| London,
UK to Prague, CZ |
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| Prague,
CZ to Kiev, UA |
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| Kiev,
UA to Astrakhan, RU |
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| Astrakhan,
RU to Aral, KZ |
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| Aral,
KZ to Bishkek, KG |
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| Bishkek,
KG to Semey, KZ |
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| Semey,
KZ to Kemerovo, RU |
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| Kemerovo,
RU to Ulan Batar, MN |
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| Vaughn
and Dominic went to England early to sort out the cars and replace
the various parts that failed while driving around town. Jen and myself
arrived on successive days. We all were big time movie stars and drank
some beer. Rolled out of London on Sat. late afternoon. Drove through
the night and endured multiple car issues. It rained. Jen and I drove
the cars as fast as they would go. Made it to Prague mid to late afternoon,
its hard to tell. Cars got fixed and we went heavy at the local establishments. |
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| With
cars running better, we left Prague in the early afternoon and drove
until things were really blurry in Poland. There was a gas station
and we slept. We made the Polish / Ukraine border early. It sucked,
so we stayed for 10 hours. Met up with the Scamp and tried a field,
then another border. Met up with the Fiat boys and crossed the border.
It was scary in the Ukraine so Jen drove. Slept at another gas station.
Drove all day to Kiev, the Scamp died on an uphill, we pushstarted
downhill. Jen left, Patrick arrived. |
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| After
a night of drinking big beers, we got an early start at 2 pm. Drove
until some Dukes joined us, then the scamp broke, again. Slept behind
bomb shelter / gas station. Made border, Dominic made friends with
insurance chiselers. Crossed border late. Avoided scary situation
with Lada. Slept in field. Half of convoy got trashed with mechanic
dude. Drove some more, fixed Scamp with panty hose, slept on shoulder
and got woke up by drunk Russians. Good day of cruising, slept in
hotel in Astrakhan. |
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| After
a day of Scamp repairs, the convoy made it to the border. 6 hours
later, the convoy emerged in Kaz. Slept in a field, got harassed by
drunk techno playing teenagers in a Lada. Solid days drive, beat the
cars up on big Kaz potholes. Camped in a salt flat. Didn't get harassed
by drunk people. Took the cars off road, Scamp died. Camped in a field
with beers and no Scamp. Dropped the Scamp boys off in Aktobe. The
roads were not as good as advertised. More offroad and camping, finally
made Aral. The Fiat got stuck. |
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| Got
sick of high life, rolled out of Aral. Drove a lot, had a bunch of
fun with cops in Kzyyyylords. Camped near Turkistan, cops don't like
GW, Dukes left convoy. Fiat left convoy. The mountains were big and
snowcapped. Dukes located at truck stopped with spring busted up.
Drove to Bishkek the wrong way. Met up with Dukes again, place to
stay at the Hyatt, comped. Stayed in Bishkek a few days, Fiat back
on convoy, lived large, thanks Frank and Ava. |
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| Left
to Bishkek, enjoyed gas station facilities, crossed border in record
time. Drove to, around, and left Almaty. Thanks Andy and James. Camped
late in deserty Kaz. Fiat no go, head gasket replaced, Fiat go. Fiat
no go, dead and abandoned. The Dukes pick up the stragglers. Seat
loses clutch cable, gains clutch boy (passenger hand-operated clutch).
Convoy ends, scary night at gas station. Its cold. Drive to Russian
border in Semey. Ate fried pork product, really cold near Siberia. |
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| At
border early, Patrick detained-ish, Rus says no entry, Kaz says no
re entry. We buy another cell phone (third). Anne from US Embassy
works hard for Patrick, we drink a few beers at roadhouse with fellow
rally teams. Spend a couple days sunnying near the border. Patrick
disappears back to Kaz. We drive. Cannonball run, our visas expire
soon, jail awaits. Fiestavus loses tire at 60 at 2. Miracle at Mercedes
Benz dealership in Kemerovo. Back on road, visas closer to expiring |
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| Drive
until 3 am, sleep on side of road. Roads worse than expected, Seat
dies in Siberia 700 miles from finish. 3 stinky ralliers in one Fiestavus,
visas still expiring. Drive/sleepdrive through dirt, fog, and mountain.
Fiestavus springs leak in gas tank, guy in suit fixes. Make it across
border with 15 minutes to spare. Head for UB, brakes gone, suspension
gone, no UB on this eve, stay in Darkhaan. Drive early, handbrake
into UB, have beers at Dave's. Rally over. |
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| Detailed
Posts: 96,
97, 98,
100, 101,
102 |
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| Detailed
Posts: 103, 104,
105, 106 |
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| Detailed
Posts: 108, 109,
110, 111,
112, 113,
114, 115,
116, 117,
118, 119 |
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| Detailed
Posts: 121, 123,
124, 126,
127, 128 |
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| Detailed
Posts: 125, 129,
130, 131,
132 |
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| Detailed
Posts: 141, 142 |
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| Detailed
Posts: 143, 144 |
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| Detailed
Posts: 137, 138,
140, 146,
149, 152,
153 |
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