Not many more sleeps to go now before Max and I embark on our next adventure; driving Penny in the renowned Peking to Paris car rally run by The Endurance Rally Association. (Pop to their website for more information).
This is an endurance rally. Tough days starting at 7.05am… because Penny is car number 5. There are timed events; dusty roads; long days; exceptional scenery and wonderful camaraderie and competitiveness!!
Penny was cared for after our journey thorugh India, Bhutan and Myanmar last November and December; by Max and I with not as much to repair this time. The diff and the gearbox were the main components which needed quite a bit of looove… and a few welds and a good oil and grease…. the obligatory nuts, bolts and screw checks…. and she was off on her way to the shipping agent on April 20th. She should be snug in the shipping companies warehouse now in Beijing.. waiting for our collection on June 10th and for an early send off on Sunday morning 12th June from the Great Wall of China.
We will be driving 35 days through China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Poland,Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and France. We will be passing through the town where we stayed in Switzerland when we took the boys on their first overseas holiday when James was about 4 and Lawrence was 6. I think both of the boys adventurous and worldly streaks started young!
I’m navigating and this time it is the real-deal because it isn’t just a touring rally; and I’m a little daunted about making sure I don’t get us lost across the diverse, remote and challenging terrain. “Trust the navigator” is the mantra which floats through the dust en-route… and I hope I can ensure we get in every night and manage to complete the timed events with navigated accuracy. Here’s hoping! 🙂
Below is the route. We will have a tracking link so you can keep an eye on our progress across the world. I will send it when we get to Beijing and we have it activated.
Max has a fabulous Blog here …. and some people wonder whether we are actually in the same car at times because our writing styles and what we each see is often quite different and becomes rather entertaining reading both accounts of each day. You can subscribe easily on his website or drop me a line if you want to be added to his list.
I’d love to hear from you as we journey across the world… and I apologise in advance if I don’t manage to reply promptly because I’ve been warned that it is truly an endurance event… and I have been warned that sleep and internet are scarce commodities!
I’m excited about this adventure and looking forward to learning more about myself and experiencing travelling in Penny with Max.
@idoamazingthings #pekingtoparis
