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.

I’m not a statistician, but I don’t think Mongolia’s ‘roads’ are much rougher than anywhere else.  My guess is that the vehicles have basically just had enough by this stage.  Frankly, after 9,000 miles on an XT125′s razorblade saddle it’ll be a miracle if I make it past the Mongolian border, if I get there at all.  Now where did I pack the Preparation H?

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 to Kerala in 2007 and the Himalayas in 2009.  Pity they’re not coming too, we’d have a ball…

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 Travel Guides: Kazakhstan
 Bradt Travel Guides: Mongolia

I’ve had to read and learn them ‘cos there’s no chance of taking them with.  I’d never even get up the first hill with a public library on the back.

Posted from London, England, United Kingdom.

I was in London on business today and afterwards went and bought a few maps from Stanfords so we can start planning the route!  I can’t even spell Kyrgyzstan, never mind find it on a map….

Posted from Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.

“A journey of ten thousand miles begins with a single click of the mouse.”
- after the Chinese philosopher, Laozi

It all seems a bit surreal, but after trying to get on the Mongol Rally on and off since about 2007, I’ve finally managed to bag a place on the 2012 event.  Now I’ve just got to explain it to the wife…