Suzyp2p

Sunday 17th October

2010-10-18T15:22:00.002+01:00

It can't be all over, surely. Spent too much time chatting and saying our goodbyes that we were late leaving the Place Vendome, then couldn't find the exit and reversed into a lamppost!! No damage to our wonder car though and we headed north to Calais and made the train with 4 minutes to spare! Drove on and had a good trip chatting to some friends of other ralliers who had been following us. Surreal to be back on the M25, luckily without the normal queues.

Paris!!!

2010-10-18T13:24:00.007+01:00

Supposedly given a lie in this morning which meant an 8.58am start time. Another beautiful drive on straight B roads, much more fun than the autoroutes favoured by some, we thought. The only issue was getting hold of petrol as there is a strike in France. After many visits to fuel stations we finally found some that we reckoned should get us back to England. Suddenly there we were in Bois de Boulogne, but had to wait on the side of the road for an hour,very frustrating, to appease the French authorities. Then we were off alongside fellow competitors, horns blaring, directed by French police in roller blades up Champs Elysses into Rue Royale where we picked up George and David and they rode our running boards into the Place Vendome-just amazing. Lots of people and cameras and chatter and Caroline, Lisa and Louise there to meet us too-what fantastic friends are they. Poor David and George were introduced to all our new friends and got in quite a muddle especially when we met them all again at the dinner later. The first prize to be handed out was the Coupes des dames and guess what, that was awarded to us! then a slide show and videos of the rally. I can't believe that it is all over but the best and most amazing experience. It might not be our last rally......!

Friday 15th October

2010-10-15T17:20:00.003+01:00

Supposedly a lie in but we were on the road at 8.31. A nice day but not sunny. At least not raining. The amazing news is that we are 17th! We can't believe it and hardly dare breathe the words. We worked hard to get there though, but will we keep our place today? Big question especially as the only time trial was the Circuit de Bresse. We went round twice but also had to stop astride a line 3 times. All very difficult in such an unsporty car. What a pity to have such an exciting opportunity but to have to do it in such an unwieldy vehicle! Rachel's taste for the sport has suddenly been discovered. Had to drive by Beaune which was disappointing but we had another wine tasting nearby and drove on in the correct direction, unlike some. We raced on through lovely French countryside and were in time for the MTC with 5 mins to spare. Phew. Last supper as rally gang tonight, albeit in 2 shifts, and Paris tomorrow! Yay!

Wednesday 13th October

2010-10-14T23:46:00.003+01:00

The ferry docked very late and we all got in a complete muddle getting off and onto the autostrade because the police had blocked our route. It poured with rain all day which was so disappointing as we all think of Italy as such a lovely sunny country. We stopped for a wine tasting at Andreas (one of the Italians who we love to follow) mother's vineyard which was a delicious diversion but it still rained, as it has done in Iran, Turkey and Greece. We stayed in a very nice hotel in Viareggio after slipping around on those bendy hills... A shock absorber is not great, but good enough. No time for that sort of work now. 20th today!

14th October

2010-10-14T23:34:00.003+01:00

Yay we are 19th!! That long hard climb back from 35th has been worth it. We always said we only wanted to get back into the teens. Today was really lovely but very hard. We did 4 very steep and twisty time trials. Rachel's arms are getting well developed. Steering the old machine around those corners is something else. There were a couple of hairpins that we didn't quite make, though. A three point turn in a time trial is a bit embarrassing. All day we were in such a rush. It started with Paddy very kindly helping to adjust the clutch at 6.30. We couldn't stop for lunch, even though we were dreaming of pizza. Then finally we climbed up and up, following Simon and Rupert to the top of Europe where we crossed the alps in the most glorious sunshine and wonderful autumn alpine scenery to rival Mongolia, into France. A downhill run, overtaken by Simon on the inside of a hairpin, and into Aix les Bains at 7.00. Rachel decided to change the fuel filter after it had seemed pretty blocked today. She struggled for a while to get it off from it's awkward position in the boot, when suddenly 'pop', off it came but squirted in her eye. Very painful and burning but ok now.

Tuesday 12th October

2010-10-12T19:30:00.001+01:00

More time trials today. Best advice so far re gears is to put it into 2nd or 3rd then try 1st. Seems to work. Or try double declutch. A lot less grinding today which is less stressful. Didn't push the time trials so hard today because it was pouring and foggy. Luckily for us the fog cleared enough to see the beautiful monasteries at Kamalka. We had lunch there then drove up and up til we hit the motorway, a bizarre experience. On the overnight ferry to Ancona in Italy now. We are eating up the countries. Ferry very upmarket. We have ensuite bathroom!

