Day 22 - Agra at last
Apologies
We have lots of great video from days 11 right to the end of the event. However, dreadfully slow internet connectons at our hotels have prevented us from publishing these…for which we apologize. Once we can get to a fast internet connection (this may take several day still , or perhaps our return home) we will nevertheless collect and publish the videos into their respective ‘days’ so please stay turned and I will notify on this blog once new videos are uploaded.
Wake up. I am feeling awful. Been a rough night, not sure who coughed more. Last night had a little for dinner. Indian food very traditional. Hotel is lovely we eat around the pool. What a magnificent setting. People are beginning to relax a little. Wine flows. I am not really hungry but dinner and company makes you forget. Every night you sit with a different group. We have all become such friends. Questions abound? How are the tires, How is the exhaust manifold ? Did the weld hold on chassis for the other Bentley? How’s the temperature holding? The list goes no. Few are without major issues. The organizers say. This has been brutal. Most feel way worse roads , especially the roads of Nepal and way worse than anywhere in the Peking to Paris.
Onward- Our last start is 9:07am , and of course there are some major amendments. We have to drive about 370km not bad but this is India. We are to pay 585 Rupees to drive on the newest HWY in India to Agra. Most participant feel like us. there will certainly be gas stations along the way. We are all low on Petrol.
Off we go.
Through Lucknow, which looks quite lovely and civilized in morning light. Some crazy usual congestion on the roads. Horns never stop. It is a way of life here.
Onto highway, we have less than 3 gallons of petrol. Should get is maybe 50 miles. We enter highway and immediately realize this is new. OMG there won’t be petrol.
Lee Inspecting..something?
Finish line within reach. I cut the engine some 50-100 yards out and we coast to the line…...
On we drive. We can’t go faster than 107km or the car starts to fall apart. Your brain shakes the car shakes. So just below 105kmph (60miles an hour) on we go, watching the tank level slowly drop. 35 miles 40 miles and finally there it is a roadside stop. Can’t believe it.
Others weren’t so lucky. Some had to flag down drivers to borrow fuel.
On we trundle.
The Ladies Team !!!
Well through the toll. By the way it was a great hwy. not a soul but the competitors or the rare big car. Too expensive for the average Indian I am guessing.
At the toll end we have less than 22km to go. Coasting along at 107kmph. All of a sudden the oil pressure drops to 0. Yes 0
Tony rolls to the side of road and turns car off immediately.
Help, can’t do this so close to the end.
An Indian gentleman immediately pulls over. Time is of the essence. We haven’t seen first place Nigel Lee acr 12 in some time but they would need to be quite late for us to take over their place.
Tony opens bonnet. There is oil on rocker panels, oil is leaking from somewhere.
No real time to search it out.
Shall I call for a tow?
Tony has a few gallons of oil in the trunk/boot, we decide to put it in, see if she will start and move ever so slowly towards the finish.
She starts the oil pressure jumps up, we push on.
5 km maybe and the oil drops again. Tony slows and oil pressure holds around 10 lbs per square inch. Not great but we drive slow.
Now down to 2 km to go, dare not push. We know she is loosing oil.
Finally we see a car one of the drivers attempting to make a right across traffic. We scoot in a head and see the finish. The ruby red car of number 12 has slipped passed. We arrive at finish, or should I say 20 feet before oil pressure falls to 0, so we turn her off and coast across finish.
Boy was that close.
We did it we crossed the finish line. It’s over....
We heard later, a few cars ran out of gas, one burst a tire and spun out and a few others had minor issues.
Well it’s done - now its Party time
Celebration hugs- get the car back to Cars the shipper, check in and then off to the tour of Taj Mahal. In between more hugs and beer and champagne and photos
First we need to figure out how to tow it to Cars parking lot, second we need to get message off saying -don’t start it till we find out what’s wrong !
Tony talks to ERA guys, Tony with ERA tells us, they have oil. Let’s fill it up and drive it less than two Kilometres to the shipper We put in two litres of oil fire her up and drive ever so slowly to CARS Cars has people out watching for us and prepared to help, should the pressure drop
Happy couple…got it done!
It wasn’t great oil pressure but it held close to 15, sort of.
On we went pulled in and immediately turned engine off.
Wrapped her up figuratively, but, in a hurry we forgot suitcase and didn’t really clean her out
Boy we were so proud of her. The car did very well considering the abuse she took
We found out later that the organizers figured we would be out by day two
John Spiller ERA head honcho organizer was amazed he later said he watched for us each day.
Story on that later
Off to tour the Taj Mahal, as it closes Friday and we are in the midst of a major holiday, event in India, so all sorts of things are closed or not available
trip to the Taj Mahal in the afternoon.. race decompression
view of the river from the Taj Mahal
Taj continues to attract big crowds
On our way back to the hotel Tony spied this coat. Photo added
Seems a lot of guys decided to buy jackets. When we arrived at dinner turban artisans were there to prepare the men The significance of the turban design was explained later
The orange means challenged and the design represented Agra
Getting ready for our award dinner and final goodbye’ to the fellow competators
View for our hotel room terrace with the Taj in the background
An artisan did our henna hands All in fun
Dinner was traditional Indian with a twist, delicious ribs, pork of course. Great fall off the bone ribs. Meat at last.
Finally it came to awards. We knew we were out of the running for the Gold category or number 1 so awaited the second status. Best in class went to car 12, Nigel and Richard, big congrats. We were second in our class. Yippee car 11. Car 10 was third..
THAT One day cost us so much, our travels into Pokhara where the times set by organizers were so difficult to make and our suspension took such a beating and then finally no head lights down a mountain in the rain.
Final awards given we made that one error so fortunately we stayed silver level for the completion. There were about a dozen who made Gold. Bill and Jacquie were one. No other Bentley made it. 7 Bentley’s three completed, two as silver and one as gold.
Then spirit of the Rally was announced and a adversityr awards for those that had had experiences that were unique. 250 Triumph who tried to get back into rally so many times, others went home they stayed.
John Spiller then announced the Ganesh award. Then our names .As John Spiller said. We of all teams were not expected to make it. Each day he waited with baited breath to see if we were in. He hadn’t expected us to make it past day two.
Thank you Bentley you proved him and others wrong. We persevered and were here to receive the Ganesh award. From what I understand it means we overcame adversity almost everyday and we prevailed. It is a symbol of GOOD LUCK. Never give up, Never surrender.
After the awards we all chatted and moved around offering to share unique photos with others.
