Mongol Rally 2008
Team 'Everybody Yurts'
Hello all, I suspect if you've made it to this site you know what it is all about,
thats right team mates Rich and Rob are driving to Mongolia in a Renault 4 on the Mongol Rally 2008!
Welcome to the homepage of team Everybody Yurts!
We'll be updating our blog below from time to time, but there will be more frequent updates by SMS HERE.
> What is the Mongol Rally 2008? In a nutshell: drive from Hyde Park to Ulaan Baator in a car to be
loved, lauded, and laughed at in equal measure, making tons of money for charity.
Take a look at this collection of past Mongol Rally videos for a better idea of what its all about.
> Sponsor us money! We are now accepting sponsorship via Just Giving.
All sponsorship raised will be split between The Mercy Corps and Hope and Homes For Children (see Charities page).
> Sponsor us more money! Your company's logo could be on the side
of our car, viewed by thousands across Europe and Asia, and millions in the press converage!
Get in touch if interested.
Everybory Yurts Mongol Rally Blog
Mongolia!
By Rob on 5th September 2008
We made it! The drive from London to Ulan Bator is complete. It took 47 days. We covered over 15,500km. We had six punctures, two new head gaskets, a new fan belt, and a super-glued/duck-taped/strung together gear linkage for the last few days. The silencer has a huge hole in it, making the car sound like something straight out of a Romford Boy Racer's garage. Team Everybody Yurts has disbanded. Rich is heading North on the Tran Siberian railway as I type. Izzy is resting in the Mongol Rally compound, her future unknown. Driving through Mongolia was an experience worth the time, effort, cost and stress of getting here. In no way were any of the previous teams exaggerating with their descriptions of the roads as non-existent. We pushed quite hard, often too hard as the suspension bottomed out and then, without any damping left, threw the back end of the car in a random direction. But the biggest enemies are not the big bumps, but the small ones - regular hard ridges perpendicular to the direction of the road giving an amplified rumble strip effect. Sometimes we were only managing 20 or 25km/h. But when we found a stretch of soft stuff without any sharp rocks or huge holes, Izzy revealed that R4s are brilliant fun to drive off road! After a couple of nights camping just short of Ogli and then Hovd, we rolled up on night three in Altai just after dark, and found three other teams at a hotel we were seeking accommodation in! We were convinced we were way behind everybody else, but our swift progress (covering that distance in two days compared to their four and a half) meant our original Mongol Rally ambition was fulfilled the next day - driving in convoy through Mongolia! It is naturally slower going with four teams as there are four times as many reasons to stop (punctures, fuel leaks, exhaust problems, gear linkage breakages, catastrophic engine mount failures...all these things happened), but it was so exhilarating to be bombing across the country with other teams! Oh...and apologies to Ben, Guy, David, Dave, Dan, Pete, Tamsin and Els for the three hour detour we took them on after knowing them for less than a day! We left them a couple of days later to press on to UB, as getting there by Wednesday evening was a big priority for us. Meeting up again the next day in the city was a great feeling, and there are plenty of Ralliers still about, hanging over at Dave's Place. So, that's it folks! The rally is over, and it may prove to be the last of its kind. New Mongolian import laws mean that next year only cars less than 10 years old can be imported into the country. This obviously rules out all the fun and exotic choices of vehicle that make the rally what it is. We might not be the first people to drive from London to Mongolia in a Renault 4, but we may be the last!
