“Darling, I’m planning to take a trip in 2011 ……. It may take a little longer than you’d expect!”

When your best friend sends you a message about a “trip” abroad, it doesn’t seem that unusual. When he mentions Mongolia it takes on a new, exotic twist. When he says, “Oh, and we are going to drive it!” you need a bit of time to think it over. It was the shortest 10 second thought process of my life “I’m in!” With that, our trip to Mongolia stopped being a flash in the pan idea and became an all consuming adventure. You need to do something in your life that leaves a mark and says “I was here” Doing it for our charities is that mark!

I’m 32 and living on the outskirts of Manchester with my lovely, not to mention very patient, wife. I work for an IT Solutions Provider, which means I’m a geek and I get paid for it, normally to be found surrounded by tools and elbow deep in some form of computer. In an attempt to translate these skills into something that benefits the team I am in charge of the vehicle, may your chosen deity watch over us, no ….. seriously. I love to tinker but, for the purpose of the entire 10,000 miles I will adhere completely to the “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” school of motoring mechanics.

When we all met up for the first time to discuss the rally we knew this was going to happen, failure is really not an option, not only from a personal point of view, but for our chosen charity, Breast Cancer Research. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a story about a relative or close friend who has not been affected by this killer disease. If the money we raise goes to stop one family losing a mother, daughter or sister then 10,000 miles will be a tiny journey to make.