Monday 11th October

2010-10-12T19:18:00.003+01:00

Drove to border this morning. Western Turkey is much more European than the East. But now we are in Greece, Europe proper. The engine is running very nicely but it is very difficult to change gear which is important on the tricky time trials we've had today. The first was quite straightforward but the next 2 were on steep hills with lots of hairpin bends, and rain. We skidded about a bit but nothing like the anadol which had an Italian job moment. We are not sure if it is a gearbox or clutch problem but are receiving a lot of advice.

Sunday 10th October

2010-10-12T18:34:00.004+01:00

Rather casually leapt into car ready to leave straight away this morning, when, oops! It didn't start. Luckily Toby was just revving his engine ready to go so he was quickly called into action. The solenoid appeared to be damaged so he hot wired it and showed Suzy how to do it. Off we set on our free drive to Silivri. No controls today. We were cruising along the motorway when we ran out of fuel in the main tank so Rachel had to hop out to switch the tanks over. However the car didn't start again after. Suzy's moment had come. She hot-wired it there on the motorway and off we zoomed. At the hotel we rather alarmed porter with our exclamations over our sea view so he thought there was something wrong. Had terrace lunch but no wine because we were to meet Ian and Andy for a bit of work on the car. Craig very kindly gave us his spare solenoid and we did a few other odd jobs tightening, greasing, etc. Then it was time to go to Ahmet and Erdol's drinks in the hotel.

2010-10-09T15:30:00.003+01:00

Saturday 9th October One of those mornings when we wake up so tired we have no idea where we are. Still in Kozakli and work to be done on the car before we leave, was the answer. So tired last night that the fact that the shock absorber fell off didn't register. Peter Banham put that back on in a flash but with enough time for Rachel to ask him why we are the only car in the rally which literally can't get up the hills. He put Paddy on to looking at the throttle which wasn't opening properly! Between them they took a stop from the accelerator and did a few adjustments and whoa! we have revs! Off we flew at speed we haven't experienced in Plymouth before. Peter was worried we wouldn't handle it, but we did. We had already decided that we wouldn't do the time trials today. After yesterday's effort to improve our position only ended in disaster, we decided to go to Abant by the motorway. A bit lazy but a lovely run through and arrived in SNOW!!! We've had it all.

2010-10-09T15:12:00.003+01:00

Friday 8th October Our first time trial since Kazakhstan so we were quite excited about maybe improving our place. With all the cancelled Time Controls lately this has been difficult. We started with a steep hill which went up and up... into the fog and rain, the road getting muddier and more slippery, steeper and narrower, until we ground to a halt with no power at all. Changed spark plugs in the middle of time trial and got engine going again, but only for a minute, then nothing. Had to be towed to the top by the Japanese, again. Meanwhile we learned from Nigel and Hugo that the Wilkinsons had driven right over the edge and dropped 70'. That was upsetting and unnerving. Ground down to the bottom late for latest permitted time and decided not to participate in 2nd or 3rd trials but to just get to MTC. However as we tootled along in the rain, with ever squeaky wipers, car started to grind to a near halt every 5-10 seconds. Found Bruce (our saviour in Kazakhstan) who eventually discovered it was dirty fuel. Change of filter and away we went...with no lights. Bob at Passage control managed to get lights sorted after some time as it was dicky high beam switch causing problem. By this time it was really late, we had another 200km to travel to hotel and had to find another route which was on tarmac. Together with Andy and Bob the mechanics, we navigated through wild and rural Turkey in the dark where the road markings are often non existent and hard enough to see with old Plymouth lilghts if they are there. Gripping the steering wheel and peering over the bonnet we eventually arrived at the hotel in Kozakli at about 10.30. They had stopped serving dinner and Suzy had the sofa. Great!

2010-10-09T14:57:00.003+01:00

Thursday 7th October Expecting to have a terrible border crossing into Turkey because rally gossip was well underway... Organisers must have actually believed our complaints of long waits at borders and were there to help us, but hey, for once it was relatively quick. Only 2 1/2 hours. We felt we were leaving the wilderness of central Asia and coming to a land we are more familiar with. Iran was disappointing with its rubbish and mess. Turkey isn't much better. Car not going brilliantly with the hills. Spluttered up the drive of hotel which is a ski resort so quite high. Rachel's leg covered in oil from leaking pressure gauge, again, and both of us looking a fright when Erdol insisted we get out to be photographed with the car for the press.Ha! Sorry no photos because having trouble loading them. Please keep commenting.

