Half day tomorrow!!! Will be in the pub by 2, down at the rugby for about 6 or 7, and stumbling around south London by about 10-ish, I imagine.
Peter "The Claw" Clohessy heads up our motely crew of Irish Legends, journeymen and never-quites against Martin Corry's rag-tag bunch of coppers, bankers and estate agents at the Stoop, home of Harlequins, tomorrow night.
A perfect build up to the main event on Saturday, but not so to the week long Project Management course I'm on next week. My pre-reading is now going to be done on Sunday, as is my 18k run and arranging of an MOT for the car. Oh, and the trip to Halfords to buy a new battery and windscreen wiper before its big day. Day of rest my arse.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Bruges?!
One other "minor" point - I'm off to feckin' Bruges at some point in the next few months!
Directly inspired by the film, and aided by J winning two free tickets on Eurostar at the Adventure Travel Live show a few weeks back, we're off to Belgium! Woot!
Directly inspired by the film, and aided by J winning two free tickets on Eurostar at the Adventure Travel Live show a few weeks back, we're off to Belgium! Woot!
Quick update
As it's Sunday and I am taking a break at my mum's between red wine and post-dinner g&t, I felt the time was right to give a quick update on where things are in general.
Half marathon - ran 17.25km on Friday night, largely unintentionally but was aiming for 15 and mapmyrun.com is apparently not overly concerned with accuracy. Pretty chuffed, and barring any major mishaps or attacks of laziness over the next month, I should be sitting (definitely sitting) with a grin on my face this time 4 weeks, reflecting on a job done. I even managed to get wolf-whistled by a Fiat 126 at a set of traffic lights as I trotted along the South Circular - I am not only a running machine, but apparently an attractive one.
Rally - not progressed much since the joy of getting the first donation faded into the mist on Tuesday. Was out on Thursday and running on Friday, and have been at my mum's house all weekend hence not much going on. I'm reasonably comfortable that we know what needs to be done and in roughly what order though, and none of the other teams appear to be that much further progressed than us. Looks like we're going to have to find about £700-900 for the van; work couldn't help (unsurprising in the current climate) and to be honest I can't see any other company being in a position to help out. Just need to keep saving and hoping and asking!
Other shizzle - our friends Pino & Stella managed to buy a flat last week, which is brilliant news; not only do they get somewhere they can call home to raise their young family, but their rented place near the park might be available to a plucky young Irishman and his lovely girlfriend. Fingers crossed I may have some exciting home related news soon.
Apart from that, apologies in advance if you don't see many updates over the next few weeks - got a 'mare of a fortnight ahead work wise (including a week-long course next week, for which I have to do 20 hours of pre-reading - either I somehow shoehorn in 4 hours a night from Monday to Friday, or I have a very boring weekend ahead of me. Given I'm taking a half day on Friday to go to the England vs Ireland Legends game at the Stoop, I'd really rather get the bulk of it out of the way during the week. I also have to fit a couple of 10k runs, some rally publicising and a visit to check out the aforementioned flat around it. Bring on mid-March!
Half marathon - ran 17.25km on Friday night, largely unintentionally but was aiming for 15 and mapmyrun.com is apparently not overly concerned with accuracy. Pretty chuffed, and barring any major mishaps or attacks of laziness over the next month, I should be sitting (definitely sitting) with a grin on my face this time 4 weeks, reflecting on a job done. I even managed to get wolf-whistled by a Fiat 126 at a set of traffic lights as I trotted along the South Circular - I am not only a running machine, but apparently an attractive one.
Rally - not progressed much since the joy of getting the first donation faded into the mist on Tuesday. Was out on Thursday and running on Friday, and have been at my mum's house all weekend hence not much going on. I'm reasonably comfortable that we know what needs to be done and in roughly what order though, and none of the other teams appear to be that much further progressed than us. Looks like we're going to have to find about £700-900 for the van; work couldn't help (unsurprising in the current climate) and to be honest I can't see any other company being in a position to help out. Just need to keep saving and hoping and asking!
