East Peckham Parish Magazine Jan 2012
In recent weeks a rather special Hyundai Accent has been seen driving around the Village. Originally a pale-blue car more suited for a pensioner to use for the occasional trip to the doctors in Paddock Wood, it is slowly morphing into a vehicle more suitable for undertaking the 10,000-mile drive to Mongolia. The arduous journey will incorporate five mountain ranges and three deserts, and will be routed through France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan – and Russia again – before entering Mongolia from the north. The three drivers are raising valuable funds for The Hospice In The Weald, St John’s Hospice, Wirral and the Lotus Children’s Charitable Trust in Ulaanbaatar, and would like to thank Hyundai \ Tunbridge Wells – and other local businesses including Heavenly Glaze – for their valued support. Sponsorship is still required and the car’s bonnet can be signed for a charitable donation. Due to leave Goodwood in July 2012, the trip is expected to take around six weeks and it is hoped that the route can be followed live at Barsley’s Department Store and at Brookside Nursery. The vehicle is available to local groups to view by appointment. When asked the all-important question ‘Why?’ the answer was simple. ‘Why Not? - It will be an adventure that not only benefits local charities but will also provide the opportunity to push ones personal limits.’ Aged 63, 62 and 53 respectively, the three Adventurists feel that their experience will more than counter the youthful enthusiasm of the other teams.
An International Car Club \ TRDC
A mention in the text, not once but twice!
14th November 2011
A permanent mention on the homepage of UK-Hyundai Accent Club’s website… www.UKHAC.co.uk
ShACC Newsletter
[Shropshire Alternative Car Club] www.eleventowns.com/shacc.html
So where exactly are we? The easy answer is around 260 days away – and counting down. Those watching our progress on www.team-phoenix.co.uk will also have the benefit of a countdown clock, accurate to the second.
Since ‘winning’ the place in the Mongol Rally at the end of September things in the command centre have been fraught. The thick A4 pad with lists of things to do is filling at a rapid rate of knots, and scraps of paper scrawled with a number of possible routes to Ulaanbaatar are pinned in the back with a huge paper clip.
Decisions, so many decisions. Do we want to cross into Russia using the unreliable Black Sea car-ferry from Trabzon on the north Turkish coast, or head further east and traverse Iran and the other ’stan countries? The answer rather depends on whether we want to enter Mongolia through the western-most border crossing – something that will require driving over 1000km of rough semi-paved washboard surfaces capable of shaking the car apart before the finish – or use the more vehicle-friendly northern route to Ulaanbaatar from Russia.
It’s all a question of balance, of deliberating pros and cons. Taking the Iranian route would allow us a quick visit to see The Gates Of Hell, the result of an accident whilst the Russians were drilling for oil in Darvasa, western Turkmanistan over thirty-five years ago, and it would also allow us great opportunities to photograph the rally car – itself no more than a sub-1200cc granny-mobile – parked alongside the rusting hulks of redundant fishing vessels stranded in dunes on what used to be the bed of the Aral Sea before it was turned into one of the worst man-made ecological disasters of all time; a toxic dust bowl contaminated by a cocktail of pesticides and increased salinity.
Putting the route to one side clears a bit of mental desk space: by default it also resolves the need to start worrying about Visas leaving a void to be instantly filled by yet another problem, that of a suitable car. The requirement levied by the authorities in Ulaanbaatar dictated that the vehicle should be registered after January 1st 2003, and have a displacement of less than 1200cc. Effectively, that means a Nissan Micra, a Ford Ka – or possibly a Ford Fiesta, a Renault Clio, a Citroen Saxo or even a nice VW Golf. Or anything found in the small Hyundai\Suzuki\Kia range of cars. We need to keep our powder dry – and our fingers crossed: whilst low-mileage examples of such vehicles are readily available on eBay for around £700 we decided to approach a Main Agent for help instead. Nodding a tacit approval, we were then advised that he’d ‘kick it upstairs to the manufacturer.’ Watch this space, or our website, for their decision!
Meanwhile, a co-driver has been seconded: mature [but not as mature as me] he’s a self-employed mechanic with family living in Switzerland – something that will undoubtedly help to determine the first part of our route.
Finally there’s a dedicated website to develop, a never-ending learning curve that couldn’t have been undertaken without the help of an Internet friend. New pages are being added daily, the latest being a ‘wish-list’. It’s a list that makes grim reading unless we get help from our friends: items range from something as simple as water purification tablets to things as complex as a Mass Air Sensor – whatever that is – and uprated springs, a sump-guard and emergency flares. Carrying the latter in a vehicle brings yet another problem. Are we allowed to carry what could be considered to be explosives in a car if we decide to cross the Channel with Eurostar?
Being the Team Manager is rewarding [it has already cost me the best part of £1000 to set up]. Driving the rally will be equally exhilarating and provide an unforgettable experience whilst, at the same time, raise money for two worthwhile charities – The Lotus Children’s Trust and The Hospice In The Weald. We have no regrets about selling our TR7\V8 to fund the project and, after Christmas, sponsorship forms will be circulated around local shops and businesses. Is £0.005\mile too much to ask? www.theadventurists.com