2010-10-09T14:53:00.001+01:00

Wednesday 6^th October

It poured with rain all night. Is this normal for the Caspian? Time controls again today which is good as it gives us a chance to improve our place. But no time trials which is also good because the Plymouth does not like hills. Climbed a steep, tree covered hill for 30km through mist and rain and the poor car struggled its way grinding down to 1^stgear with the wipers squeaking away as irritating as a crying baby, and at the top the sun came out and it was beautiful clear skies the other side. Quite amazing. This is a better side of Iran, away from the traffic and dirt, dramatic hills and simple farming in the river valleys where they were collecting the straw in stooks and piling them up in huge stacks next to the houses. Shepherds were tending flocks of sheep and goats and the women were more traditionally dressed. We now had to come down hill in 1^st as it was so steep! We battled our way to Tabriz just in time having lost quite a lot of time on the hills. Tonight a banquet held by the vice president of Iran. We are being collected in classic cars by the motor federation of Iran….What is a girl to wear?

2010-10-09T14:52:00.001+01:00

Tuesday 5^th October .

Quite happy to get up and out of that place but we did manage to get some sleep. The trusty Plymouth has not a scratch after last night’s excitement. Another long drive but very keen to see the Caspian Sea. It started raining and the sea was full of white horses and there was no real beach just a very busy road and ugly ramshackle buildings which could have been abandoned whilst being built or falling down and a lot or rubbish everywhere, a huge disappointment. We found one spot to wash our toes in, just to say that we had! On to the hotel, in the pouring rain with almost unbearably squeaky windscreen wipers, where we had a bed each. Such simple requests we have these days!

2010-10-09T14:50:00.002+01:00

Monday 4^th October

Trying to cross the border from Turkmenistan to Iran on a public holiday is not the easiest job but to be one of 100 vintage cars was, to say the least, lengthy!! Passports were shown, returned shown to someone else, copied and then put in a large pile, shuffled and the occasional one pulled and a name called out. Eventually we got out and crossed into Iran with our heads covered with slippery scarves which keep coming down. We haven’t got the hang of them yet! We were met by the Iranian Rally Federation taking photos and wanting to talk to us and they had brought old cars with them. Sadly we were in a bit of a hurry as we still had 300km to drive and it was already 2.30pm. As we came into towns lots of people were lining the streets cheering and waving us on. One boy gave Suzy a packet of something which turned out to be tobacco pouches for chewing-extraordinary! Of course it got dark and the dip on our headlights wasn’t working so we were getting stressed when a car pulled across our carriageway We braked and swerved, narrowly missing the lorry on the left, and were hit from behind. What should we do, having been told not to stop in the dark so we drove on not knowing exactly what we had left behind, but having seen the car we missed being hit by another. When we finally got to the hotel there no rooms as, according rally rumour, the president is in town and has taken them all. Not sure why the president would come to Gorgan. Poor Heidi was telling us we had to fit 6 to a room, which we did, somehow squeezing in with Nicky and Craig and Paddy and Steven, and about 20 camped on the roof!

2010-10-09T14:49:00.002+01:00

Sunday 3^rd October

Turkmenistan desert is very different to the Gobi lots of tufted grass and sand dunes. Pretty good tarmac roads and then sudden huge potholes so you have to watch the road all the time. We hit a bad one and heard a crash so stopped and got out to inspect damage, we couldn’t find any so looked under the car to see liquid pouring out of somewhere-help we thought it was the oil sump but discovered it was the radiator overflow that had erupted. Got out the bucket and collected it, opened the radiator, slowly and more came out of the cap! Two friendly Turkmen men had stopped to help us as we duly returned the collected water back into the rad and topped it up with more. They then asked for Suzy’s phone number and she pointed to her wedding ring and said she was married so they asked about Rachel! Had to disappoint them again and say goodbye! Eventually got to Ashgabat which is completely newly built having been flattened by earthquakes many times and our hotel is in an extraordinary boulevard of white Italian marble edifices which all look completely empty!