Other shizzle - our friends Pino & Stella managed to buy a flat last week, which is brilliant news; not only do they get somewhere they can call home to raise their young family, but their rented place near the park might be available to a plucky young Irishman and his lovely girlfriend. Fingers crossed I may have some exciting home related news soon.
Apart from that, apologies in advance if you don't see many updates over the next few weeks - got a 'mare of a fortnight ahead work wise (including a week-long course next week, for which I have to do 20 hours of pre-reading - either I somehow shoehorn in 4 hours a night from Monday to Friday, or I have a very boring weekend ahead of me. Given I'm taking a half day on Friday to go to the England vs Ireland Legends game at the Stoop, I'd really rather get the bulk of it out of the way during the week. I also have to fit a couple of 10k runs, some rally publicising and a visit to check out the aforementioned flat around it. Bring on mid-March!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
brain freeze
Cripes. Finally got down 'n' dirty with a bit of rally organising admin this evening. I have constructed a highly professional looking spreadsheet with columns and numbers and lists.
So far have discovered that we shouldn't need any jabs, as long as we have diphtheria and hepatitis A vaccinations... Do we? Who knows. Sounds easy enough to sort at any rate.
Visas, on the other hand....
We have a rough idea of a route, designed to allow us to get to Ulaan Baatar in the limited time we have available without stressing - take the Black Sea to the north, head through Ukraine, into Russia, over into Kazakhstan, a wee detour round Uzbekistan, east to Kyrgyzstan, back to Kazakhstan, up into Southern Russia once more and finally across into Mongolia. On the way back, our plan is to take the train back to Moscow and fly back to London. Sounds great, eh?
Unfortunately, so far my attempts to understand if we can get a triple-entry visa for Russia and a double entry visa for Kazakhstan have just confused me. I'm cross-eyed in a sea of 'transit visas', 'tourist visas', 'letters of introduction', rules, regulations and red tape. I'm not sure we can get more than a double entry visa for Russia without applying for a Business visa (at more than 4 times the price) - all of which means that, perversely, it may prove "simpler" and more economical to change our route to South of the Black Sea - and head through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
Got to be honest - I've had more depressing dilemmas!
So far have discovered that we shouldn't need any jabs, as long as we have diphtheria and hepatitis A vaccinations... Do we? Who knows. Sounds easy enough to sort at any rate.
Visas, on the other hand....
We have a rough idea of a route, designed to allow us to get to Ulaan Baatar in the limited time we have available without stressing - take the Black Sea to the north, head through Ukraine, into Russia, over into Kazakhstan, a wee detour round Uzbekistan, east to Kyrgyzstan, back to Kazakhstan, up into Southern Russia once more and finally across into Mongolia. On the way back, our plan is to take the train back to Moscow and fly back to London. Sounds great, eh?
Unfortunately, so far my attempts to understand if we can get a triple-entry visa for Russia and a double entry visa for Kazakhstan have just confused me. I'm cross-eyed in a sea of 'transit visas', 'tourist visas', 'letters of introduction', rules, regulations and red tape. I'm not sure we can get more than a double entry visa for Russia without applying for a Business visa (at more than 4 times the price) - all of which means that, perversely, it may prove "simpler" and more economical to change our route to South of the Black Sea - and head through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
Got to be honest - I've had more depressing dilemmas!
Rain stops pain
I've been pretty committed to training for the half marathon since the New Year - which seems like an eternity ago even though it's probably only been about 6 weeks.
Not tonight, however. For verily London doth splutter and bubble under a downpour of biblical / Glaswegian proportions. It was chucking it down on my way to work, continued all day, and is still pishing now. Every pavement is flooded, it's pitch dark and I am soaked through. Not even my free London Marathon reject jacket can save me this evening.
So I'm taking a, err, rain-check. Feel guilty, which is a bit pathetic, but instead will use the time to try and get some more rally sorted.... Every cloud....
Not tonight, however. For verily London doth splutter and bubble under a downpour of biblical / Glaswegian proportions. It was chucking it down on my way to work, continued all day, and is still pishing now. Every pavement is flooded, it's pitch dark and I am soaked through. Not even my free London Marathon reject jacket can save me this evening.