Christian handed out SMILE rewritten by Christian, he and Len were in the mercedes. Len is the only other Canadian, we all sang it ‘SMILE’
40 teams a handful missing, some recovering, we all wished Lars a special recovery. He and Annette were missed at the dinner. Surgery I hear went well
Johns final words about our experience on the Himalayan Challenge . Here I Quote ERA quoting JOHN Spiller etc.
In a final tongue in cheek aside John also announced that this event would almost certainly be running again ….. “in twenty years time”. Competition Director, and assistant potager, Guy Woodcock, here on his first ERA long distance event, echoed this and added that “ it’s the people who make a great event and, we’ve got some great people here”, he also went on to thank the entire ERA team here on the ground for their hard work and fortitude
Silver medal finishers
Nuts and Bolts:
The wheel shimmy becomes a real problem as we enter the newly constructed Lucknow to Agra motorway. Smooth new surface and almost completely empty of other vehicles it would seem an easy dash to Agra. However, the wheels start a violent shaking at any speeds over 55 miles per hour…! I try to keep a pace that keeps us just below the ‘shimmy zone’. Maddening, as we need another 5-10 miles an hour to make our pace time!!
At the morning check I replenish another 2 litres of oil to the sump comsumed the preious day. I had he fluctuationg needle has me pull over and check the oil level…..almost empty!!!!!!! I have the last 4 liters of oil stashed away in the boot and I dump it all in to the sump. we dash to the finsh line and as we get to the last kilomters the needle begin to waver and droop. Do we stop or continue…I have no more oil on board…I decide to press on being careful to reduce engine loading when the pressure woudl suddenly dip and lean on the accelerator as the pressure would pick up temporarily. We limped to the finish line… and I shut off the engine within the last 50 meters of the finish line and we coasted over!!!!!.
Day 20 - Lucky to get to Lucknow
Up very early, it is getting harder to write as we are more exhausted with each passing day. I now am coughing hard and have no voice. This is hard when you are navigator and you bark directions.
It’s a super early start and we leave with 6 minutes between each car due to Border concerns.
Back that up with the long gravel roads. We saw some of last nights entertainers as we leave hotel they are Doing laundry tending goats.
Roads aren’t great but gravel.
On we go
Today is border crossing and nobody is looking forward to the experience.
We arrive early, meet the early model Bentley’s there just clearing. First immigration, seems ok we line up in this Star Wars like town with horns and music blaring. The Hindu festival has just begun.
The agent behind the desk takes our passports goes through each page. He is the Nepalese Agent. He hands them back saying we haven’t arrived in Nepal.
HUH!
Says we must drive back to original border crossing to be stamped. We indicate we have a Carnet de Passage showing the car entered. It seems the stamp was never afixed to our passports. Logic escapes me. Our car went to Nepal but we didn’t.
The ERA guys helpful as usual find the translator. Our teammates move on albeit slowly. After 45 minutes and some money transferring. All is rectified.
I think it was embarrassing for them . As we were in process one of the teams. Car 9 came back in saying the Immigration agent had forgotten to stamp his passport for exit to India. At which time the agent shuffled and tried to hide it. Saying not possible. He looked back in his books and sure enough he had forgotten. Sigh of relief for us.
Next on to Car crossing Nepalese side. We arrived to see 30 teams all standing around. The agent had decided to take an hour and a half lunch break. WELCOME to border crossings. it didn’t matter that the line ups were 300 deep.
So we slipped in again to our group and did the HURRY UP AND WAIT routine.
The crush of traffic and lorries was now so long that the police came in trying to move it along. They called the agent and demanded his return. He was not a happy camper. The throng of people in this poverty stricken border town was overwhelming. This wasn’t something that anyone wanted to stay in. You are pulled at ripped off and totally frustrated. ERA tried to help but this wasn’t something that anyone could do. You moved with humanity here.
Now on to the INDIA side. Lokesh was there. He helped as best he could. The agent here was much less friendly but Lokesh tried to smooth it over. He moved things along albeit at a pace just above snail. I decided to try and find customs. Lokesh was doing Carnet or car transfers. I walked out into the masses and slowly walked through the throng. people asking for money, others showing me their bare babies looking for money. Shopkeepers trying to draw you in. It was difficult to make progress. All the while loud speakers playing very very loud HINDU music and cars and trucks honking their horns. It was really surreal, out of a movie. You feel like you aren’t really apart of this. You stare without being in it. Finally I found Customs. A group of our drivers were there. I asked for a form. I was allowed one as Tony wasn’t there. I said but he has two and his co driver isn’t here. The agent glared. Finally I smiled and said he is just out the door and the crowd is so big he can’t get in. He caved.
He said I need his signature. I said no problem. Walked out of office signed forms and returned.
He took me first, which was the best news of all. The other drivers weren’t too happy.
He passed it all through the multitude of officials and out I walked.
Back to Tony who by then had cleared the car customs and off we headed for the rest of the drive to Lucknow. Money exchange is too long a story to tell. I caught the transfer guy short changing me. And holding some in his hand. I later heard that many others weren’t as lucky as me and got ripped off much bigger. I was ripped off but C’est la vie. The roads for half the way were disgusting. The roads for the last half were highway-if you could call it that.
You see in INDIA people don’t care what direction a road is supposed to go. Crosswalks in highways, normal. Cows in highway Normal
Tuck tucs in highway driving on wrong side. Perfectly normal.
We had to speed, we have no headlights and time is marching on. Sun is gone by just around 6 pm. We hit Lucknow just before and drive with the flow arriving 4th at the beautiful hotel. An oasis in all this madness.
We are greeted with the traditional blessing to the forehead of a dye and a drink of the region and some type of beads. I have quite the collection now. People have stopped me in the street telling me I have visited somewhere as they can tell by the beads. Interesting !
Off for a much needed beer and then a shower while we wait the crowd. At the entrance we are greeted by BIll in one of the WO Bentley’s. Excited to see us. Many are worried about our tires and as with everyone we are excited to see who made it through the day.
Sadly we here later that a clutch went on one of the WO Bentley’s. (Mid nineteen 20’s ) so another one bites the dust. We started as 7 we are now down to three.
Jonathan and his son Freddy will work all night to get to Lucknow and be ready for the final assault on AGRA. The finish.