2010-10-09T14:46:00.004+01:00

Saturday 2^nd October

Horribly early start, alarm 4.30, because organisers worried about border crossing. 5 hour drive to Turkmenistan border which bypassed Bukhara because we were in such a dash. Great pity. Road quite bumpy and really noticed missing bump stop a few times! Typically long wait at the border with the essential lunch break while we are trapped in no man’s land, again. An hour or so spent sitting on floor in Turkmenistan border control followed by a very curious Dickensian series of officers to take papers to and receive papers/stamps from. 9 in all. It is SO hot, unpleasant. Rachel still recovering from having to use the most repulsive ‘loo’ in the world. Police escort into Turkmenabat. Hotels going downhill rapidly.

2010-10-09T14:32:00.005+01:00

Friday 1^st October

Day off but there is a fuel shortage so we went in convoy to a garage to fill up and, to our embarrassment went to the front of a long queue of about 30 cars. They must have some deal going as we were charged well over the odds for ours. Had to count out 160 notes of 1000 sum which took some time! We gave the car a check over and everything seems ok, greased it and decided there was nothing wrong but Suzy still found it an excuse to get under the car with Mickey, Andy, Ian, Peter, Toby… quite a party! The car really is running beautifully, in spite of piston rings going… bit of a greasy spark plug not too serious. Went to see more magnificent mausoleums, lunch and shopping in the market with Xavier and Toby then supper with Paddy and Steven. Lack of women on this trip!

2010-10-09T14:12:00.001+01:00

Thursday 30^th September

Tashkent to Samarkand, doesn’t that sound amazing?! Samarkand is the centre of the Uzbek culture and stunning. Abandoned the car, to the shock of others, but we had to get out. A short walk from the hotel were 3 mausoleums decorated in the most beautiful blue and turquoise tiles so we went for a very peaceful walk around them and looked at some small shops as well-beautiful embroidered fabrics called suzani! and lovely ceramics which we resisted buying for lack of space. Aaargh! Wandered the streets and found a cup of tea. Went out for dinner with Bill and Biddy, who celebrated their 38^th wedding anniversary, to an Uzbek restaurant which served salads and kebabs but quite delicious.

2010-10-05T19:52:00.001+01:00

Wednesday 29^th September

Another early start but the time control was at the other hotel. Rachel had two more army ration packs to pick up courtesy of George and they were enormous so we gave a few out to other drivers and made ourselves very popular! Then drove to the Uzbekistan border where we were surrounded by eager boys wanting to change money and take photos and marry us off to their friend who had a full set of gold teeth! Quite exhausting but we drove off with bricks of Uzbek money the largest note is 1000 Sum which is worth 30p! Of course the border control men took their lunch break so it took us a mere 3 hours to get through this time. Then on to Tashkent by which we were rather impressed with beautifully laid out streets and parks and all very clean. This region has had so many earthquakes over the years that they keep having to rebuild. On our way into the hotel a tiny car zoomed up on our left and caught his bumper on ours. We stopped but he carried on driving and tore the plastic thing off!! He then stopped, didn’t say anything but made a phone call. There was no damage to our car so we drove off! However later in the hotel he came to visit us. Luckily we were sitting with Erdol, one of the Turkish drivers who launched into a diatribe against this guy in Turkish and Uzbek- they are very similar apparently, and he was given short shrift-phew!

2010-10-05T19:26:00.001+01:00

Tuesday 28^th September

Left Almaty early- 6.40am start as we had 740 kms to drive today through semi desert but reasonable roads so shared the driving and it took over 12 hours. At one passage control a man sat his child on the bonnet of the car and took photos for about 10 minutes, then the rally photographer took pictures of him and we were surrounded by too many cameras and couldn’t move! Eventually got away and arrived in Shymkent rather exhausted.

2010-09-29T13:24:00.000+01:00

Monday 27^th September

Met Ian and Andy at 9.00 to change the front wheel bearing which they discovered needed changing yesterday. Yikes! All the mechanics were banned from working on cars so we had to do it very quietly out the back and not tell.

We then meandered off for lunch with Toby. Found a very strange little restaurant where we had to mime what we wanted and sat chatting for so long that it was nearly dinner when we got back. Went out for a drink and chips with Alex. Then back to hotel to blog, which won’t work! Try again in Shymkent…

2010-09-29T12:17:00.002+01:00

Sunday 26^th September

Took car around the corner to a garage organised by James Elliott who has no car but has flown his mechanic, Tony, out to fix this vanished vehicle. All we really wanted was an oil change, but the garage owner spent 4 hours buying the oil, which was a bit embarrassing because there was a queue, followed by a bit of angst, for the ramp we were already on. There was lots of friendly chat other than that. We decided we rather like hanging a garage getting our hands dirty. A local pulled up thinking Rachel worked there from the state of her hands!