So I'm taking a, err, rain-check. Feel guilty, which is a bit pathetic, but instead will use the time to try and get some more rally sorted.... Every cloud....
Monday, February 15, 2010
A journey of a thousand miles....
...begins with the first step. Or "Steppe" (sorry). Or - two quid.
We have our first donation to the rally charity!!
Ok, so it was from one of the organisers, kick starting our efforts with some 'seed money' - but out of tiny acorns, etc...
Was really nice of him, and great to get the fundraising underway after what seems like an interminable amount of time spent thinking "we need to get the website sorted out".
Full launch (i.e. blanket email) to follow, but in the meantime - you are my missionaries! Go back to your villages and spread the word! We're up, we're running (thankfully only metaphorically this evening) and we're on our way to Ulaan Baatar!
http://www.justgiving.com/steppebysteppe
We have our first donation to the rally charity!!
Ok, so it was from one of the organisers, kick starting our efforts with some 'seed money' - but out of tiny acorns, etc...
Was really nice of him, and great to get the fundraising underway after what seems like an interminable amount of time spent thinking "we need to get the website sorted out".
Full launch (i.e. blanket email) to follow, but in the meantime - you are my missionaries! Go back to your villages and spread the word! We're up, we're running (thankfully only metaphorically this evening) and we're on our way to Ulaan Baatar!
http://www.justgiving.com/steppebysteppe
Ever wondered what pain looked like when plotted on a graph?
Allow me to demonstrate.....
I have drawn blood through thigh chafe. Blood!
I've had to lather Sudocrem on it to soothe the pain. Sudocrem!
I had to pretend I was a babyfather when buying the creme in Tesco, just to hide the embarrassment. But then I had to hobble out like an 80 year old John Wayne and they knew. They knew.
It'd better be worth it. As had the £22 I'm about to invest in a pair of Nike lycra running shorts.
See That Tattie Prance
I have drawn blood through thigh chafe. Blood!
I've had to lather Sudocrem on it to soothe the pain. Sudocrem!
I had to pretend I was a babyfather when buying the creme in Tesco, just to hide the embarrassment. But then I had to hobble out like an 80 year old John Wayne and they knew. They knew.
It'd better be worth it. As had the £22 I'm about to invest in a pair of Nike lycra running shorts.
See That Tattie Prance
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Going nowhere fast
cripes, things are moving at a snail's pace on the organisation front. It suddenly doesn't seem like such a good idea to be doing a half marathon whilst simultaneously trying to make time to get rally goodness sorted.
For the record, I'm now up to 8-10km runs without too much bother, with 5 weeks to go until the race. What that means in reality is that during the week, it's pushing 9.30pm by the time I get home from work, stretch, run, shower and eat - which doesn't leave much time for anything else if I want to drag my aching, aging bones to bed at a reasonable, pre-midnight, hour.
Excuses, excuses. I did manage to cobble together a quick list of stuff to organise today - now all I need to do is work out how long each one will take, stick it in a spreadsheet and we might have what conceivably could be called "a plan".
I guess we just have to take it..... Steppe By Steppe
(*cut to freeze frame of me, thumbs up, grinning like a cock; roll theme tune; run credits*)
For the record, I'm now up to 8-10km runs without too much bother, with 5 weeks to go until the race. What that means in reality is that during the week, it's pushing 9.30pm by the time I get home from work, stretch, run, shower and eat - which doesn't leave much time for anything else if I want to drag my aching, aging bones to bed at a reasonable, pre-midnight, hour.
Excuses, excuses. I did manage to cobble together a quick list of stuff to organise today - now all I need to do is work out how long each one will take, stick it in a spreadsheet and we might have what conceivably could be called "a plan".
I guess we just have to take it..... Steppe By Steppe
(*cut to freeze frame of me, thumbs up, grinning like a cock; roll theme tune; run credits*)
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Our actual theme tune....
