Preparation | Mongolia Five - The Mongol Rally 2011

Preparation

August19th

WE DID IT!

Posted in: Preparation

Well after 3 weeks of foot to floor driving across Europe and into Asia (we drove to bloomin ASIA?!) we made it to Mongolia and Sheila is in Mongolia about to begin her new life. We’re all obviously pretty knackered and desperate to spend some time with our families after what was a total TOTAL rollercoaster. We’re writing our diaries up, the pics are being edited and the video is in the cutting room. We’ll be posting it all up here over the next few weeks so keep checking out the site. If you didn’t follow our twitter feed whilst we were out there, it’s worth a read

Check out our GPS login map too, an amazing sight.

A big big BIG thankyou to everyone who supported us on the rally. Our sponsors were total legends and the support from friends and family was simply unbelievable, thank you all so so much. The Breakthrough Breast Cancer pot is going to remain open for a while as we have a few more little fundraisers planned. Plenty of post coming. See you soon. x
June30th

The Home Straight

Posted in: Fundraising, Preparation, Sponsors

Well and truly on the home straight now, and after what’s been a tough couple of months in terms of getting our team together, we decided to get together last Sunday for a barbecue and some final prep. After truly terrible weather in Manchester for the whole week, the omens looked good when the sun came out and gave us the hottest day of the year so far.

It was a day of firsts. The first time Nick or Ben had met Kelly, the first time we’d ever all been together in Sheila as team when she was actually moving and the first time Kelly had driven her at all. We took some pictures, we ate some burgers and we all got a bit worried about the heat – it was sweaty in Manchester. It’s going to be an oven in Kazakhstan. No matter, we’re tough!

Also important is for us to give a huge shout out to our two latest financial sponsors who have been incredibly generous in partnering up with us to help with our costs. Weightmans Liverpool and Lawrence Clarke Limited both now have their logos proudly displayed for all to see on the side of our beloved Sheila. Guys, thank you so much – we wouldn’t be able to do this without your generosity.

On a completely separate note, we have two (yes TWO!) Mongolia Five parties organised prior to our departure, both to raise more money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. If you fancy giving your liver a bit of a workout whilst supporting a great charity, then you can bob along to either the Dee Sailing Club, Station Road, Wirral on Friday July 8th at 7.30 pm or The Junction Pub, Green Lane, Middleton, Manchester on Saturday July 16th from 8pm. Both of these events are limited ticket only – please get hold of us either on Facebook or using our contact form for details on how to get yours.

Finally, we’re still a bit desperate for gear and kit. Please take a moment to check over our wish list. If you’ve anything to give, then let us know.

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June20th

We Bloody Love Renault Manchester

Posted in: Preparation

We’ve had a recent problem with Sheila in that she’s been cutting out in 3rd, 4th and 5th gear. Not exactly a killer problem, but enough to make us a bit anxious about taking her out on long journeys here, never mind 9,000 miles through deserts and mountains. A bit of a look around the internet had suggested something that was a) serious and b) potentially expensive.

So it was with some trepidation that we took her to Renault Manchester to get her checked over. The news came back from Ben on the phone…

“She needs £1400 worth of work doing…” Cue swearing, and a sinking feeling that this might be the end for the mighty Mongolia Five.

“…that Renault have offered to do completely for free” Cue fist pumping joy, much to the bemusement of my wife. The relief.

And so, Sheila’s been fixed right up by Ken and the team over there. Not only fixed up, oh no, but they’ve given us a load of spares: tyres, weld, various oils and fluids, bulbs, gloves – tons of stuff. They’ve even upgraded our stereo to CD! We absolutely cannot thank the guys enough. Our baby is singing again, and it’s all down to Renault Manchester. God bless them!
June13th

*Drum Roll* Ta-Da! Meet Kelly!

Posted in: Preparation

Yay! Our 5th place in the rally is complete. Local West Kirby girl Kelly has signed up to join us on the Mongol Rally 2011. After Jonnay’s departure we were looking for someone to take his place and come with us on the 10,000 mile journey. I’m made up to have someone who has the same ethos and drive that we do for fundraising and a bit of adventure. Kelly’s written a few words about why she signed up over at her team page.