Alex Harvey arrived today so he took us to the green market where we bought dried fruit with a bit of a haggle from Alex, luckily because they wanted to charge £20!, a green fur hat and a pot of honey for our porridge.

Meanwhile Andy and Ian were fixing the bits we couldn’t get done earlier with the promise of the most expensive beer on the planet, ie from the Intercontinental.

We all went out to an amazing restaurant organised by Jorges which had very ‘tastiful’ food and belly dancers! We all got up and danced, only realising later that the entertainment was laid on for another party. Oops!

Can't add photos. Sorry. but will keep trying.

And please add comments because we love reading them

2010-09-27T17:06:00.002+01:00

In spite of the rather lumpy tussocks under our tent, we slept quite well which surprised us. Had a nice stroll int Almaty, keeping to our times almost perfectly. stopped for coffee in a cafe at first time control and couldn't work out why all the organisers were hurrying us on, but supposed they wanted to get to the Intercontinental for a feel of civilisation and not hang around waiting for us. Well, 2 gin and tonics, which we felt we deserved after the rigours of claiming a room without a double bed which had presumably been booked for 2 years, cost £50! Ha. The Kazakhs know how to get rich.

2010-09-27T16:39:00.002+01:00

Came down to transport cafe style breakfast room to be presented with a bowl of cornflakes with warm milk and a plate of rice pudding!? Well, we ate the pud and saved the roll and cheese she brought out next for our lunch. There are some days we wont get fat.

Oh! The car didn't start at all! Not even a little whisper from it. The battery under passenger seat so frantic efforts to get to it, hammer, screwdriver.... but it didn't respond to charger and pump light on anyway. We are slow learners, but learning. Suzy ran inside and found Xavier who asked for a hammer, bashed the starter and away we went. New name Saviour/Xavier. Only 5 mins late for time control. Started on hideously bad tarmac road. Problem in these parts is they let you on to the roads while they are still making them so they are ruined before they start.

Most cars toot their horns and wave as they pass, but we trundled a long wondering where all the other competitors were when a tooting car appeared beside us with young men in it. They started driving in front, slowing down, swerving from side to side, indicating for us to pull over, etc. We were afraid. We bolted the doors and wondered what to do when, eventually the 2 Bruces hove into sight and Suzy hit the horn. They realised we were in trouble and came as if to drive them off the road which did get rid of them. Phew. The first time we felt vulnerable. More Saviours.

Camping again tonight. No showers. Delicious Kazakh food and a rather sweet folk singing and dancing display slightly made up for it. After our scrub in Russia and Semey we still felt cleaner than we had for some time.

2010-09-27T16:20:00.003+01:00

alarm went off at 6am. Took minibus to our main hotel for breakfast and left at our correct time. Amazing that we could get going when in England we would never have lifted our heads from the pillow. Another long drive, but in daylight today so we saw a little of Russia- big,big farming country over huge plains with the longest belts of treeds we've ever seen, or couldn't see because they went so far. Border control into Kazakhstan only took about 3 hours which was a bit of a relief, but the hotel in Semey was a bit of a surprise, although we shouldn't be surprised any more. We were on the 2nd floor but there was no 2 in the lift. Up, down, up, down, found a cleaner who sent us up, another who sent us down and showed us the stairs! Rachel's room enormous and bizarre, Suzy's palatial with velvet armchairs and a coffee table. Went out for dinner, but falling asleep in our soup.

2010-09-27T16:10:00.002+01:00

2010-09-26T13:56:00.003+01:00

Wednesday 22nd September Oh my God we have never been so cold, ice on our blankets and rumours of it being -12C! Several people have hypothermia. However we changed the spark plugs yesterday, yes us all by ourselves! And the car was firing on all cylinders. We queued in number order at the border and queued and queued and it took 7 hours ugh! So we eventually got all the way through at 3.30pm and then had 700km to drive.It was very beautiful, such a contrast to Mongolia driving through woods and beside an amazing river with people fishing. This was completely mad. We said to each other we can do this if we share the driving and so we did but arrived exhausted at 2.30am- to be told that the hotel hadn’t allocated rooms. There was a lot of hand waving and frustration and we got on a minibus to take us to another hotel in the complex. In to bed at 3am after finally getting to scrub some of the filth off, even though we had dreamed of long hot soaks in delicious baths… not in these prison cells!