Take a bow, Mr Jesse Winchester
No apologies if you haven't yet seen the first season of The Wire. Your fault, not mine.
all in the game, y'all
No apologies if you haven't yet seen the first season of The Wire. Your fault, not mine.
all in the game, y'all
One small Steppe
Yep, that pun will be done to death over the next few months....
I sent my first begging email today - well, discounting the few that we fired off as a threesome to several disinterested vehicle manufacturers in the run up to Christmas. Pretty good going that it's only take us a further month and a bit to get round to following it up.
I got in touch with our Asset Finance division this afternoon, in the hope they might have access to an old van they could sell us. I have my expectations firmly set to "pessimistic" but at least I won't be wondering if there's anything they can do for us anymore. I'm imagining asking for anything for free is out the window in these crunched days, but we live in hope someone might at least be willing to sell us stuff at cost price.
Next up - getting the charity site up and running. Have a whole evening to myself tomorrow night so hopefully might be in a decent position to start begging people for cash soonish. Really must start making lists. I hear they help.
Oh, and our Steppe by Steppe blog is registered... I'm finding it hard to let go, albeit temporarily, of STTR though, so have yet to post anything. That, and the fact that Gav has stuck a spanner in the works by suggesting another couple of names we may still change to. Curses.
I sent my first begging email today - well, discounting the few that we fired off as a threesome to several disinterested vehicle manufacturers in the run up to Christmas. Pretty good going that it's only take us a further month and a bit to get round to following it up.
I got in touch with our Asset Finance division this afternoon, in the hope they might have access to an old van they could sell us. I have my expectations firmly set to "pessimistic" but at least I won't be wondering if there's anything they can do for us anymore. I'm imagining asking for anything for free is out the window in these crunched days, but we live in hope someone might at least be willing to sell us stuff at cost price.
Next up - getting the charity site up and running. Have a whole evening to myself tomorrow night so hopefully might be in a decent position to start begging people for cash soonish. Really must start making lists. I hear they help.
Oh, and our Steppe by Steppe blog is registered... I'm finding it hard to let go, albeit temporarily, of STTR though, so have yet to post anything. That, and the fact that Gav has stuck a spanner in the works by suggesting another couple of names we may still change to. Curses.
Monday, February 08, 2010
All the good ones are taken
phooey. Turns out there're a couple of Aussies doing an even more epic trip than us, who have adopted the Steppe by Steppe moniker and are already out there, pedalling round Central Asia on a 4 wheeled trike. But, it being our 4th attempt at coming up with a team name, we're not changing now. We've already ditched "One Steppe Beyond" - my personal favourite (well, after Ulaan Book Tour, which was just inspired) - and to be honest, with less than 150 days to go and absolutely hee haw started as yet, we have more important things to focus on. Cars, money, routes, visas, that kina thing.
So apologies, original Steppe by Steppers - we're staying with the name unless some sort of inspiration hits us very quickly. We'll just have to share. Bet you haven't had a minor New Kids on the Block hit stuck in your head for the past 2 days though.
STEP ONE! We can have lots of fun...
STEP TWO! There's so much we can do....
(it's like it was written just for us)
So apologies, original Steppe by Steppers - we're staying with the name unless some sort of inspiration hits us very quickly. We'll just have to share. Bet you haven't had a minor New Kids on the Block hit stuck in your head for the past 2 days though.
STEP ONE! We can have lots of fun...
STEP TWO! There's so much we can do....
(it's like it was written just for us)
Sunday, February 07, 2010
We have a ready made theme tune
hmmm. Maybe the team name is more naff than I thought on Friday night...
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Steppe by Steppe
Right. After much deliberation, confusion, soul-searching and general faffing, we've finally done it. We've decided on a team name.
This is our fourth and final name choice. Our original two were based on unrealistic ideas of what vehicle we might take, and our third - borrowing heavily from a classic Madness tune - was ditched following a Google search which revealed another team making the long journey East this summer had already claimed it.
So allow me to introduce Team Steppe By Steppe. Currently we have no vehicle, no sponsorship, no route and no idea where to start. We do, however, have a bloody-minded determination to roll out of Highbury Fields on July 10 and into Ulaan Baatar at some point in early August via some of the most amazing scenery and experiences that the world has left to offer. Bring it on!
