The
Mongol Rally pits teams of drivers against one another in a drive from
London to Ulan Bataar in Mongolia, in horrifically underpowered
vehicles crossing 10,000 miles - one quarter of the earth's surface,
including 4 mountain ranges, 2 deserts, and at least one country with
gilded statues of their presidents rotating on a turntable. More
important than the opportunity to witness a real live (well, such as it
is) ger, the Mongol Rally is a charitable endeavor to raise funds for
the wonderful if oddly named charity "Send A Cow", and a Mongolian
charity that is TBD. Team Newyorkistan needs your help in raising
funds - check it out.
The Route
The
Mongol Rally takes between three and four weeks to travel, and is
broken up into three routes - Northern, Middle and Southern. Team
Newyorkistan has decided on the Northern Route of the Rally, going
through England, France, Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia,
Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, and Mongolia.
Fun facts about the 2005 Mongol Rally (nicked from the official site. credit where credit's due.)
43 cars left London... 27 reached Mongolia...14 reached the finish in Ulaanbaatar. What else happened?
43 cars left London.
27 cars reached Mongolia.
14 cars reached the finish in Ulaanbaatar.
2 teams were robbed at knife point.
1 car snapped in half.
3 engines fell completely out of the cars.
1 team was held for 5 days in no-mans land.
1 team cycled 200km to get to the finish when their car gave in.
100's of tires were blown.
1 team got engaged.
1 team found a 10ft deep pot hole.
1 team found a 25 ton crane that had rolled due to a pot hole.
3 teams attended weddings
1 team had to reverse up a mountain after losing all bar one forward gear
1 person was stoned by a Mongolian nomad (who he then shot at with a gun)
1 team was rammed off the road after an argument over water melons.
1 person spent a day in a Turkish hospital.
3 people were banned from Turkmenistan for a year.
1 person was detained by police in Azerbaijan and threatened with a beating from a dwarf. This followed an incident with a cow.
2 cars flipped over in Mongolia.
3 teams were chased by armed bandits.
0 teams died.
every team had a very memorable trip.