2010-09-20T13:23:00.002+01:00

Sunday 19th September A late start and a short day, but tight time so we went pretty fast, for the old girl, to Khovd and made our time by 2 minutes. Trying to claw some back after our rotten day on Friday. Yet another beautiful day. Wow this country is magnificent. At our pretty campsite in the sun we lay around being idle and trying to make Suzy’s petrol stove work, to no avail and now we are all rather frightened it might blow up. Very relaxed, noisy, boozy dinner as we have day off tomorrow in camp.Not sure what we’ll do other than wash our knickers.

2010-09-20T13:04:00.002+01:00

Today was declared non competition which was a huge relief as the car was not a bit well. Simone Ayeris worked on it for about 3 hours fixing the axle, the pin had sheared off, and straightening up the spring in order to thread the new pin through. He also cleaned up the oil pump cap which was leaking. We hit the road at 11.30 and had a beautiful drive over roads which felt less bumpy because we were in less of a hurry, but we still had to make it into camp for a passage control. We travelled through stunning mountainous scenery, totally unpopulated with black jagged volcanic hills surrounding us as we were on the plains between. It is very high, about 6000ft so cold and sunny. A lot of deep sandy patches on the road which we managed to plough through on our trusty off road tyres, which have been commented on a lot, until the last and most spectacular where we finally ground to a halt. As luck would have it, there was a landrover waiting to pull us out. But we did fell a little bit silly. Not as silly as the South Africans who started their car this morning and, for the first time in history it started first try but was in reverse, shot back and onto someone’s tent, and they were in it! A bit of a rude awakening. Fitted new spark plugs which did mean we flew! Finished our day at Teel River with a glass of wine, or two, watching the sunset with Craig and Nicky.

2010-09-20T12:59:00.000+01:00

Friday 17th September What a day… We woke up so so cold. Our feet like ice blocks. The condensation in our tent and on our sleeping bags was frozen. Mongolia can be very bitter, but we were trying not to be! Then the car wouldn’t start! We missed our time as we were towed around the carpark trying to bump start and eventually got going half an hour late. We stopped to help Biddy and Bill Bolsover who had worn out a wheel bearing but ours didn’t fit. While we rummaged for that discovered oil all over Rachel’s foot and trousers…the oil pump cap was leaking oil in through the clutch pedal hole! Passing a stationary car, smiling and waving they shouted back, “Your bumper’s fallen off!” In disbelief we leapt out to see indeed it was hanging off and as we tied it it up Suzy said, “ hang on, the spare spring has disappeared!” oops. A little further along realised front wheel bearing a bit loose. That was easy to deal with and feeling pleased with ourselves rushed on to attempt to still make our final time control of the day. It was pushing it and had to average 30mph over really rocky, corrugated, potholed, dreadful roads when suddenly we heard a terrible sound from the rear wheel. The axle had slipped! Paddy Judge was our saviour and on his 2nd attempt at banging and strapping we limped into to town for fuel and were led to camp by Simon Ayeris arriving at 11pm, too late for a shower! Very tired and sad.

2010-09-20T12:46:00.002+01:00

Thursday 16th September Early in the day we had three river crossings. Ah. The first one was not a huge success as we stalled on exit, but managed to get started again. At the next one we had a “you go”, “no you go” with John and Henry Raker who we persuaded to do the gentlemanly thing and lead us through. We couldn’t pull ourselves out though and the Rakers carried on. Huh! We did mention it to them later…Luckily loads of Mongolians were there to help Suzy push. For about 300 more km we travelled over dreadful bumpy hard roads, endlessly crashing around swerving and braking all day, so exhausted but every time Rachel relaxed at the wheel we crashed into yet another rock or hole. We eventually arrived at camp by White Lake (Tsagaan Nuur) in the freezing cold. What a shock after being so hot before.

Wednesday 15th September

2010-09-20T12:39:00.002+01:00

We were sent off from UB Sukhbaatar (Parliament) Square with great fanfare by the mayor and a brass band. We hit the road and the road hit us with pot holes in the tar big enough to lose a car in but not big enough to give any warning. Only one time trial on a pretty straight but quite bumpy dirt road. Not difficult but some people did get lost. How? We had to overtake a hay lorry on the wrong side through the thick grass coming down a steep hill, but hey, it was nothing! Then a long straight tar road all the way to Kharkhorin where we queued for fuel for a mere hour then walked around the ruins of the oldest monastery in Mongolia. The Russians destroyed them all in the forties but they are trying to rebuild now. Beautifully windswept and eerie. Then our turn to get lost finding the yurt!. We tried 4 before we finally found our rather amusingly quaint accommodation…1 room, four beds and a kiddie table and stools. Lucky us we are not sharing like others because we are ‘the girls’.