FINALLY
Off to bed
Nuts and Bolts:
The car has been running well on the new rubber although the shimmy from the unbalanced tires is maddening! Oil consumption has increased alarmingly and it wousl appear that we are losing it through some failed seal or gasket? There is nothing I can see from the top of the engine and the underneath is incased in a series of heavy skid plates that prevent any easy inspection. So far oil pressure remains OK and we will just carry a couple of gallons of extra oil just in case. The front shocks in particular start to give out after a hard morning of use so we end up bobbing along the road on rough patches like cartoon characters. The shimmy however is a real problem, and it has kept slowed our progress to the point were we cannot keep up with the field on some sections. It ahs already cost us the gold medal in class and threatens to reduce us to the bottom of the pack if it continues. It adds the extra worry that we can damage some vital suspension component through the violent shaking if we press on without slakening the pace. The skid plates have repeated shaved the day by allowing us to skid over rocks and broken roads that would have otherwise gutted the mechanics on the underside. However, removing the plates is lengthy, and replacing is very tricky as the frame and plates warps after many days of battering which makes replacing them a time consuming 2-3 man project (as we found in Kathmandu after removing just one of the plates under the engine). We no longer have the luxery of time to remove and inspect for oil leaks so will carry on. The headlights fix we did in Kathmandu failed within a half hour of setting off from the city!! So we had the added anxiety of pressing our transit speeds to insure that we could manage to get to an urban area in time before daylight was gone. This was a real challenge after Kathmandu as all the days were long and many competators would spend a 12-14 hour day behind the wheel and arrive well after dark to the target hotel/city. A late arriveal would be dangerous for us given the bedlam on the roads and our ponderous size and poor visibility. Press on, press on is the order of the day!!
I had already given the brakes an adjustment early in the week, but given the severity of the swithcback roads these last few days I re-adjusted these again. Good thing…the rear brakes took 3 turns and the front another 2 of the brake shoe adjustment thumb-wheel. This ingenious R&R device allows for easy roadside adjustment of brakes by the simple twist of a hub mounted thumb wheel. It acts to creep the brakes shoes closer to the drum surface and allow for better peddle feel and height. The brakes have generally performed very well, although in truth, most of the day is spent in 1 or 2 gear climbing or descending factured roads so engine braking is primariliy what is happening. Still, having the brakes respond quickly and positively during panic stops is reassuring, and one spends all day making panic stops on these roads.
Over heating has been a pague for many teams in this event. I have to give credit to the mechanics at The Priory for paying attentiton to this critical function. We managed to stay cool enough, even when stuck in a traffic clog on a truck cramed 30% grade, and never experienced a boil over despite extreme heat and engine strains. This is a life saver…!!!!
Day 19 - on to Chitwin
CHITWIN. In a day
Happy to be leaving Kathmandu, certainly not my favourite place. Tony worked hard yesterday getting the car ship shape with the help of Andy and Tony. Andy suggested we had too much weight so we tried to get someone to take some luggage early this morning. Some of the officials had already left and some were already carrying too much so we stuck our bag back in the car and at the prescribed time we headed out and down the hill again of Kathmandu. We have four new tires. A plastic bottle and duck tape for a headlight and Tony managed to take the skid plate off and look under it . He was checking the oil level in the shock absorber power pump and he adjusted the two from brakes, two half turns for the front and three half turns for the rear. He tried to get the tires balance but to no avail. Filled up with petrol. Then finally reinstalled the skid plate which was a real challenge . He was hot and sweaty. Overheated and worn out by days end.
We were then to go to a dinner put on by ERA at a local Kathmandu restaurant and show. We were a bit skeptic. The meal was pretty bad and then a number of people succumb to the terrible belly issue. Tony who is so susceptible once again was up most of the night. He is coughing pretty bad too.
The day was long and the times were hard to reach. We were strong through the early morning and on time the Regulatory was difficult as the speed changed every KM and there was secret timing going on. We met a bus then another unloading children
Smallville Napal
Havinging a swinging time!!
Then a tractor then two trucks.
Afterwards we headed on to the heights so we could see Everest. We climbed to 2488 metres for what should have been a panoramic view. Except clouds rolled in and we saw nothing.
So after a quick rest we headed out, next PC 42km was over roads that could swallow whole cars. We bounced we jostled for another one and half hours. The PC was across a suspension bridge so finally I got to run across a bridge. Wanted to do that. It bounces if you try to run.
Ride’m Lee…!
On we went we are headed to a jungle resort. So I am guessing we will go over more horrible roads in our final attempt to get there. Well time started flying by. What we thought was early was now turning into a very late last run. On the road we went others knew we needed to get in so they moved aside. Part of our issue was stopping for gas and finding only diesel at the first few stations. Driving is amazing, how do they live with such pollution. We talk about saving a bag or two or walking more to save the planet. It’s hard to know where to begin
The grit from the road is in every pore of our bodies. We notice at night showering then taking a towel to dry the towels are still black. It scary what we are breathing, it’s scary seeing the black billowy smoke coming out of the trucks. Diesel trucks and buses are everywhere.
Finally we arrived minutes late but so were many others
At the entry we were greeted by elephants and a staff that tried to take care of our every whim
Exhausted we took a shower and trundled off to dinner. Where there was some entertainment. I went for a brief swim
Then headed for bed as day 20 started at 5
Border crossing.
Day 17 & 18 - Kathmandu
Tires what tires and how much
Tony coughed most of the night but I think more than half the group is coughing now. My cough has just started. I hope it will not develop
Up for a lovely breakfast and to front desk. I started calling DHL at 7:00am. They had no record of our Waybill number, interesting. Finally at 10:15 I get a response.
DHL says The hotel has the paperwork and I must go to customs to clear the tires. Interesting.
Tire changing helpers
So off to front desk, they can’t find paperwork. I have the name of the person who signed for the documents but he is nowhere to be found. Another 30 minutes they find him.
Now, to get a taxi and go to the airport. My last conversation with the DHL agent is I might have to pay duty. So on route I call DHL to verify. I speak to a manager and he says as you are in transit and have a ‘Carnet du Passage’. I should be fine.
Tony and I speed off to customs where the SHENANIGANS begin.
At the entry gate. The official says taxi driver can’t come in. Then they change their minds. Then a woman walks beside the car and our taxi driver says - she says she will help you.
She walks us through a massive big building all open and filled with people and products. We are directed into a tiny one fluorescent light bulb office where the agent looks at the paperwork and writes his name on it and sends us to another small narrow room. A group of men haphazardly sitting or standing behind computer terminals. The guy speaks some English but seems confused as to what to do. He says, you must go back to first guy Customs Agent, I think you must pay duty
Posh mod to our headlight
So off we trundle back to the agent in the first office and he reports. The duty will be £1000 . Or just over 100000 Nepal rupees.