The Long Wait, The Long Drive
By Rob on 5th September 2008
DHL's 'two day service' kept us in Karaganda for a lot longer than we hoped. The head gasket landed in Kazakhstan on the Friday, but customs closes for the weekend. We picked it up pretty much as soon as the driver had returned from his pick-up on Tuesday evening. We were at the mechanics first thing on Wednesday, with hopes of hitting the road by lunchtime, but suddenly they had a queue of four cars that they had to deal with first! Nothing could persuade them to allow Izzy to jump the queue, so we were delayed again. Time was looking short. We finally hit the road at 10:30pm, only stopping for traffic lights and petrol until 45 hours and 2000km later we camped up 10km inside Mongolia! That long session was actually great fun. Rich and I took two-hour stints, trying to get a little sleep in between. The Russian leg was actually one of the most beautiful days we had seen on the road, especially an hour before and after sunrise as the landscape revealed itself as the mists evaporated, something we wouldn't have witnessed if we weren't under such time constraints. We arrived at the Mongolia border with (we thought) a few hours to spare only to find a queue of cars. Four places in front of us were team Bee Lucky, which excited us greatly until they told us no cars had been let through for five hours or more. Some tense hours passed. Being a Friday, it was our last chance to get in before the weekend closure. Waiting another two and a half days would have put the next legs of our travels in danger, so to be let through with only minutes to spare was a huge high. It was a relatively smooth border, and we made it into the country with enough light left to drive a little way on the Mongolian non-roads - a mere hint at what was to come!
Mike and the Mechanics
By ROB on 21st August 2008
Around sundown on Sunday, Izzy started bellowing a lot of smoke, and once we pulled over the engine died and remained seized. We camped by the road, and in the morning a kind gent towed us the 150km back to Balkash at speeds we wouldn't normally see under our own power. Five hours and a couple of translated conversations with mechanics later (thanks, Mike) we realised that we weren't going to get back on the road soon. We ordered another new head gasket from The Netherlands, and were lucky on Tuesday to see a car transporter pull up with one space on it. We've made it to Karaganda, and are now playing the waiting game. As I type Izzy is being taken apart to assess the damage, but DHL online tracking says our part hasn't left Amsterdam yet. We could be back on the road in a few days if all goes to plan, but in the meantime we have a hotel with a pool and a karaoke bar (where we were bought too many beers and dried fish snacks last night) and a bowling alley ten minutes away! Have also met some uber friendly and helpful Kazakhs who have been ferrying us around the city and translating as required! Many thanks, Bakhtiyar and Zukhra.
Fermented Mares' Milk
BY ROB on 16th AUGUST
We're through Uzbekistan and Krygyzstan and into Kazakhstan. The drive from Osh to Bishkek was awesome, and we celebrated our highest pass of 3185m by sampling fermented mare's milk. That is just about as disgusting as it sounds, and we both did very well not to offend the locals by vomitting it back up again instantly. Still, you have to try these things! Almaty provided us with entertainment last night in the form of live music and London-priced beer. Now, if it can provide an English-speaking mechanic with a torque wrench, that would be even better. Oh...and a big thank you to all those who have sponsored us so far. Not too late for all you keen blog readers who have been putting it off, though! We have reached our Hope and Homes target, and just need a little more to do the same for Mercy Corps.
Head gaskets, hospitality
By Rob on 10th August 2008
We spent a few days bashing out the kilometers in Iran with the temperature warning light coming on with increasing frequency, staying in Bandar-e-Anzali, Chalus, and Miduset. The day we set out for Turkmenistan, the light came on after only a quarter of an hour of easy driving. Shortly after that we stopped to have a ponder. A policeman approached us and indicated he was going to fetch a mechanic. 10 minutes later he was on the scene and confirmed, with the help of gestures and our scribbled explanation of the problem, what we had been in decreasingly convincing denial of for many days: we had a head gasket problem. To cut a long story short, four hours, four mechanics and 70 dollars later, we were sitting in the chief mechanic's home sipping tea with a fixed car outside! (click below for more)
Into Iran
By Rob on 2nd August 2008
Turkey was bigger than expected! Spend the last three nights there in Cide, Orlu, and Agri respectively. Made it into Iran late on Thurs due to a ~3hr border crossing. Stayed in Tibriz all yesterday, but didn't get all we intended done as most things were closed! We were more successful this morning, and we're now about to head to the Caspian coast as Iranian millionaires. The people in Iran are already living up to their friendly reputations.
Things we should have done before we left No. 17 - replace the coolant
BY ROB ON 28TH JULY 2008
Since the last post? Oh, not much. Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, two huge blow-outs at speed, three nights in Istanbul, hours and hours spent trying to sort out the cooling system and the mystery knocking noise, and two nights on the Black Sea coast. Has been lovely to look at, but slow going, so might head inland tomorrow.