Ulaan Baatar

2010-09-14T17:15:00.003+01:00

This morning we worked on the car in the hotel carpark with Andy and Ian. Suzy greased all the nipples. We cleaned out the ball joint but realised the ball joints on steering arm were stiff too so changed the whole thing. Philip Woodhouse had kindly given us the name of a sugar friend who we contacted, a charming man called Temuujin who showed us the city and the cashmere factory shop,and took us to a delicious local restaurant. we then had an amazing experience seeing traditional Mongolian dancers and a contortionist! Off to the desert again tomorrow so blogging might be difficult...

2010-09-13T16:32:00.000+01:00

Erenhot to Sainshand

2010-09-13T15:48:00.002+01:00

Spent hours crossing the border from China into Mongolia queueing in seperate drivers and navigators queues with bits of paper that sometimes we were told to hand in then we were told to keep, always being told to HUSH! eventually navigators went through and drivers back to the cars for inspection and more queueing. Luckily we were relatively quick and before we knew it were on a really tough time trial on rough dirt road that went on and on and on for 200 odd km! We made all the times which we were pretty thrilled and surprised by. When we could look sideways and not at the road ahead (Rachel) or at routebooks, GPS etc (Suzy) we saw mile upon mile of flat open desert with only groups of camels or horses, some cattle, sheep or goats to punctuate it. Finally we reached the campsite near Sainshand which was a bit tricky to find so we arrived over the hill when most of the rest came by track, or truck... Camping was interesting especially as it was right by a busy railway with huge diesel engines pulling 30 or 40 trucks. This morning was a beautiful sight through sore dusty eyes of the sunrise over the Gobi followed by more successful time trials on more dirt road, another 200 km. Poor car doesn't know what hit it, or it hit in some of the bumps, but is holding up wonderfully with only a little problem with a ball jopint which we can fix. In Ulaan Baatar now, more train noise but a welcome bed for 2 nights. Phew! Seems we are coming 15th in Vintageant category. Wow! certainly didn't expect that, but it is early days....

2010-09-12T08:06:00.001+01:00

Now on the border with Mongolia having driven on to the plateau yesterday and had amazing views that stretched for miles and miles. On the outskirts of Erenhot there was a Dinosaur park with life size bronze statues of every dinosaur you can imagine dotted in the fields around us-surreal! Going to start the desert today which is a bit scary - lot of stories from last time about how hot it is and how easy to get lost! Camping tonight - if we get there!! in Sainshand

2010-09-11T11:05:00.001+01:00

First day of the rally and we were off at 6am after a hideously sleepless night. Could have been excitement but the pneumatic drill outside our room didn't help! We didn't get lost at all but did have to assist with some motorway reversing for our friends! Got to the Great Wall which was beautiful through the roar of trucks, and then drove through mountains and then lush collective farms with happy smiley people all along roadside. Suzy got roughest road to drive. We thought roughest street in China. But she did it like a farm girl. Ah. Nice beer (or tea) at Daihai hotel! What an achievement. Yay! Let's hear it for girls.

2010-09-09T09:37:00.004+01:00

We arrived in Beijing on tuesday via Copenhagen. Denmark was flat and soggy looking! Beijing is humid, smoggy,sweaty and noisy so we jumped in a taxi to the summer palace which was serene and beautiful with boats on a lake. Yesterday we collected our car from the warehouse. It was so exciting to see it. It hadn't changed but it did run out of fuel on the way to the service station. So embarrassing but we made new friends in all the people who stopped to help. And then some in the long queue for fuel. Gotta fix the brake today. Ian and Andy offered to help. Phew! Scrutineering today and Nigel's up to his practical jokes already....