I said what, I explain our predicament, tires aren’t staying we have Carnet etc. He is finally convinced and is about to issue paper work and his stamp when in walks this very short guy and looks at me and says no you pay. The £1000. He is sizing us up.
I said you don’t pay duty on shipping. He says yes I must pay him cash. I said NO CASH. Credit card. He smiles in that sickly fashion where you know he sees. Fair haired foreigner has lots of money and is in a hurry.
He says no. I am angry but try to keep my cool. I said then keep my tires. He seems perplexed. I turn walk out. The girl follows me. She thinks I have agreed to his terms as she hadn’t been permitted in to room and she has no English so I walk down the corridor following her back to the other room. We fill in most of the paperwork and the agent at the desk says ok we will release tires but you can go back to pay. Maybe later.
Hum I am beginning to get suspicious. A fellow standing beside us leads us out into the hall and says. I CAN DO THIS FOR 40000 rupees. He makes a mistake he looks at paper which says Britain all over it, and says what currency. I pipe up. It’s euros - he agrees. One small victory. Tony says sure to his offer for 40,000 rupees. I was not so sure. As Tony had agreed I didn’t respond. The guy Turns and says well no it will cost you 50,000 RUPEES. There is an extra fee. Tony agrees again, says not a penny more He sees us as marks and then says. Well it will be 60,000 RUPEES. By now I am furious. It will be tomorrow for the delivery as he must deal with another Govt agent to clear tires.
I spoke up and said NO right now. I want tires right now.
After some glaring and back and forth he agrees I must come with cash and he will have them in 1 hour.
Lots of fix’n underway
So off we go to bank to try to get money out.
We decide that Tony should go back to the car to do work and I will return with the money and get tires with our taxi driver who by this time is helping us out and wants me to report the corruption. He is clearly unhappy by how we are being treated. I want the tires and will happily report it afterwards. For all the good it will do. So we pick up some car parts and some shorts so Tony can work on car, and drive through the crazy town of Kathmandu. Should have taken 15 minutes but traffic is horrendous. We got cash too. Chasing down more than one ATM so few really work
By 1:00pm I am back at the Customs office. Thinking through this more clearly I decide I am going to offer him less. I figure I have him over a barrel. As soon as I have my tires he is at my mercy. So I go back and sit. I carefully separate the money into small piles. Hiding it.
The Customs official had decided he was going to lunch so we must wait another 1 hr.
I sit with about 20 men the only woman and thankfully my friend now, my taxi driver. We decide to go and have lunch. My treat. He has translated a lot of what he heard so I get a little better lay of the land.
When we return he goes in to depot. I am too conspicuous and he sees our tires but only two. He says I should follow him in. I do, yes there, are two packages, thankfully the tires are small so there are two packages with two tires each.
Another 45 minutes and the girl comes out, points to a place where I can see tires outside.
We go there. I suggest to the taxi driver he get his car over to tires . He does. She leaves. We quickly load tires into car. I realize there is a gate in area and we must clear so we need paperwork to leave. I wondered if we could make a run for it. The girl returns . A guy in a Indigo suit very shiny, out of a movie I’m thinking follows her out. It was almost comical. Keeps his back to me. Walks behind some trucks . Does some transaction with the guy Tony and I had spoken with earlier and made the deal. Signs his name on the paperwork and briskly walks back into the office. HMMMM! A little Graft here
The guy walks over to me. He says give me the money. I hand him 40000 Nepal rupees. He says that not enough. So I said that’s more than you deserve. You first said 40000 which I would never agree too. I have the tires in my car are you going to give me paperwork or what.
He is angry but says he will walk us to gate. I said ok. He gives paperwork and parking attendant runs over wants his piece and I pay him. Must say my heart was beating a bit fast.
I kept thinking open those gates. Let us out. Money guy comes out. Hands the paperwork to gate security. I try to get the paperwork but the agent is too fast -says no paperwork. I said can I have original bill. He says ‘NOPE’. GIVE ME MORE MONEY.
The gate opens I look at Taxi driver and he knows, he puts it in first gear and drives as quickly as he can outside of gate. We both sigh with relief.
We have the tires. I am out about $330 US dollars. Not £1000
Our super cabbie, Raju, who helped extract tire from the customs cabal. Fantastic helper and good friend by the time all was done
So figure it’s OK. The taxi driver tells me he writes articles in his spare time and would like to tell the story. He can’t believe it. He knew there was corruption but he said how horrible for a tourist and visitor to his country and city.. I agreed but said I don’t think Nepal is alone in this kind of corruption. He was very angry. We chatted on our long route back . His daughters are learning English and he is always looking for good books. I told him to get Animal Farm by George Orwell for them to read. He agreed.
When I got back to the hotel it was close to 5:00pm. Tony was worried sick and had just gotten in touch with the organizers to start a search for me. The relief on his face was evident.
I never thought of my safety. I find the Nepalese much more open to women. There was the woman who worked the floor of the customs building and I notice very few woman dressed in traditional garb. Many drive motorcycles and walk the streets dressed in Western jeans etc
It is a much more open society. I learned a lot. India has hurt Nepal according to my driver. Very badly when they had that horrible Earthquake. India charged them double for all goods. They couldn’t get petrol or food staples across the border. India closed its borders to them and still has not aided them. India is very unhappy with the new constitution that Nepal has recently adopted.
They are dealing with a refugee crisis from Bhutan. Many people arriving everyday. We don’t hear their story in our news. The price I paid was well worth the lesson I got from life here. Seeing the hardship and realizing what a great world we live in. We need to protect but understand the plight of others. ‘
I thought of George Orwell
All animals are equal but some are more equal than others’
So true in this world we live
My taxi driver loves his country but sees it for what it is. I admire him. I wish his daughters and family well. I hope his children can help this country.
It is where it must start.
Lee Ann
Day 16 - Road to Kathmandu
The road to Kathmandu
Waking up this morning I decided it’s a new day I am here, we must move on. Yes disappointing but still not impossible On the bright side the others in our class fared poorly except for car 12 and so we retained second place in class.
This morning is not so bad. Looking out of our hotel we see the next four highest mountains in the world. Including Annapurna, over 8 thousand metres or more than 26000 feet. Snow capped of course. Not bad to wake up too. Our hotel is quite nice but we are all looking forward to Kathmandu and some well deserved rest for cars and us. Tony coughs a lot and so do many of the participants. It is not fun. The truck jammed roads don't help. The black diesel fumes that hit us in the open cars is awful. At the end of the day you are black. Nose is black clothes are black skin is black I can well imagine my lungs too.
Can’t wait for laundry service at our next hotel.
