2002-2005 (c) GetJealous.com, All rights reserved. http://www.getjealous.com/mrpink/rss.xml Welcome to our site. If the technology works, we hope to include a regular update here of our progress on this Rally. Please feel free to leave messages (not too rude please!) or contact us via KPMG (our usual numbers should do) - who will seek to pass messages to us whilst we are travelling. We are raising funds for The Association for Research in Infant and Child Development (ARICD) and donations can be made at any time via the internet by copying the following link into your web browser: <a href="http://www.justgiving.com/nigelandmikeARICD">Justgiving.com/nigelandmikeARICD</a> http://www.getjealous.com/mrpink http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=351964&go=mrpink Well, we made it. 35 days; over 12,000 km; various broken and bent parts on the Land Rover; 9 countries crossed; and a load of new friends made. So glad I took up Nigel's offer to navigate for him. It has been great fun. Tiring, exciting and scary at times. I'll never forget the harshness and remoteness of Mongolia; the hundreds of miles of forests in Siberia; the lack of friendly "service" i... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=351964&go=mrpink Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=351965&go=mrpink Well, we're on our way to the finish in Paris. Still not 100% sure we will get there (I'll only believe it when I step from the car and touch the Parisien streets) - but we are determined to be there and enjoy it in style. Day 34 Koblenz to Reims As we get closer to home I notice the weather is steadily deteriorating - yet another cloudy, cold day. 300 miles to get to Reims. Now every squ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=351965&go=mrpink Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=349613&go=mrpink The Rally has now reached Koblenz in Germany we only have the 370 mile drive tomorrow to Reims and the final short hop to Paris for the finish but there are still dramas unfolding each day. No-one is being complacent; no-one wants to miss out on the finish line in Place du Vendome on Saturday. I suspect I might struggle to update this blog further until I get home. Day 31 Rest day in Gdan... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=349613&go=mrpink Tue, 26 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=348458&go=mrpink Day 28 Riga to Vilnius Today should be 285 miles but we were again surprised by a revised road book at beginning of the day, requiring a degree of interpretation as information was vague. The actual start for the day was at the Riga motor circuit, 6 miles from the hotel. The news overnight was that Day 26 results were cancelled due to delays at the Russian border (our results in the Tim... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=348458&go=mrpink Sat, 23 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=346812&go=mrpink Over the last few days I think that both Nigel and I have experienced a range of emotions (courtesy of a variety of factors) as we have travelled through four countries. Yesterday (Day 27) was our biggest set-back, due to a bit of bad luck. Today, things have got better and we are both relaxing more. Day 25 Rest day St Petersburg The Rally hotel in St Peterburg was sited near the cruis... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=346812&go=mrpink Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=345792&go=mrpink We're finally out of Russia - in Tallinn, Estonia. Everyone on the Rally is relieved. The Russian Police have done their best today to hold up their reputation as less than straight - a high proportion of drivers were pulled-up, often for no real reason, and cash was demanded. One driver was quoted "One million Roubles"! The "fine" was commuted to 1,000 Roubles after some discussion. The borde... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=345792&go=mrpink Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=343471&go=mrpink Day 21 update Day 19 Yekatrinburg to Perm After several 400 mile slogs todays run is short - 240 miles to Perm. Perm is a busy industrial city, famous for a notorious labour camp under the old Communist regime. The first challenge of the day was leaving the secured parking area in Yekatrinburg. The organisers handed out several sheets of route amendments, which appeared contradictor... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=343471&go=mrpink Sat, 16 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=345197&go=mrpink Update Day 25 Day 22 Niz. Novgorod to Moscow After several long days in the car, the run to Moscow today appears relatively short 275 miles but we are all concerned about the notorious Moscow traffic. Following the pattern of the last week, car 104 is scheduled to leave the start control at 8.53 am. We are immediately handed revised directions out of Niz and there are immediate am... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=345197&go=mrpink Sat, 16 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=341314&go=mrpink Day 18 update - a long one Having sorted out the minor niggles on car 104 during the rest day our last night in Novosibirsk was time to relax and Nigel and I joined up with six other competitors, and an American video diary producer who had been following the event, for dinner. We took a couple of taxis from our swish hotel to a nearby Italian restaurant. Immediately we arrived we faced a ch... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=341314&go=mrpink Wed, 13 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=338985&go=mrpink Well, its the 9th of June and we are out of Mongolia. The last night in camp near the Mongolian border town of Tsagaanuur demonstrated the variations in the weather in this part of the world when we arrived in camp it was largely blue sky, a few clouds, but with a serious gusty wind. This made putting the tent up difficult. I thought I had invested in a giant kite. I feared the flexible p... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=338985&go=mrpink Sat, 9 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT