Let the countdown commence..

I should probably be honest and state up front that I have never written a blog. Or a novel, poem, short story or decent essay without taking a quick detour down the rabbit hole. So, I apologise in advance for any errors or ramblings which I may make during this chronicle.

It is now just over 4 weeks until the start of the race and things are starting to feel a little surreal. The car – our beautiful 1967 Mercedes 250SL (or Maud as she is more fondly referred to) – was shipped out weeks ago and is currently in the middle of a war zone. I feel irrationally emotional when I think of our little baby out there, all alone. Sad really, but to be fair, she will be our constant companion for the 35 day, 13,695 km race across half of the world.

In terms of preparation, the main bulk of to-do’s have been done. We are just waiting on the final VISA (Russia), the safe return of our passports and the delivery of our sat phone and we should be ready to go. Ignoring the actual packing of course.

We do seem to be doing an obscene amount of panic buying on Amazon for things that we might need, things we will definitely need, things we hope we won’t need. All this bulk-buying arises mainly from my mother’s inspiring thoughts at 2am or from people’s helpful suggestions (the last one was to take raw onions to keep the scorpions out of your tent… reassuring, I know). It is also prudent to take silk knickers along with you as well, as they are quick drying and very comfortable – my favourite suggestion so far. Any excuse eh? Some of the male competitors are less enthusiastic about this recommendation…

As this is my first post I will keep it short and sweet and just leave you with the knowledge that my mother and I are doing this race for The Brain Tumour Charity in memory of my father who lost his battle to a brain tumour in 2003. He was an avid classic car enthusiast and had just finished the Inca Trail and the London-Peking leg of the Around the World in 80 Days when he was diagnosed. Obviously this is an incredible adventure for us, but the main reason is to raise both awareness and funds for such a worthwhile charity. The link to the donation page is on the top of the main blog page and at the end of this post – please donate what you can. It really does make a difference.

https://www.justgiving.com/Peking-to-Paris-2016?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=20160509_70371