"10,000 miles of adventuring bliss through deserts, mountains and steppe tackled in a car your Granny would use for shopping. The Mongol Rally is hurling yourself at 1/3 of the Earth's surface in woefully unsuitable vehicles to see what happens."
As many of you know I recently signed up for the infamous Mongol Rally and will be departing from London on July 23, 2011 for a 10,000-mile jaunt across 16 countries and two continents. I will be joined by my trusty cameraman and friend Steve (For all you 'Amazing Adventures of a Nobody' fans, you will surely remember Steve as the maestro behind the lens).
I far too often find myself signing up for adventures that seem to defy logic. Driving from England to Mongolia in a banged-up car is definitely one of these moments. In fact it may be my most outlandish attempt to experience the world one moment at a time. Or the dumbest.
Adventure is in the blood, you see, and I don't seem able to control myself; embarking on adventures that is. I am just totally unwilling to sit down long enough to grow roots, so instead, I keep on going. On and on. Like a Duracell bunny on crack.
This whole Mongol rally malarkey began when I stumbled across their Internet site. Curiosity did the rest. I went through my schedule and decided that whatever I had to do this summer would need to take a back seat to this little escapade. This was going to be an epic adventure. I immediately started putting the logistics of everything in motion. And logistics there were... buying the car (which I have nicknamed 'the beast') and getting all the 7 visas I was going to need were some of the logistical shenanigans facing me.
Shenanigans that will be so very worth it (I hope!)
I am generally not a big planner. If I plan I realize what kind of folly I am embarking on and inevitably back out. Thus, I steer clear of plans. And for this specific rally there is good reason for me to know as little as possible about what I am about to engage in...People die on the Mongol rally. People get arrested on the Mongol rally. People have been maimed on the Mongol rally. This is dangerous stuff and I quite like it that way....
I mean, who in their right mind gets into a car (which has to be less than 1.2 liters in engine size) and drives 10,000 miles across deserts, over seas and beyond? Honestly, who in their right mind!!! Well, it seems that me and another 450 teams are not in their right minds. Lovely.*
*By the way, I will be blogging daily from my travels and uploading video footage of all my escapades. See you on the road (if there are any roads where I am off to...)
Also, for more information on the rally, including the exact route, sponsorship info and to donate to my chosen charity, please click here.