SMS Update
Day 4 - Made it to Hampi. Have done 650ish km. Tuk tuk still working. The mileometer and speedometer have never worked. Roads are crazy, bus drivers are the worst. Stayed in a nasty hotel in Mysore and slept under a tree near Hampi. Have gatecrashed three Hindu festivals and eaten their curry. Drinking lots of Chai. Seb danced with an elephant. Nearly ran out of petrol twice. Up at 6am tomorrow, heading to Hyderabad. Tom
SMS Update
Day1: So today's launch started with as much comedy pomp & tribal drumming as a 1940's black and white Tarzan film. Brilliant... Rituals finished and the race so far seen Tom and I breakdown twice, dance with an elephant and pay extortion money to a 6 year... 160 km in 4340 km to go. Nice. Seb
SMS Update
A 5 minute test drive around town proves these things are slow, difficult to drive and generally rubbish! We're now sat on the start line... Tom
SMS Update
So today we met Ruby the little beast that will be our faithful Tuk Tuk. A stunning little machine well pimped, showing off her aquired new MOD insignia. Race starts Sunday... Apart from that the day has been busy, well if kingfisher beers and paddling in the Indian Ocean counts. Good times! Seb
<p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; margin: 0px"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium">W</span></font></font><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small">hen one of my old university friends suggested that we enter ourselves into the 2010 rickshaw rally, travelling the length of the subcontinent, forcing little more than a 150cc of Indian engineering over thousands of endless miles (of questionable perilous terrain), I should have said “errr no thank you Tom”… but what I actually, bizarrely said was “sign me up!”</span></font></font></p> <p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; min-height: 14px; margin: 0px"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small"> </span></font></font></p> <p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; margin: 0px"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small">In March this year, together, we will join 80 other International competitors in a race across India. Starting in Cochin, Kerala in the south, then heading north and 3000 kilometres later ending high in the Himalayas, in Gantok, Sikkim.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000000; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'arial black', 'avant garde'; font-size: small; color: #003300"> A<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; border-collapse: collapse"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small">mazing scenery and friendly smiles aside,</span></font></font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'arial black', 'avant garde'; color: #003300; font-size: small"> I expect our Tuk Tuk (our home for the next two weeks) to tackle the pleasures of huge mountains, desert tracks, tropical jungles and possibly a monsoon or two!</span></span></span></span></span></font></font></p> <p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; min-height: 14px; margin: 0px"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small"> </span></font></font></p> <p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; margin: 0px"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small">To make the journey all that more rewarding and worthwhile we will raise money to support the much needed funds of two critically underfunded charities. The first, <em>Mercy Corps</em> is a charity that supports local farmers to learn more about modern day farming methods, which in turn will help isolated communities become more independent, self sufficient and sustainable in the future. The second, a Charity called <em>FRANK Water Projects</em> that funds facilities which use the world's most effective water filtering process that go on to be owned and run by local impoverished communities.</span></font></font></p> <p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; min-height: 14px; margin: 0px"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small"> </span></font></font></p> <p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; margin: 0px"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small">It will no doubt be an adventure not to forget (not even if we wanted to!) and as the race organization makes it only too clear, once the race starts we really are on our own, without backup and, without assistance;</span></font></font><span style="font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Arial"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small"> </span></font></font></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial"><em><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small"> "Some teams have been seriously injured, If it all goes wrong, that's it, </span></font></font></em></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; text-decoration: underline"><em><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small">tough!"</span></font></font></em></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; min-height: 14px; margin: 0px"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small"><em></em></span></font></font></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin: 0px"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'arial black', 'avant garde'"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#003300"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small">Seb.</span></font></font></p><p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin: 0px"> </p><p style="text-align: justify; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin: 0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px"><!-- Facebook Badge START --><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Bagatelle-CardClub-Rickshaw-Run/100000709564405" title="Bagatelle CardClub Rickshaw Run" target="_TOP" style="font-family: "lucida grande",tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #3B5998; text-decoration: none;">Bagatelle CardClub Rickshaw Run</a><br/><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Bagatelle-CardClub-Rickshaw-Run/100000709564405" title="Bagatelle CardClub Rickshaw Run" target="_TOP"><img src="http://badge.facebook.com/badge/100000709564405.657.495286518.png" width="120" height="145" style="border: 0px;" /></a><br/><a href="http://www.facebook.com/facebook-widgets/" title="Make your own badge!" target="_TOP" style="font-family: "lucida grande",tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; color: #3B5998; text-decoration: none;">Create Your Badge</a><!-- Facebook Badge END --></span> </p><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>
