6th July 2007 - And they are off...

We drove about 340 km on the first day and have continued to progress well; the car is performing brilliantly and although it is early days we are settling into the drive.

Then problems arose with some of the other cars and the mechanics that are travelling with us, really came into their own; they know everything that there is to know about these old cars. Fantastic.

This was not an enjoyable phase; there are no roads, just pot holes and even bigger holes to be avoided, let alone the rocks and stones; it is really a dangerous drive. A few cars broke down and so the group had to split up and we drove on ahead; that was fatal, we were lost for seven hours. Driving in these challenging conditions in the dark; eventually, at about 12.30 a.m. we stopped and parked the cars together and all slept by the cars, under the stars. I don’t think any of us got any sleep. The next morning, we found a camp that wasn’t too far away and they were able to get us back on track and so we were all reunited again. It was a fantastic feeling of relief. We now have a new route, one that is less demanding on the cars and the drivers.

Connectors & Exhausts...

I have been so pleased with the way that my TR4 has behaved; but I think the extreme conditions in the Gobi Desert finally got to it and we broke down! The exhaust had hit some rock and we had to be towed for 100km. The crucial parts were couriered to us by DHL and the two Dutch guys who are driving a 1907 vehicle that took part in the original rally, fixed the car in no time. We were extremely lucky, as our breakdown happened when we had a stopover of a couple of nights, so it meant that we have not lost any time, nor did we hold anyone up.

Ulaan Baatar

Now, I am preparing for Saturday night at the Khan Palace, which is part of the Kempinski group. I am cooking dinner for all the participants of the Swiss team, 70 of us in total! I have been to the market yesterday and then met with the hotel’s head chef, a lovely lady and, together with her team, we will do a really wonderful dinner. I think that we need it to keep our morale up!

Fundraising...

I was so pleased to learn that the donations are still coming in for the rally and that the total is nearly at the half way mark – I really want to raise £20,000 for Hospitality Action. This is a charity that helps those in the hotel and catering industry who have fallen on bad times, usually through no fault of their own. – so not quite half way through the rally, but half way to my target, really excellent news.

In Russia, with love...

We have now crossed the border and are in Russia. We are staying in Sukebaatar for a couple of nights and we are looking forward to being in one place for two or three days as it will give us an opportunity to get the car back in peak condition.

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