This is our fourth and final name choice. Our original two were based on unrealistic ideas of what vehicle we might take, and our third - borrowing heavily from a classic Madness tune - was ditched following a Google search which revealed another team making the long journey East this summer had already claimed it.
So allow me to introduce Team Steppe By Steppe. Currently we have no vehicle, no sponsorship, no route and no idea where to start. We do, however, have a bloody-minded determination to roll out of Highbury Fields on July 10 and into Ulaan Baatar at some point in early August via some of the most amazing scenery and experiences that the world has left to offer. Bring it on!
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Adventure! Travel! Live!
Last Saturday saw my team mate and me get, err, lost in central London. I say "we" got lost, what I mean is "I" got us lost by misreading a map. Of Victoria. A familiar part of a city I've lived in for the past 7 years.
Bodes well for our trip of 10,000 km across 2 continents and about 7 time zones, doesn't it?
More encouragingly, the "Adventure Travel Live" show proved to be really useful as inspiration for our trip. Several of the talks covered overland expeditions and Central Asia / Mongolia, and the over-riding message was "anyone can do it with a bit of organisation - and everyone should do it". We came out buzzing and are in full on planning mode. So far, it's largely entailed looking for a vehicle on Ebay and getting a sore brain when I try to think of what else I should be doing. We have a self-imposed deadline of the weekend for getting the publicity on the go, by which time we fully intend to have a team name, at least.
The organisers of the Mongolia Charity Rally have been really helpful in the past few weeks in working with us to help us stay with them, which is really appreciated. Whilst the cost remains high (we're estimating about 4 grand so far for 'essentials' - where food and accomodation aren't classed as such), it's a once in a lifetime trip and it's 5 weeks on a road trip across half the world raising money for a good cause. It's not like we can conceivably do it for a couple of hundred quid each. We'll find the money somehow.
The one vehicle in the rules we've identified as a possible is the Ford Escort, which I assume is an Escort van. Really hopeful we can get one for under a grand; it's kind of perfect when you think about it. Bit in the back for all our stuff, even potential to sleep in it if entirely necessary, built tough as old boots for all those builders to use, and the same rough size as a car, which means it should be ok to manouevre. Fingers crossed!
There'll be more news soon on the team name, our fundraising and potentially (gulp) a new blog devoted to the blog. Is this the end for STTR? Will anyone notice? Stay tuned to find out!
Bodes well for our trip of 10,000 km across 2 continents and about 7 time zones, doesn't it?
More encouragingly, the "Adventure Travel Live" show proved to be really useful as inspiration for our trip. Several of the talks covered overland expeditions and Central Asia / Mongolia, and the over-riding message was "anyone can do it with a bit of organisation - and everyone should do it". We came out buzzing and are in full on planning mode. So far, it's largely entailed looking for a vehicle on Ebay and getting a sore brain when I try to think of what else I should be doing. We have a self-imposed deadline of the weekend for getting the publicity on the go, by which time we fully intend to have a team name, at least.
The organisers of the Mongolia Charity Rally have been really helpful in the past few weeks in working with us to help us stay with them, which is really appreciated. Whilst the cost remains high (we're estimating about 4 grand so far for 'essentials' - where food and accomodation aren't classed as such), it's a once in a lifetime trip and it's 5 weeks on a road trip across half the world raising money for a good cause. It's not like we can conceivably do it for a couple of hundred quid each. We'll find the money somehow.
The one vehicle in the rules we've identified as a possible is the Ford Escort, which I assume is an Escort van. Really hopeful we can get one for under a grand; it's kind of perfect when you think about it. Bit in the back for all our stuff, even potential to sleep in it if entirely necessary, built tough as old boots for all those builders to use, and the same rough size as a car, which means it should be ok to manouevre. Fingers crossed!
There'll be more news soon on the team name, our fundraising and potentially (gulp) a new blog devoted to the blog. Is this the end for STTR? Will anyone notice? Stay tuned to find out!
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