Off The Rhumb Line

Category Archives: The Mongol Rally


by Leave a comment

HAD FUN STORMIN’ THE CASTLE!!

July 13, 2013

In The Adventurists words of “Up Yours Dover” – permission from The National Trust was granted & Launch Party #1 of the 2013 Mongol Rally is now at… Bodiam Castle!  Plus side – it has a MOAT!  Down Side – it is roughly 40 kilometers FURTHER AWAY from our campground, the Dover ferry, and our planned route.

After enjoying what may be the last HOT shower for quite a few days, the great pack-up ensued.  Don did a banner job jigsaw puzzling & ratchet strapping 9 folks’ gear up onto the roof racks.  However, when it came time to load up the 2 bicycles Will and Tommy acquired on their adventures around England, Don just BALKED!  NO WAY!!  Jock (center of photo below) became the proud new owner of one, as a thanks for his amazing generosity, kindness, and camaraderie throughout the week!  We made a compelling case that the other one would aid in our filming along the way and then be donated to the orphanage.

IMG_2930IMG_2946IMG_2939

With the successful use of the wheelchair lift, Jan settled into her specially crafted seat, and the 9 assembled Dixie Chickens leave Little Switzerland shortly after 10am, radio blasting (LOVE SHACK!) & the Canadian team Bro’s & Khans in pursuit.

Rule of the Road #1 : Don’t Mess With The Bus!  The small British cars are quick to give way on their narrow British roads to our large American bus and give us right of way most of the time.

Road signage for Bodiam Castle is scant, and for the Mongol Rally – non-existent – we’re SURE there is a castle out here somewhere!  We do successfully navigate our way past rolling hills w/fresh bales of hay (reminiscent of Wisconsin), a stop for cherries at a roadside stand, & through small, but very active, English towns.

Giddiness by The Adventurists Staff was clearly evident upon our arrival on the castle grounds.  Rob immediately jumped at the chance to ride in the bus with us on down to the parking area.  We were prominently parked in the middle of the field up towards the front of the festivities  – no chance ANYONE will miss seeing us!

No Camping / Tent set-up until the grounds close to the public at 5p so we quickly set up our sun shade and chairs, pop open the beer and snacks, and meet & greet with new and old friends as teams arrive from all points.  Everyone wants to check out the bus and we quickly become a hot spot of social activity!  Our team also increases by 5 as teammates Dave, Amy, Caroline, Eric, and Cale arrive!  The Dixie Chickens are now at FULL STRENGTH! WHOO HOO!!

IMG_2959 IMG_2974  IMG_2973IMG_2970

 Bodiam Castle  From their website: “This fairytale castle is one of Britain’s most romantic and picturesque, set in the heart of 1066 country. With spiral staircases, battlements and a portcullis, 14th-century Bodiam Castle is the real thing. Windows where arrows were once fired, a tower that was once a look-out and ruins that were once walked upon by knights; this is a place where you can relive your childhood memories and let your imagination run riot.

Tonight’s Festivities include a “Black Tie” party inside the castle!  Team Dixie Chickens  – dressed in all their team finery – are ready to get this party started!

teamphoto IMG_2992

All Ralliers marched en masse up to the castle led by a flamboyantly dressed “disco wizard” – a cross between Gandalf and Liberace. Inside the castle, a stringed orchestra played, wenches served up glasses of Mead, and the party-ing and people watching began.  I felt a bit underdressed in my tux shirt and chicken hat, (there were very few actual “Tux’s”).  They say less is more – but it is not always a good thing –  one team definitely stood out from the crowd –  one team of 4 guys dressed solely in black bow ties and their speedoes!  (Although I think they garnered MORE photo requests than all other teams combined! – YIKES!)

IMG_3025 IMG_3008 IMG_3007IMG_3023

AND – I did finally find my Knight(s) in Shining Armor – Go figure that I had to come to England to find them!

IMG_3030
We were all kicked out of the castle and sent back down the hill to the parking lot at 9pm to continue the after party.  We’re not sure the massive jugs of Mead had actually been polished off, but we all obliged and on our end, our team “held court” at the bus for quite some time.

Tomorrow is the launch!


by Leave a comment

Spot Tracker

July 15, 2013

So the facy schmancy GPS tracker we had for the bus went missing somewhere between getting gas in Dover / arriving at the Dover Ferry Terminal, and disembarking in Calais – harrumph.

So Monday while en-route from Cologne, Germany to the Czech out Party (Launch Party #2) at Klenova Castle in Klatovy, Czech Republic, we made a detour into Frankfurt to get a replacement so all you fine friends and family can continue to track us via the fabulous  Norwegians tracking map!

A dealer was found via the internet, a voicemail message was left, the pertinent address was entered into the Garmin – and off we went.

We realized something may have gone greatly awry as we found ourselves, this large American school bus, in the middle of a tiny residential neighborhood, parked outside of an apartment complex.

After ringing the bell a few times and re-trying the phone #we had, we were feeling at a bit a loss.  Suddenly a guy peeks his head out of an apartment window above.  He was in fact the dealer, was in fact “home”, and had exactly 1 remaining spot tracker in his possession.  A small gathering was buzzed into the building, a deal was made, and a new Spot tracker was acquired!

IMG_3142IMG_3141  photo

Turns out – Wolfgang’s company is called 8(Acht) F(Foxtrot) Computer…that’s right soaring friends…Wolfgang is a Glider pilot!

He belongs to a local glider club, owns his own glider – contest letters – yep – 8F, flies x-cntry, and sells these fabulous trackers to his fellow pilots (clearly I need to get one of these myself one day).

At the same time, teammates Will and Tommy had hoped to meet up with a team from last year – “The Dukes of Hessen” – as The Dukes had a gift for our guys.  With our detour, that seemed to now be unlikely.  But as luck would have it, they were also driving on the Autobahn, also headed for Frankfurt, and were about 10 KM behind us.  As our top bus speed is 50 MPH, they were able to catch up to us (we are not hard to miss) and they followed us to Wolfgang’s.

IMG_3138 IMG_3139

I’ve been told these serendipitous events happen ALL the time on the Rally!

 

 


by Leave a comment

JVC & Times Square

July 13, 2013

So the fine folks at JVC are working on one upping the folks at Go Pro!  Working with The Adventurists, they have selected about 20 teams from the Rally and equipped them with a complete kit of (2) of their fancy new Go Pro rival video cameras.

The Dixie Chickens were selected to be one of these lucky recipients!!  YAYE!!

All we need to do now is shoot the footage, upload it to their FTP site, and if selected, our footage will be shown on the jumbotron screen in Times Square, NYC…  Given the fact we have the amazing and fabulously talented Sarita Mehra as one of our teammates- this should be a no-brainer.

Sarita is an awesome filmmaker in her own right.  She is filming our bus trip & the adventures on the Mongol Rally to sell as a pilot episode!

So, you fine folks living in the NYC area – keep an eye out on said jumbotron between now and mid-august for some fab footage of the Mongol Rally, and maybe even see us chicks!!!

Now  – onto some adventures  & fun videoing them!!


by Leave a comment

Dover Castle

July 12, 2013

Contrary to initial plans, word came from The Adventurists that…”the plonkers at English Heritage decided that despite confirming all was OK and telling us we should announce it to you fine folks; that they were a little scared of the great Mongol Rally and wimped out.”

I guess something about 400 (??) crazy ralliers romping about their fine castle gave them pause  – and 2nd thoughts – so Don, Sarah, and I  , along with Amber  – from the Canadian team Bro’s & Khans headed off to see this historic castle for ourselves.

According to the guidebook: “Dover Castle is considered to be one of the mightiest fortresses in Western Europe.  Henry II began building the present version of Dover Castle in the 1180’s.  The Castle is located at the shortest sea crossing between England and France, giving it significant strategic importance.  Over the following 800 years, the castle’s buildings and defences were adapted to meet the changing demands of weapons and warfare.”

