The Planning

Posted from England, United Kingdom.I’m a sucker for gadgets.  Well show me a man who isn’t? I read the various postings from guys on previous Rallies who’d used this Spot Tracker and GPS Messenger, and I decided we needed one too.  It’s a neat bit of kit which cost us around £200 with a year’s subscription, so your mates can see your … Continue reading »

Posted from United Kingdom.Went down Cotswold Outdoor in Solihull this morning and bought this Primus Omnifuel stove.  Seemed like a good idea to have some means of cooking / heating stuff up whilst we’re on the road, but I have no doubt that it’ll be a minor miracle if I manage to make as much as a cup of tea … Continue reading »

Posted from England, United Kingdom.Just had a lime green mankini off the daughters for Xmas.  Apparently I’ve got to wear it in Kazakhstan for some reason? Oh, and I got a very useful Mongolian phrase book from my son, Harry.  He’s so thoughtful.  At least I can now say in Mongolian, “I have serious diarrhoea, where … Continue reading »

Posted from Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.I’ve now got all the equipment we’ll need.  That means the musical airhorns and a spork. Oh, and a tent together with a couple of Ortlieb bags (49 litre and 89 litre) to go on the back.        

Posted from Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.Just had a stomach-wrenching moment, as you do.  Well, quite a few, to be honest.  More of an episode, really.  I’d read this blog on The Adventurists website (you can see it here) about previous participants who’ve done the Rally by motorbike. The bit that got me was, “Of the more … Continue reading »

Posted from Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.Just treated myself to a ludicrously expensive Victorinox multitool off Amazon.  It cost nearly as much as the bike.  If I don’t get to fix anything with it at least I’ll be able to prise stones out of yaks’ hooves.                    

Posted from Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.Kevin’s persuaded me to buy an airbed rather than an expanding mat thingy.  His rationale is that although it’s bulkier, it’ll give you a better night’s sleep.  I hate camping anyway, so I’ll probably end up using it to float across Mongolian rivers.          

Posted from Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.Interesting blog came through from The Adventurists, with statistics of the 2011 Rally.  You can read the full details here, but basically if a team failed to finish for whatever reason, their demise was far more likley to occur in Mongolia than in the all of the rest of the various countries en route put together. … Continue reading »

Posted from York, England, United Kingdom.Had an overnight at Kev and Jackie’s, supposedly doing a bit of route planning.  More a chance to find out how Jackie felt about Kevin disappearing for seven weeks next July.   Went out later to the pub and met the guys from the motorcycling trips we’ve been on with Blazing Trails … Continue reading »

Posted from Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.I’ve thrown myself right into this piece of idiocy and ordered a shedload of travel guides off Amazon.  These are what I’ve had so far:-  Insight Guides: Silk Road  Odyssey Guides: Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Bukhara, Khiva and the Golden Road to Samarkand  Bradt Travel Guides: Turkmenistan  Bradt Travel Guides: Kyrgyzstan  Bradt … Continue reading »