Attention Central Asian Border Guards

Would you let this man into your country?

Thought not. That'll be £80 for a new passport added to the budget then.

8 more Km tonight

I got a rather unpleasant case of inner thigh chafe. I can only assume it was due to the speed with which I was running.

In search of knowledge...

We're off to Adventure Travel Live on Saturday to get some first hand tips for our "overland expedition". As well as talks on Central Asia and the Silk Route, I'm most looking forward to the Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition.

Hopefully we'll pick up some tips on how best to prepare for the big trip (I was in Kathmandu this evening (the shop, not the....y'know) and whilst looking at the ...

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Fever pitch

less than 24 hours to go in the most exciting countdown since dear old Dickie Whiteley's timer ran out for the final time....

Yes folks, my first ever sale on Ebay is drawing to a close, and it looks awfully like someone's in for a bargain. My spare Ikea sofa cover - rrp £49 - is currently wedged at a top bid of a whopping 600 pence.

Never mind, it's all cash I wouldn't otherwise have, and has ...

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Training is continuing apace

Round trip to Dulwich Village yesterday - roughly 8km in total. Not bad for a skinny legged freak who only started jogging again three weeks ago. Starting to believe I can do this. Not so sure about my fellow 'team mates' though; of the five of us, I would say our chances of making it to the starting line are thus:

Me: 95% (barring injury or other catastrophe)
Euan: 95% (as above)
Coco: 90% ...

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Team name required

If you were doing a 10,000 km road trip with your beloved other half, what would you call yourselves?

Utterly devoid of inspiration - winning choice gets, err, the person's name on the side of the car or something. When we get a car.

good times

I'm currently selling my first item on Ebay. The rush is amazing - the price has rocketed from a starting price of £0.01 on Sunday, to a whopping £1.20 by this evening! Who knows what heady heights my Klippan 4 seater sofa cover will have scaled by the time the auction ends in a week....

In other news - positive vibes coming from our 'new' rally about the vehicle choices, and the discovery that ...

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still running y'know

Oh yeah, and I have run 11km so far this week (over two sessions) in preparation for the half marathon. Roughly doing 50% of the distance I apparently should be at this point (if the official 7 mile training run taking place on Sunday is anything to go by).

Pah.

I laugh in the face of well defined training schedules, choosing instead to go for the "run a little bit further each time" method. Seems to work. I'll get round anyway. Only gotta run 3 times further than I did tonight and I'll be almost there.

Vehicle rules for our "original" Charity Rally finally released...

We can basically take a commercial van or truck, or find an additional USD 2500 to cover import tax on any of the vehicles that, in my mind, I thought would be ideal - i.e. 4x4s

I have been fannying about, unsure about making the switch to the rival rally until these vehicle rules were confirmed, but feel comfortable now that we're making the right decision. The prospect of trying to get one of ...

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my 800th post

I could use the occasion to tell you something momentous, fascinating or exciting, but instead I will use the platform to advise that I think I have a hernia. It sort of makes sense - weird lumpy bit in my side, starting to be painful since I went running this evening, and it only appeared after I spent the weekend hoiking furniture around my mum's new house. Well, it's either that or I'm just ...

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Best of British

My extensive research on Ebay this evening has led me to the conclusion that the only make of car that it will be possible to get for around a hundred bucks is a Rover 400.

This is no bad thing, combining as it does middle-management semi-luxury, a sense of patriotism and just the right amount of - well - shitness to satisfy the 'banger aspect' of the rally. I am keen to find a car that needs ...

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72 days

until the Reading Half Marathon. The Reading Half marathon, which I am entered in, and competing alongside 5 of my friends. That's only 10 weeks, and my legs are hurting after a 3.5 km jog on Tuesday. I would have gone out again this evening, but the snow has turned to sheet ice and, whilst a broken ankle may be a good idea nearer the time, it's not high on my list of priorities for the time ...

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Cars for courses

Hmm, a new rally, a new issue when it comes to finding a vehicle. Honestly, you'd think they were trying to make us work for the privilege or something.

Been trawling Ebay this evening for something that fits the critieria of our "new" (as yet unsigned up for, but the decision has been made. I think) rally.... No older than 1998, but costing no more than £100.

It is, as you may expect, a bit ...

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Home from school early

The view from my window and the time it's been posted to the blog tell you that the snow has arrived in my corner of South London - and not before time. I was starting to get jealous of the hysterical news reports from all points of the UK. Thankfully, I expected it and managed to purchase a pair of trackie bottoms yesterday before trialling them last night - so Reading Half Marathon training has officially started! 10 weeks til I take to the streets and alleyways of Reading to prove I can do it, beat my friends, and hopefully raise a bit of cash towards the Mongol Rally....

Happy 2010!

Here's hoping it's suitably epic for all of us. In a good way, obviously.

(wo)man down!

Things have not been progressing particularly on the rally front. Bureaucracy, unrealistic (in my book) requirements from the organisers and radio silence in response to my queries have not filled us with confidence.

Somewhat predictably, none of the major vehicle manufacturers wanted to know or help, despite the fact we were only asking for the odd contact name of firms who might be able to ...

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