Arriving via the local coastal bus, we walked up the hill atop the white cliffs of Dover and toured the castle, climbed up the great tower for magnificent views, saw the old roman lighthouse (built circa 2nd cent A.D.) and walked though some of the incredible network of tunnels which were used during WWII as a medic hospital, and the direction of the British evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940.

I valiantly looked for and finally inquired about 2 cannons my friend Greta said might be at the castle – “The Queen of France” & “The General Wayne”  – The cannons were 3# & 6# wrought iron, built by a William Denning around the early 1780’s for the US Army.  One of her ancestors, a William Ferguson, assisted in the making of the carriages for the cannons.  Word was they were later acquired by the British and installed at Dover Castle.  Sadly I was not able to find out any more information from the docents on-site.

IMG_2862IMG_2867 IMG_2880IMG_2881

 

On the way home, I got off the bus at The Battle of Britain War Memorial, It opened 20 years ago this Sunday, to commemorate and honor those airmen who flew so valiantly against Germany in this historic and important air battle over the English Channel during WWII, from July to October of 1940.

Winston Churchil is quoted as saying on August 20, 1940:

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.

The War Memorial, has a beautiful commemorative wall of those lives lost, full size replicas of a Supermarine Spitfire MK 1 and a Hawker Hurricane MK 1 &  aircraft, a statue and commanding views of the famous White Cliffs of Dover.

IMG_2914IMG_2907IMG_2918   IMG_2909IMG_2912IMG_2921 IMG_2923

 

From the War Memorial, it was a short 15 min walk along a cliffside pathway that led right down into the Little Switzerland Campground.

 

IMG_2924

4 more of our teammates arrived throughout the afternoon: Sarita, Jan, Lina, and Johnny.  It was great to finally meet some more of our team and spend our last evening sitting around our LED lantern “campfire” next to the bus with them, and the canadian, norwegian, and finland teams.  Off to Bodiam Castle in the morning.

 

 

 


by 4 Comments

Folkestone & Little Switzerland

I woke up Wednesday morning, headed back to Heathrow Airport, and met up with MS. Dixie Chicken  herself – Sarah McLester!

After navigating our way through 2 train stations, with more luggage than either of us should be carrying, (& a picnic lunch I’m sure I will be dreaming of somewhere in Mongolia…) we made it to THE BUS!

IMG_2758

Our home away from home for the next 7 WEEKS!

We found her husband, Don, awaiting our arrival up at the campgrounds’ bar!  RIGHT!  The beverages were cold, and very well earned after a long couple of days of travel.  IMG_2769 IMG_2772

One of our UK teammates, Jan, booked the bus and our team at the Little Switzerland Campground – which is a little slice of heaven!  The view is amazing!  It sits along/under the White Cliffs of Dover, and looks out across the English Channel towards the French Coastline.

The Staff here is friendly, has a great bar/restaurant, (but it closes at 5pm), and the internet works (as long as they don’t unplug it to vacuum).  Don, Will and Tommy were here for a few days before Sarah and I arrived and they clearly settled right in making friends with everyone here.  The groundskeeper,  Jock, Scottish, is a HOOT!  We ply him with beers after hours and he entertains us with stories, charges our electronics in his trailer, and keeps giving us stuff for us to take along – (fleece sweaters, LED lanterns, …)  He’s also sharpened Sarah’s Machete!  This guy is GREAT!!

Wednesday night we headed into Folkestone for Dinner at The Local Briton – Fish and Chips OF COURSE!   – cod was the fresh catch of the day.

HEY – where’d all the water go?? Living along the Great Lakes, sometimes I forget about the tides…

IMG_2792

Thursday –  Sarah, Don, and I spent the day organizing the Bus & the box Dale had shipped us (YAYE!!)  The Lotus Children’s Center is going to be SO surprised at all the new goodies – donated school & dental supplies, Thanks Dale, & Mindy!

IMG_2854

And I added more than 35 handprints from our amazing donors to the bus!

IMG_2802 IMG_2828 IMG_2839 IMG_2801

Friday we trek on down the coast to Dover Castle!