We set off number 7 today out of the hotel. We started as11 so attrition continues Petrol is available at km 8
We stop put some oil in and all done in record time. Tony does oil I do petrol and by the time car 12 pulls in we are pretty well on the road. Certainly not Formula one speed but hey we have to open trunk unlatch lid for tank and hand do it. Tony has to open Bonnet and unscrew things. So all in all we were pretty pleased with ourselves.
Today has no races. We must make certain times and deadlines but nothing serious unless you run into mechanical issues we think the little fettling Tony did with the help of the ERA team and a few extra pushes on the One Shot lubricating system seems to be holding us together albeit it a little noisier and with a little more wobble.
We made the first time control in the beautiful sunshine along the river that runs along the mountainside. The Seti Gandaki River. There are many rope bridges and amazing how very long they are. I tried to photograph but not so lucky. We passed so fast
The roads were bumpy in spots but not terrible. Trucks were there but it was pleasurable.
After PC 1 and at mile 18 at a particular tight turn we heard a bang then a smash then broken glass shattering. It was the insides of the head light coming off and shattering into smithereens
Not much use stopping nothing to salvage so on we go.
The day will be long so hopefully we can make it into Kathmandu before sunset.
Right now it’s dark by 6:00pm
Our second PC is in Kurinter. There is a magnificent Gondola ride to take us up to a very old Hindu shrine. It is very popular. After yesterday ERA had organized this for us with a luncheon which was lovely.
It is quite a ride, actually not for the lighthearted. We walked through the town. Hindus go their for a sacred blessing and they take an animal for sacrifice. We saw a rooster being hauled in by a family traditionally dressed. There was a small shrine out front where incense was being burned and food was being offered. Have I spoke of the thieves here previously. Interesting they are not the human kind. The monkeys are opportunists. We must always put the roof on our car and close all windows. Well the monkeys will brave the fire and incense to grab a banana and whatever gets laid down on the table. Tony was able to video one such thief. The other were dogs which scavenge. I wouldn’t touch them but they seem to have figured out to cohabit with humans around the shrine.
When we reach the summit which was a tough walk after the gondola we see some shaman and Tony decides I should have a blessing so we give him a small token and he makes a stamp on my head and performs some ritual. I am then blessed and marked.
Down we go to the base of the mountain and there is a lovely lunch available. Sitting outside admiring the wonderful view of the Himalayas.
Check out with the clerk and back on the road. Today is only 250km but we are advised this second section will be brutal with the final hairpin turns climbing up to Kathmandu brutal. We leave at 1pm and our expected arrival time is 5:30pm we are to travel 112 km. Seems ridiculous seems outrageous but believe it or not we arrived with minutes to spare.
The trucks thicken the road is barely one and a half lane wide. Most switch back and forth and the diesel buses trucks thicken. We travel in a small pack hoping trucks and the highly visible police will take pity on us with our ancient cars and mechanical issues let us pass more quickly.
The final climb begins at km 78. It is 3pm. The climb is to km 90. How can it possibly take 2 hours to go 12km.
Well it did, we overheat we get vapour lock and generally it is very difficult driving through diesel oozing trucks but we travel on, trying to stay as a small convoy of 7 cars now. We weave in and out as best we can. A Citroen driver in the group at one point gets out of the car and stands in the middle of the road so we can slip through yet another bottle neck. We reach a broken down truck and slide in through with inches to spare. These are hairpin turns climbing higher and higher on roads that should barely hold two cars let alone four abreast. Welcome to Kathmandu. Driving is absolutely crazy here. We thought Delhi had few rules this has none. It is not a pretty city in fact ugly comes to mind. We drive on still 22km to go. Kathmandu is so spread out the streets throng with people motor bikes, bikes trucks buses and of course cars. The half made sidewalks are strewn with people trying to sell everything. It’s a visual free fore all.
On we drive as a group now having fun trying to stay connected trying not to loose each other. We have noticed our Monit is not keeping distances and when changes are small it can make for a disaster in routing. We weave and go with the flow, sometimes on the left side of the street sometimes on the right side of the street then watching for someone coming directly across your car. Stop start, 60km an hour 2km an hour. Finally we see the final roundabout but a bus is in front of us and I miss the sign so we plod on. I realize and try to reroute us. Maps are no use . They say to go this way but in actuality it is a dead end,so much for any on- line maps. I try google maps I try two or three others nothing. So we decide to go back retrace our steps and find the road that had been blocked. Head down it and see a gate. The Hotel. It is like a massive park in the middle of this humanity. It is amazing. No people so calm so lovely. We pull up out front and we are directed to park with the Bentley’s . We have a whole section for ourselves. Great place hope the hotel won’t mind the work to be done in their lovely entry way.
Ghanishi - giving us good luck to the finish
Some started right away. We want our clothes cleaned as soon as possible. We know everyone will be calling laundry right away.
Shower, dirty towels even after scrubbing down for a much needed drink and then dinner at 7pm to share the crazy stories of the day. Most had vapour luck, some got pulled up the hill by the crew and others waited it out till it cleared a little. So they were very late. How can it take 2 hours to go 12km. Well entry into Kathmandu can.
One last thing, I have the cough now too. We are all pretty well now stricken. I think it is the diesel and car exhaust. There were times when we were covered by black diesel smoke. I am sure it wasn’t healthy for any of us.
Sleep and time to find those tires. In which order.
Cheers
Lee Ann
Day 15 - Pokara
Bardia to Pokhara. Day 15. A day like no other.
Last night fell into bed. It is a 5:30 am wake up and we must be ready to go. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed to the start line crossing a partially dry river bed and back into the National Park. Today’s drive is to be 455 km. Very long. It may take 13 or more hours. It will be tough
The roads are very rough, weaving in and out of motorcycles trucks and buses is stressful especially through the towns. There are Police Check Points every 10 to 20 km. Sometimes they stop and chat with us about speed and explain that the locals don’t always walk across the street with care so we must watch out. Interesting the calm in Nepal after The craziness of India.
Speeds are important to watch too the police warn us numerous times. Sadly Tony has succumb to a terrible cough. He thinks it is the dust of the roads and rock slides we constantly succumb too but I am not so sure. Thank goodness no fever I have noticed many of the participants seem to have it so maybe he is correct. To say this is a challenge race is an understatement.