Well on our way
BY ROB ON 23RD JULY 2008
First of all, a big thanks to all those who turned up to the launch day at Hyde Park. Having friends and family there really made it a special occasion. Feels like we've been on the road for a long time already. A lot to fit into one blog entry! Highlights/lowlights: snapping a fan belt in Germany, getting to the Czech Out party at 1:30am and seeing Rich as the only wench, bumping into many teams on the road and outgunning most of them, camping by a wonderful lake in Austria, spending three minutes in Serbia before turning back, and having three and a half (Taz was ripped in half) soft toys stolen from our roof rack at the Romanian Border! We are aiming for Sofia foday. Check out our progress and text updates HERE. We'll hopefully have some photos up soon!
Not one, not two, but three leaks
BY ROB ON 17TH JULY 2008
We have sprung leaks. One is not really a problem (slight rocker gasket problem, maybe - occaisonal top-up needed). The other two are causing real headaches with two days to go until Mongol Rally 2008. They are coming from the gearbox - the speedometer link and the left drive shaft exit gasket. We have ordered an emergency gasket and will attempt to have it fitted tomorrow. Sueaky bum time.
Seats, lights, interior, speakers!
BY ROB ON 15TH JULY 2008
We've been busy the last few days. Suddenly, we wish the Mongol Rally was an extra week away! But work is progressing. Third time lucky - we now have fitted some decent seats from an old Renault 5 which recline and have headrests. This is after a failed attempt with some Clio seats, and picking up a single R4 GTL seat that wasn't worth fitting. We now also have some cool rally lights (non-functional, just for show), a wonderful custom made interior (thank you, Laura and Sarah), and quadraphonic sound (we've tried War of The Worlds...and it rocks).
Wheels? We got wheels!
BY ROB ON 9TH JULY 2008
After weeks of searching nationwide for some extra spare wheels for the R4, I stumbled across a specialist mechanic 15 minutes away in South East London! He had cheap wheels for sale, but he also had something we couldn't resist! A rare set of five matching alloys! With the 145 tyres we were thinking of moving to!
Sponsorship changes
BY ROB ON 1ST JULY 2008
Mercifully, The Adventurists have relaxed their rules on sponsorship for the the rally, and we no longer have to use the woeful WillWeMakeIt.com site. As a result, we have now set up two JustGiving sites, which everyone loves - one for each of the charities. Easy to use? Tick. Ability to add easy to read messages? Tick. Payment options? Tick. Gift Aid? Tick. See the Charities page for more info and to donate.
Car Bits Part III - Revenge of the Sit
By Rob On 29th June 2008
On Friday Rich and I headed down to Portchester to pick up the R4. Si
had done a great job. The other rear shock was in, an extra radiator
fan had been fitted, some of the engine electronics had been
water-proofed, the rear suspension had been strengthened on each side
(the welding for which, had set alight some internal foam on numerous
occasions), and we had a neat little bonnet vent for extra ventilation.
Nice. In the couple of hours we were down there, Si also did a great
job on the exhaust and on the electronics, wiring in our radio and our
pimping blue LED switched four-way power adapter! Yes! One thing now
missing - the drivers side door lock. It had stopped working, so Si had
removed it to stop anyone opening that door. It now lives somewhere
inside the drivers door! The drive back to Clapham was enhanced by an
excellent blue ambience.
Car Bits Part II - Attack of the Wobbles
By Rob On 14th June 2008
I drove the R4 down to Portchester on the South Coast to let my uncle have a play. He knows his cars. He had a look under the bonnet, a fiddle here and there, and a kick of the wheels. I also brought down some rear shock absorbers we picked up cheaply off eBay at his request. The read end of the car was a little...under dampened, shall we say. In testing this, uncle Si found a bit of play in the rear right wheel. In testing this further, he decided we were lucky to be alive having driven all that way on a wheel with about 2 degrees of vertical play! Off came the wheel, and it turned out a nut hadn't been properly tightened after a recent change of the rear brakes and bearings. Phew. We managed to replace one of the rear shocks as well, and the difference was very pronounced
Car Bits - The Oil Filter Menace
By Rob On 7th June 2008
Time to start 'doing bits on the car'. Grandpa Brown, with fifty years
experience in the motor mechanics business, lent us a hand in doing some
maintenance essentials. The spark plugs were a little black, showing
signs of a rich mixture. So the carb was fiddled with, and the tick
over note and exhaust now sound much, much better. Next up was the fuel
filter, a tricky little thing. Getting out the old one - fine, getting
in the new one in required three pairs of hands, a dismantled gear
linkage system, and a lot of force.
Sponsors sought, ideas flowing
By Rob On 27th May 2008
OK...things are starting to hot up. And they need to. It's now less than two months until the rally now! There are
some pretty big things on our to-do list, one of which is the paint job. But before we went all out on some crazy flamey
monstrosity, we thought we'd concentrate on attractive a primary car sponsor first. There are some good leads on this
side of things. We're also working hard on other fronts to, and may have some more news shortly...
Mongol Rally team meeting
by rob on 25th may 2008
The Adventurists held a meeting for the Mongol Rally (and African Rally guys and gals in the most excellent Café 1001 on Brick Lane this Saturday. Team Everybody Yurts was there. Top of the bill was guest speaker Duncan Milligan talking on 'How Not To Die'. Most helpful it was too - some great advice on life on the road, how to deal with over-zealous officials (smile, don't take photos, don't offer bribes straight away), how to cope without a passport (cry), and how to have a great time. Also of note was the tasty carrot and chocolate cakes. And a big shout out to fellow Mongol Rally team 'A Very British Adventure' who entertained the crowds and locals by turning up in their gorgeous mini...with a red telephone box attached to the roof. We need to up our game...
Potential visa drama avoided
by rob on 15th may 2008
Two English clubs reaching the Champions League final, to be held in Moscow, threatened to swamp the Russain embassy with 50,000 visa applications! There were some worries this was going to hamper the applications of the Mongol Rally faithful, but it looks like that situation has been avoided (news link). Panic over people! I know you were all getting a little excited there for a minute!
South Wales Rally 2008
by rob on 22nd april 2008
This weekend was the car's first big road test. We've had a couple of people look the car over, and they've given it the thumbs-up mechanically, but there's no substitute for testing the beast on the open road. So the tyre pressures were checked, the oil level confirmed ok, and the radiator water topped up. The route (and this one doesn't warrant its own google maps link) was Essex to Clapham to South Wales to Clapham to Essex. She performed brilliantly. 679km with only a couple of squeaks and one random stall. Will she perform so faultlessly throughout the Mongol Rally 2008?
Visa applications in
by rich on 27th march 2008
After not much thought we decided on taking the Southern route option to get to Mongolia,
basically becuase it takes you through the most countries (16 in all) and looks the most adventurous - thats what its all about right?!
Unfortunately this means we need visas for 8 countries. Today we completed the monsterous task of filling in our visa forms -
11 forms each, 13 passport photos each, two sore hands and a whole load of visa fees later and we're done :)
First sponsors
by rich on 22nd Feb 2008
Massive thanks to Jim and Phil Power for donating money for the car!! They have stipulated that for their money they want ownership of the wheels - so we will be travelling to Mongolia on a full set of Power Wheels :)
We Have a Car!!
by rich on 19th jan 2008
We've bought the car thats (hopefully) going to take us halfway around the world!
We found this brilliant 1988 Renault 4 in South London, she's got a 956cc engine and is LHD, so perfect for driving abroad.
The Search for a Car
by rich on 16th dec 2008
The search is now on for a suitably unsuitable car to take us the 10,000 miles to Mongolia.
Popular cars in past Mongol Rallies have included Minis, 2CVs, Nissan Micras, and Suzuki SJs - but
ideally we're after something a litle different. The current favourite is the Renault 4 after seeing them everywhere
in Colombia last year. Unfortunately they're not so easy to come by overhere!
So here are a few of the options..