Diary 1: Sunday 31st July  | | And they're off - passing Trafalgar Square |
Midday on Saturday saw the start of The Mongol Rally from Hyde Park - and then it was all down to Dover for the opening dash across Europe.
Team Wrongolia (that’s me and Ian) are now in the beautiful city of Prague, supping on a few brews, after a marathon all night session through France and Germany and one or two slight mechanical problems along the way. This is the culmination of an eventful few weeks that saw Ian desperately begging for cash, while I was running about London begging for visas.  | | The lads arrive in Prague |
In the end we got chucked some free toys and a bit of sterling from the most unlikely of places; long lost friends, random people in pubs, distant relations, and believe it or not, Ian's mum, who was one tough nut to crack. But not even a whiff from the white-collar folk with the six digit marketing budgets. Thankfully the good people at Bar Estilo and TC's swooped in at the last minute providing some much needed financial support for journey. School boy mechanics So, finances aside, the car has been sorted beyond recognition.  | | A few last minute preparations |
The boys at Chambers Ford (where the car originally came from) have really put the hours in and even managed to give us a crash course in motor mechanics. Unfortunately we couldn't hide the fact that they were starting with two blank slates. Our pre-rally schoolboy errors include a tank full of diesel due to my incompetence, and Ian getting the car keys stolen while in Newquay on the Fiesta's inaugural run. And so to the rally itself....  | | A bit of Ian's handy work |
After loading 'the beast' on the morning of departure it was difficult not to notice the wheel arch hanging dangerously close to the tyres. After a re-shuffel of our stuff, we managed to move weight forward enough to move, but not enough to avoid the terrible noise of metal on rubber each time we hit as much as a pebble. By Dover the situation was pretty dire. Fortunately our enthusiasm with a hammer and metal cutters proved successful and the arches got a little trim and flare. Then just outside Prague, our school boy mechanics were put to the test again. Ian did a botch job on the brake cable that came away from the underside of the car.  | | Ian fixing the exhaust |
Aside from that - so far so good. The car is running like a dream, albeit wholly uncomfortable to sleep in. With the two of us laid out on the front seats, and a canister of petrol and a spare tyre for a pillow, things are getting pretty cosy. And we've got at least three more weeks of this. The plan - yes we do have one! The plan is to make it to the Mongol capital, Ulaan Baatar, by the 23rd of August. That will work out at sixteen-odd hours a day behind the wheel split between the two of us. And then there's the wild corners of the globe where we are headed. Most notably the 'Stans.' Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Krygyzstan and Kazakhstan. More tales to come  | | Arriving in Prague |
I'm certain there will be a tale or two to come out of this particular dusty road. Keep checking the BBC Birmingham website for our diary updates. We are now heading south-east through the Balkan peninsula towards Turkey. We hope to see you in Istanbul. Until then, mind how you go. The Wrongolia lads.
800 miles down - well and truly on the road. | 