Cars are being wasted and at the end of the day exhaustion has hit many. We have been vegetarian now since our arrival on the 15th. Tonight many will go to a steakhouse locally as Nepal is not a meat free zone. I have left judgement for going out till we get there. Most nights we are starving but not much energy to eat
Onward, The roads are terrible and we bounce around a lot. At km 150 the Morgan pulls us over to tell us our front wheel is wobbling. Tony tries to shake it and notices it is loose. He says the dampeners are probably damaged from all the potholes and bad roads. We have been jostled and shaken but we both noticed it has been so much more this morning. We sign in at TC 1 and drive on. Shortly after, we really begin to shake and be jostled around. Luckily the assistance truck is right behind. We wave them over at a break in the road. It seems we have some damage from the banging and continuous bad roads.
Jamie and Tony, in the following support truck, coming to the rescue helping sort the steering dampener that is causing us a lot of grief.
After 30 minutes of fettling the crew decided we should continue and we could make it to Kathmandu and then take it apart. Perhaps resolve. In the mean time he suggests if the One shot is working to try a few pumps.
So back on the road now 1/2 hour delayed. We had to make up time. It was not easy. Roads and trucks bring the driving speeds sometimes down to 20 or even 10 km per hour.
On we drove. Due at 12:38 am we arrive 34 minutes late. We can’t even stop for a lunch provided by the organizers we are too late, we must drive as fast as possible to get to the RS
For a timed trial. The drive up the side of the mountain is fraught with blockages and trucks. We couldn’t pass, it is down to one perilous lane driving along the mountain side with a precarious edge is interesting, then all of a sudden one of the sport Mercedes gets stuck on a rock while traveling over some rocky landslides. All four wheels off the road. We are blocked. Tony gets out as I can’t. Not enough room. We are in a right hand drive.
We are all held up. Finally after some time On we go, albeit slowly. 55 km still to go and we are late.
We arrive at the start, late again. We are told we will be penalized. So we jump in and try to get the next slot to leave. Thankfully other participants are kind actually wonderful. I write down the requirements but not really understanding what they mean.
We get only a 20 second start, not really good. We start the first stop watch and all seems fine we are a little ahead then behind. We keep driving holding the time quite well. First change comes and we are good. Second change is ok speed goes down to 30 kph. Next we must switch up to 35kph then up to 40kph. But something is wrong as the car behind us jumps in front. We are totally confused don’t understand how they could have caught up with us
We head on not understanding how we could be out by over 1 minute out. The control tells us that we are over 1 minute out. How can this be. We are also still out of gas we have no RUPEEs.
We head on, our next problem no gas stations take credit cards and we have no cash RUPEEs from Nepal . No Interac machines anywhere. We had borrowed 2000 rupees earlier but now there were no teammates to stop we were alone. I see a money gram store in a small village and beside it a petrol station. I ask if she will give me cash from my credit card. The agent says no. We are out of gas So then I try, will you give me cash for CDN money. After some consideration and discussion she agrees and I call Tony over to the pump. I have $90.00 CDN She gives me 6725 rupees. I have no idea what the exchange rate is, but we need petrol and beggars can’t be choosers. So we filled up and left the area, the car draws all the locals. Roads are terrible we bang around and you can’t often tell the holes are there. On we go, as we round a corner I notice ominous clouds overhead. One side sunny the next curve completely different .The sky turns black and the heavens open. We have no head lights, it is now 5:30 and night falls early in Nepal. It goes from light to dark so quickly. Now Tony expresses his concern we have bald front tires, we have no headlights and we are still 45 km out riding down a steep mountain with terrible potholes.
The rain is hard. We have a lot of shaking. On we go. I am back squeeing . We tuck in behind a small truck and sit behind him he is well lit and going our speed. We could see his front lights so then we could we the road ahead. We watch the pick up in front to see where the major potholes are. We follow him for 40 minutes until we are on the outskirts of the town. The driver turns off and we try to follow the Tulip map towards the hotel. The rain stops and luckily we found it.
Sadly we were penalized for our whole day. We were late to the race, late to the Controls and late in to the hotel. So we received the maximum penalty. Lost our Gold status now. Not much we can do. Today was not a good day. On to tomorrow and Kathmandu and much needed rest.
We hope our new tires have arrived. I checked DHL and they are in KAT now so hopefully know hiccups.
When All is said and done, I like Nepal. There is something calming here. This race is gruelling . We had a terrible results day
Oh well tomorrow is another day
We arrive late at our final destination . Dinner isn’t provided YROYO. Restaurants serve normal food.
Day 14 - Nepal-Bardia
This trip has its challenges, so aptly named. Today we begin early. The drive will be close to 12 hours. We are on our way to Bardia a Wild life preserve but we have to get out of India first. That was an experience. What we have today for the first time is a long stretch of straight road. Great at first but after 200km one yearns for the mountains. Last night we were high so the temperatures were actually cold. I wore a sweater and a coat.
Woke up this morning to a real chill in the air, oh so refreshing.
Tony got hit last night by the infernal Delhi Belly. Hoping it doesn’t last.
I set off to breakfast and to get the days sheets for travel. Changes are always issued about 30 to 45 minutes prior to departure.
No regularities today as we need to get across the border. Shoes are filthy Clothes are filthy we are all a sorry sight.
Oh yes last night I got interviewed by the Indian News, this is the second time. What I find most fascinating is their first question. How old are you? Then other questions, my answer is it was my birthday a few days ago.
We were underway at 8am , struggling to get through the bustling morning rush hours of Nainital. It is quite a lovely city and the cool air helps
We drove down and down the mountain into the valley. More hairpin turns until we reached the valley floor where the heat hit you like a brick.
Unfortunately we can’t seem to get clear enough internet to publish the previous days so we might have to plug them in all at once.
The valley floor is very flat so we could pick up speed. We drove about 150km to the border of Nepal. The process to cross in the sweltering heat was very painful
First immigration then car immigration. Then into No mans area. A place which has a disputed border. Officials were so official and if we weren’t overheated we might laugh.
One by one they took our details separately and unfortunately their rate of processing was sooo slow. It was ridiculous. They wrote only our first name down and mixed up our passport numbers. One hour later we were on our way into Nepal a quieter and more peaceful country.
No more honking was the first thing you noted. We drove on very straight roads
The drive through the National Preserve on our way to Bardia was fantastic. The field of rice and the spectacular mountains are beautiful We were told later that night there are 87 tigers living there. We saw some very unusual monkeys but no elephants nor tigers. We arrived at the Tiger resort. Although basic accommodation they did a great job of welcoming us. We had a chalet in a wire fenced area. A few interesting critters in the room but otherwise spotless. Noise at times A little ominous. We were driven in and out of the compound by an open truck we had to climb in and out of couldn’t be very lady like. Dinner was served in a central area then locals came and danced and performed for us. The traditional costumes were lovely. Near the end they chose us from the audience to dance with them. We had a lot of fun.