2010-08-28T11:07:00.002+01:00

Only a week to go until we fly to Beijing, it is very exciting! You can see our progress on the rally website www.pekingparis.com and look at the video journals and rally reports

2010-07-31T13:42:00.003+01:00

With the car gone we are now thinking about ourselves. I went to the Iranian Embassy on tuesday morning, having made an appointment, to be told it was closed and could I come back tomorrow! So I arrived at 8.30am again and had to wait til 10.30! -is this a taste of things to come? Luckily Philip and Heidi, the organisers of the rally were there too so we had a cup of coffee and a good chat together and then went to the front of a long queue, had to give finger prints and another cheque and that should get the visa done. To look at our route,see this link http://www.pekingparis.com/gmap/pmap2010.html

2010-07-15T14:47:00.002+01:00

I am over the moon because when I got home from delivering Plymouth to CARS UK I found this parcel had been delivered. Pity it wasn't a day or 2 earlier because that would have solved our problems. It is 4 new rear axle seals, but I didn't realise they would include the housing which is the bit that has given us so much trouble as it is bent. Hooray, in Peking I can change the whole seal, back plate, shoes...everything. Would have been better if dominic could have helped me though. R

2010-07-15T11:41:00.002+01:00

I took the poor Plymouth to Chedburgh, with Richard's emotional support, this morning for the start of the long journey to Beijing by sea. After weeks of drama getting prepared, and even a pretty big moment last week when I thought we wouldn't go due to what seemed like an irrepairable oil leak into the rear brake drum, I was heartened by the state of some of the other cars. What's a little brake drum problem compared with an engine replaced today?! So I didn't cry, but it was not dissimilar to sending a child off to boarding school... lists and an aching heart. R

Rally Car 74

2010-07-14T17:48:00.001+01:00

The car is packed and has our number and names on it and the Rally Plates. It is off to be shipped tomorrow! Next time we will see it will be at the docks in China.

2010-07-14T15:00:00.002+01:00

Fantastic John at BCC Snailwell cleaned up our disgusting manky old spare back plates to look like this!! They are lovely. I wish he could do the whole car.

2010-07-02T15:51:00.004+01:00

The car is going to be shipped in 2 weeks, where has all the time gone and are we ready? We have had a difficult decision to make, having found a small crack in the cylinder head, do we try to change it in the limited amount of time we have or do we just go and pray it will be ok? We have decided on the latter. So we have gathered our tools and spare parts and packed the car, we have a lot more space than some cars but weight can be an issue so we must try to be careful!

Learning basic mechanics

2010-05-21T09:17:00.004+01:00

We have found a wonderful mechanics teacher, Dominic, who is helping us learn some basics! Rachel is adjusting the brakes in this picture. Last week we managed to take out the alternator, change the fan belt and also change a wheel bearing. Next it is greasing we are getting pretty good with our grease gun, then changing the oil, air and fuel filters. But there is still a lot more to learn!

2010-03-29T12:49:00.002+01:00

We had a Rally Briefing yesterday at Gaydon Heritage Motor Centre and saw some of the other cars, including the 1907 Itala that did the rally in 2007 and is doing it this time. We met lots of the other competitors, had safety talks and met the support teams who are all very keen

2010-03-22T09:49:00.003Z

We took our car to the west country at the weekend for it's first rally! It took us 6 hours to get down to Monmouth, on A roads, we're not sure that we are really up to motorways yet! Sadly the Daffodil Run did not live up to its name as there were few flowers out due to this stupid weather. The rally itself was great,slightly bad start when we got lost in the car park,then were put as number 1 car as we were the oldest, but we managed to find our way in the end and have a lovely late lunch with the other drivers. We were pretty tired at the end of our 4 1/2 hour journey home, getting up to 63 mph, the fastest we have ever been!! We have our Rally Briefing next sunday, suddenly it all seems to be happening

2010-01-21T16:14:00.000Z

We had an amazing day at Silverstone yesterday, learning to drive a rally car! I think the Ford Escort-see picture, quite muddy!- might be a bit different to the Plymouth but it didn't have ABS brakes so we learnt to control over and understeering and rather enjoyed the power sliding!! Andy said"You can do a controlled corner or just slide"-silly question!!

Rachel has been driving the car and discovered that the fuel guage is faulty so ran out of fuel-slightly embarrassing!Now comes the time to learn about the mechanics

2010-01-11T11:20:00.000Z

The car is ready and has been delivered. Sadly, as the roads are so icy, we can't practise our driving in it at the moment!

We had one go in it and it is enormous , we should have just enough space for all our stuffTwo girls on tour

Peking to paris

2009-11-05T11:14:00.000Z

Just beginning to get my head around the fact that I am driving the peking to paris rally next year. Went to look at the car yesterday and it is nearly ready to bring back from the garage. Took it, 1938 Chrysler Sloper Plymouth for a spin. It has 3 gears and is a bit different to my Audi. Can we do 8500 miles in it, two girls?!