So now the race is on to get visas sorted and fingers crossed everything goes to plan and we’ll be journeying with our new adventurer! I really need to update the team photos! Hopefully next weekend we’ll be able to meet for the day and have a natter and do some photos.
June8th

New Sponsor Campaign Launch!

Posted in: Preparation, Sponsors

Well we’re in 5th gear now. A mere 47 days til we start ‘The Festival of Slow’ at Goodwood Racetrack. The race to find another team mate to replace Mr Jonny Hummer is go and hopefully we’ll be able to make an announcement later today.

The bigger race is to make sure we’ve got enough sponsorship cash to fund the trip. We’re still short of around £5000. Yesterday we launched our IndieGoGo campaign. Indiegogo is not only a simple easy way of businesses/organisations getting involved with us (in exchange for some amazing advertising and press coverage), but also for individuals to donate something a bit smaller and it reaches people across the world who are interested in funding great projects. Within 4 hours we had $100 donated. Fantastic.

So please, go check out our new campaign and particularly what we offer in return.
June4th

Say Hello to our newest team mate!

Posted in: Preparation, Team

Hey, everyone just a quick update… Meet our newest team mate Chris Thomas. Chris has stepped up to the challenge of joining us on our 9000 mile trek. I’m especially pleased as Chris is my brother, Nicks cousin and there’s something pretty damn special about having him alongside me for this amazing journey. If we were the A-Team he would be Face for sure. You can read a bit about him on his page.

Nick and Ben came down with Sheila to West Kirby on the Wirral where Chris and I live last week to say hello, chat and finalise a few things. Great getting together and trying to work out ways of solving some of the issues we’ve got to contend with prior to the rally (more fundraising, more sponsorship).

We’ll be announcing another important announcement relating to sponsorship next week. Some amazing opportunities at affordable rates with a simple and easy process. Keep your eyes peeled.

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May31st

Nice Piece In The Chronicle

Posted in: Ambulance, Articles, Featured, Preparation

We did a photo shoot for the Oldham Chronicle a while back, and after much checking and re-checking their site, didn’t notice a story. So, we’d kind of given up hope of seeing our pics in there until Ben’s colleague noticed our piece in there a couple of days ago. It’s a really nice piece too, and we’re very grateful to Lewis Jones for running it.

We’ve actually had over £100 in donations off the back of this one story, so it’s clear that good exposure like this makes a real difference in the amount of money we raise Click on the image to enlarge, or see the story online here.
May15th

Michael Meacher MP Offers His Support

Posted in: Preparation

Very heartening to get a lovely email of support from Michael Meacher, MP for Oldham West & Royton which is Nick’s constituency. Michael, who’s been an MP on Oldham for over 30 years and occupied ministerial positions in the government during this time had this to say about our trip:

There are some very special reasons for supporting this imaginative fund-raising charity – the uniqueness of a 9,000 mile race from Goodwood in Sussex to Ulaanbataar in Mongolia, a challenge and an ordeal that must be as testing as any, and the avowed purpose of getting men committed to the fight against breast cancer. All families have an interest in this, and it deserves the widest backing.

We’re extremely grateful for this endorsement from such a prominent member of Nick’s local community. Michael’s blog can be read here
May7th

Do YOU Want To Come With Us?

Posted in: Preparation

With the recent news that Kieron can’t make the rally this year, we’re a driver and teammate down. As time is very much of the essence with visas and preparation already in an advanced stage, we’re looking for someone to replace him.

The Mongol Rally isn’t your average road trip. We’ve come up with these requirements for anyone who thinks they may be the man or woman to replace Kieron. Read More | Comments
May7th

Kieron Bows Out

Posted in: Preparation

Pretty gutted today really with the news that Kieron now won’t be joining us on the rally, we’d looked forward to his considerable skills at bacon sandwich creation. Many reasons for this, but with a beautiful new daughter in his life we realise his priorities need to be with her and his family.

K will always be part of our team, and we simply couldn’t have made it this far without his input.

So, we move on. We need a new team mate. You’ll see some details of this on the site very soon if you fancy it.