This was very rural, the next morning we saw one with his goats and another woman with her small children. I think the whole village came to see us. It was fun.
Day 13 - on to Nainital
Our car wash expert …washed car at 5:00am !
On to Nainitail!
How can so much happen in one day.
We arrived , the Naini retreat is nestled among the mountains it would remind you of a quaint cottage in England. The views are stunning and the mountain was lit up by the lights of the city. It sits beside a massive lake.
The day began uneventfully. We drove to the first test run about 64 km outside town. Unfortunately the rally organizers had to cancel it as there were too many trucks on route and the routes roads are single lane at best.
Nainital…beautiful lakeside town with a refreshing coolness in the air, we rest in a hillside hotel wiht a quaint English manor look
So on we drove. PC was 34 miles ahead we had a magnificent road which smoothed out and the undulating hills and seeping curves were great for Tony to drive.
The day grew hot and hotter. We weren’t that high. We came across a cow who tried to run with us. I tried videoing but alas it didn’t work. We were in a long convoy of cars. A neat run for all.
Later on we drove towards our next TC and a lunch was provided in a small road side hotel. The toilet facilities were very primitive. The old two foot prints and a hole style. Interesting to say the least.
Our next run was to another regularity this time we had limited time to get there. Sadly we drove through a small village where we came across a bunch of people in the middle at a blind corner of the road. Tony swerved to miss them and in doing so we hit a dog. Not sure how it fared but probably not well. There were so many around we decided to keep going. We were both sickened by the sad experience.
On we drove through small villages and into the open countryside and about 20 km on we came across our second regularity of the day. We left a 14:47 and were told that the first section went to a cross walk it was to be at 30km then the second section was to be 35 km/h to the end where ever that was Off we headed. The rate was steady until we came across a bus. So we manoeuvred carefully around it speeded up on till we saw the markings of a cross walk on the road. I think it was the first I had seen in India. We were on time and the things looked good, we changed speed to 35kph until a goat herder and his goats careened onto the road. We nudged forward but one goat would not move so we nudged it. I think it was stunned by the experience as I looked around, it just stood there after we passed. The farmer not too happy with us. We had to speed up to regain our time lost. We came round the very next corner and low and behold there was the finishing line. Unfortunately we had lost 17 seconds in the process. Not great but c’est la vie.
We figured others had fared better that’s for sure.
Well this is India and the roads throw so much at you. Potholes and streams, animals people and wayward drivers who want a photo. Oh yes and did I mention motorbikes plus the generally tough going. More rally cars fall by the wayside each day. Fewer and fewer maintain their gold status. Gold means you made every section and competed in every regularity within the time slotted. So far we are still in the running. We are 2 in class and about 16 th overall after our disastrous first few days we have begun to climb up the ladder. Not sure how much we can recover. This is our first time to do these regularities and they are darn difficult to do.
We are groaning a lot in the car itself, remember the frame is wood. We have a real creaking sound when turning left. It has grown in the last day a lot. Not sure of the cause. Tomorrow Tony will peak at it early in the morning but for now it’s off to bed. We are thoroughly exhausted.
Tomorrow’s start is very early up by 5:30 I am guessing
Over and out.
The roads conditions are vicious and much worse than what we eperienced in the P2P in 2013! The hammering to the front end is relentless. The shocks have given way and that has lead to a good deal of wheel tramping over the rough sections. We appear to bounce comically up and down in the car with Lee and I leaving our seats repeatedly as we get tossed vertically up and down. The front whell shimmy is a concern as it shakes the steering wheel out of my hand at speed and going around corners the front end skates, hops and slips sideways as we negotiate washboard road surfaces around corners…a bit scary. Engine continues strong although the fuel vapour lock is proving annoying and forces us to use too much clutch when working up hill in challenging situations. Hope we have a good and new clutch surface that will survive this???
Day 12 - Rudaprayag
Early morning route huddle in Rishkesh overlooking the river Ganges
Today we headed for Rudraprayag. No idea how to pronounce it. I had a work related issue at midnight last night and my mind started racing. So couldn’t sleep. Got up before 6:00am. I hate when that happens.
Anyway decided to partake in the famous Yoga at 7am in the hotel. Lovely setting looking at the Ganges River, from the Aloha on the Ganges. Interesting place. The Beatles came here in the sixties as a retreat and this inspired their album. (I think Sargent Pepper)
The place hasn’t changed since then.
Yoga was fun, surprisingly I was the only woman, the class was small. At the end we received a glass of lemon juice. I guess a cleanser of sorts.
Tony went out to play with the lights to see if he could figure out what’s wrong. Later in the day we got some much needed advice back from friends. We will try their suggestions out when we get some down time.
Today’s order for the start changed. The new cars start first so we will leave at the end. Much better for us although I don’t like being at the back of the pack. We were parked in.
Off we headed through a city that truly looked like a throw back to the 60’s lots of lost hippies and the hotel hasn’t changed much.
Our rooms last night had adjoining doors to Bill and Jacqui so we couldn’t leave without telling each other. We had to share a main key to keep electricity on. When we arrived last night we all were covered in soot and mud. You see Bill and Jacqui now have the oldest Bentley in the race and although they sit high they are way more exposed than us. They become even muddier than us. Jacque tries the shower first. It is only ice water. We learn quit quickly that you must turn the boiler switch on and wait 20 minutes for hot water. Reminds me of my days as a child in Britain. Paying for the water and only getting a certain amount of hot water. Unfortunately We muddied the hotel towels as a result.
Off we drove through the humanity which is India. Horns honking cars driving every which way. The throng is a little overwhelming at times but we seem albeit slowly to get through it and out the other end.
Today we have a Regulatory 14 km out of town. Our route takes us across an unused bridge of the Ganges and up the small hillside road.
The requirement is 5 km at 35kph then 40 kph for 4 then 5 again at 35kph. It was tough. These speeds on potholed roads with streams we had to Ford and people we had to dodge was difficult. We bounced along at 35 OK again for the first 5km. We had one van slow us down so Tony had to race on. Then we hit the patch for 40km. We missed a turn and had to circle back. Going even faster. We had to make time up in this section. It was difficult. We bounced and skidded along. this was our first words in the race. For anyone who knows us we are competitive so doing this brings out sometimes the worst in us. I can barely read the Monit and the stopwatch due to bouncing and Tony accuses me of writing the wrong speeds down. He says “there is no way we should have to do 40km on this roads killing the car”. I knew I was right as I had checked twice. I said the car was more important to save so slow down.
