, and a brief search by the guards of our cars – who simply pointed at our bags and asked us what they were – and we were through to no mans...

4. Kazakhstan to Russia

The Kazak border was straight forward, but featured one very moody guard who seemed furious we couldn’t speak Russian and was also more protective of his pen than anyone I have ever met. I considered trying to steal it to anger him...

5. Uzbekistan

We made the drive to the Uzbekistan border next morning. This involved a quick crossing on a flotilla style bridge – probably there many, many decades – to another small white hut with a barrier and some bored looking soldiers....

Mongolia - Part Three

Posted by Mike on 09 8th, 2009 | 5 responses

Mongolia - Part Two

Posted by Mike on 09 8th, 2009 | one response

Mongolia - Part One

Posted by Mike on 09 8th, 2009 | one response

Kazakhstan to Russia

Posted by Mike on 09 8th, 2009 | no responses

Uzbekistan

Posted by Mike on 09 7th, 2009 | no responses

Travels in Turkmenistan

Posted by Mike on 09 7th, 2009 | 3 responses

The Iranian / Turkmenistani border itself was at the summit, looking out hundreds of miles in each direction across the tundra. A few Iranian trucks were lined up and one, Spanish Mongol Rally car sat...

Into Iran

Posted by Mike on 09 5th, 2009 | no responses

Leaving Turkey the next day was ok; once you figured out queuing is not a concept well know outside the British Empire and everyone basically pushes everyone else out of the way, we developed a blocking...

Turkey

Posted by Mike on 09 5th, 2009 | 2 responses

The road from Ankara up to the coast and east up to Samsun was two lanes and in pretty good condition, but it seems the EU paid for infrastructure improvements and a new road was in the works. Unlike home...

Budapest to Istanbul

Posted by Mike on 09 5th, 2009 | 3 responses

Budapest was a fantastic city but we have some serious ground to cover. After checking the exhaust, which had a nice hole in it but nothing major, we set off south. Our original plan was to head for Romania...

Goodwood to Budapest

Posted by Mike on 08 1st, 2009 | no responses

So the start has finally arrived. 12 months of planning, visa stress, buying kit and the hunt for sponsors have brought us here, the beginning of the Mongol Rally 2009! There are around 300 other teams...

Weekend of Prep

Posted by Mike on 06 21st, 2009 | no responses

With 26 days to go, we have decided to take one Accent not two. A big change, but the right one as it means less driving per day for each of us, fewer costs and a big cut for our fuel bills. HJ52MYU was...

Blacks Donate Awesome Tent

Posted by Mike on 06 15th, 2009 | no responses

Blacks of Bournemouth have generously donated us an Orion three man tent for our trip. It’s a double skinned item with interior LED lighting and a lobby large enough to hold 9 people while drinking...

Roof Rack and Spotlights

Posted by Mike on 03 18th, 2009 | no responses

Some upgrades this week…our fantastic donation from THULE arrived; roof bars, baskets and luggage nets for both our cars. Thanks again to THULE! Easy to fit, seriously well made and very solid...

Opie Oils Support

Posted by Mike on 03 16th, 2009 | no responses

Opie Oils have donated 12 litres of 10W-40 Silkolene oil for our trip - thanks Opie! If we need any more than that, we have serious problems…check out their website www.opieoils.co.uk for great...

UKHAC Donations

Posted by Mike on 03 11th, 2009 | no responses

The UKHAC UK Hyundai Accent Owners Club has set up a link for Just Giving on their front page for us, and we have already had several donations. Many thanks to all of you, it’s much appreciated...

Thanks to THULE

Posted by Mike on 03 10th, 2009 | no responses

A HUGE thank you to THULE of Sweden, who have generously donated two Xperience 828 baskets, roof bars and luggage nets for our trip! We couldn’t have asked for a better piece of kit for the job....

R-TECH Donates £100

Posted by Mike on 02 22nd, 2009 | no responses

Many thanks to Nick from R Tech and the donation of £100. He is also offering anyone who donates £15 or more to our cause a 15% discount off remap services! Check out www.bigbhp.co.uk .

Car One Paint

Posted by Mike on 12 31st, 2008 | no responses

Today we started the paint job on the blue car…with spray cans, in a relatively small space, and its 1C. Perfect painting conditions….hmm. Thanks to Stu at Motorcare for use of his garage.

BBC Radio Solent

Posted by Mike on 12 23rd, 2008 | no responses

Shaun took on the challenger of our first BBC Radio Solent slot this morning on ‘Julians People’. He discussed the trip, the cause and our plans for the next few months…Many thanks...

The Car is Here!

Posted by Mike on 10 20th, 2008 | no responses

There are a few rules when it comes to the car you can take….they are sold at auction when we get there and the funds go to our nominated charities, or they are repaired, re-sprayed and used by the...