Unfortunately he was further goaded on, by us then catching the car car in front of us. He said “you can’t be right”. I said “ I had checked twice”.
On we went, silence as you might say was deafening. I called out the numbers and we speeded on. Round another two corners back to 35kph and I tried to figure out the speed to time as best I could.
We drove right past the finish without seeing it. We later found out that other cars blocked it and so did people who stopped to gawk.
Further ahead we realized and drove back. Seeing other cars going slowly the other way and them waving at us. Later I found out many considered turning around thinking we were right.
Back to the race- we passed car 12 and pulled up on car 13. I could see Tony was furious as we all start 1 minute apart.
Motorbikes and cars wanted photos and tried to block our way. Tony wanted to just get on as he felt we would be so penalized that we might loose our gold Status ( making every section) and have a terrible result.
On we drove. We had a near miss with a car a few kilometres on a very dusty road when Tony refused to allow the driver to cut in front of us just to take our photo. We smiled but as we were so far behind the group due to our turn around we needed to get going. The driver was persistent and tried to push us off the road. A huge drainage ditch was on the side. Tony had to manoeuvre around. We hit really hard on the left back end. I pushed the horn very hard and Tony had to slam on brakes to avoid an accident. I pushed hard on the horn. The driver thought it was funny. I wish I had the wherewithal to write his number down. He sped off, leaving us to assess the impact on our suspension. Thankfully the car was not hurt.
It settled us down a little although still upset by what had occurred.
When we reached the PC we were informed we appeared to be leaking oil. Tony pulled off and we assessed the damage. We couldn’t find any. We think the Oneshot oiling system may have left drips in the protect underneath Tray that Andy and the Priory had fashioned and with all the jolting the oil left a puddle.. we would sort it out at the finish as for not all levels in the car seem tip top and nothing else was leaking.
On we drove. Through construction, narrow passes high up then low down. The distances are not that great today it is only 200km but at speeds as slow at 10kpm it can take all day.
About 30 km we came across massive dump trucks and men working furiously to remove the debris from a recent slide. When we heard the sound and rumblings of a new slide. A little unnerving but thankfully it was small.
Hard, broken roads means lots of fix’n at end of day…outside hotel lobby !!
Evening settles over the Ganges valley - Hotel is basic but hospitable
On we went arriving quite late at our rural hotel. No alcohol or meat. Meat has been scarce, most meals are vegetarian and tonight is no exception. The kitchen looked a bit sketchy but although simple the meal was quite delicious. Knowing we had no alcohol a few had stocked up and Monty decided to get Indian Scotch. What followed was fun and a great time, but first the good news. It seems through all our trials and tribulations and sharp words we actually had. Done much better than expected. We were closer to the mark than most in the trial. We certainly ended on a high note. Someone brought a little boom box and we started singing along with some oldie but Goldie’s. It became a huge party. We sang and danced and generally had a great time. We all crashed early about 10:00.
Nuts and Bolts:
It was a hard and very broken road for much of the day, even the test/speed section was along a fractured tarmac and we had trouble keeping pace whilst trying to preserve the car. With these events car preservation and careful pacing is critical. There is no joy if you can’t make it across the finish!! We have another 1 or 2 out with mechanical problems and the strong Polish crew look to be having overheating problems. The scuteneers and some of the other teams noted that we were trailing oil !! After checking the sump levels I took apart the floor pans and checked the gearbox oil and all looked to be OK. The differential is a bit wet with a small drool of oil from the seal but could not find anthing major amiss. I expect it it likely the one-shot lubrication that is pooling in the skid-plate and pouring over once we get underway….at least I hope that is answer!!!
Day 11 - Rishikesh
So many land slides so much dust
Today was a 9:00am start so we didn’t have to rush too much. We had collapsed into bed at 9:30 so woke at 5am.
Tony rotated the tires last night but I could sense his concern and when a few saw them this morning they expressed concern about how bald they were.
The early part of the day was climbing up to a beautiful vista Tony drove slowly well as slow as you can in a challenge. We arrived at control one with plenty of time to spare. The roads were narrow but the views were stunning.
Our second stop was a regulatory. These are tough enough on these potholed roads with buses that don’t give an inch but then add change of speeds in the middle of them. It was disastrous. Everyone had screwed up. Except some super experienced people who made 2 or 3 second errors.
So you went at 40kmph for 5 km then switched to 20kmph.. for .5km then you switched to 40km until the unknown end. It was so hard. We were right on the mark at 5km. Then trying to calculate the change of speed distance and give direction when I have just mastered the simple task was overwhelming. Surprisingly we were only 20 seconds out.
So I think we held our own. On to the next Control. The drive was magnificent. Tony a little more cautious with the tires but we still kept up a good clip. We drove along a ridge for 20 or 25km. Then turned just a few kilometres before the next Control we came upon a few cars out on the ledge. Wondering what had happened Tony pulled over. One of the participants ran over saying there has been a bad accident. I peered out and could see that one of the Old Bentley’s was sitting at an odd angle. I got out but the congestion made it difficult to get at. I figured I wasn’t going to do much at this point and I saw Bill in one of the other Bentley’s pressing cars to move on and stop gawking. Tony pulled forward and just said it’s Lars and Annette they have had an accident. Bill indicated we should probably move on as the medical support was on the way. As we passed I could see Annette, chatting but Lars was clearly injured he seemed to be holding his leg and he was lying on his side but he was talking. We decided it was best to clear the area and wait for news when it was available. So I shouted over, can we do anything? Bill said no.
We drove on to the break which was just down the road.
We stopped and pulled over, we were one of the first teams into the PC. One of the crew members Andy, noticed our tires. He asked if we had replacements. He was concerned ours were just too bald. So again Tony lifted the car and we put our only two new tires on the car up front and now we have two brand new and two from the front. Better than before but still not ideal. Shades of Peking to Paris we changed tires in less than 15 minutes and we were ready for our official start. Tony didn’t get a chance to eat so I fed him a few granola bars and a big bottle of water. It was hot.
We were warned that the road ahead was not in good shape and there would be road construction. I think if we had known what the route was like we might have sought out an alternative. It was hell. There had been massive landslides and one during our drive had just occurred. We can only think it had been due to the recent monsoons.
55km of driving of banging and bashing the car or bouncing out of our seats, the poor car creaking and groaning. 30km took over three hours. Some cars fell by the wayside many struggled constantly bottoming out. The old cars, older than ours fared better as they had massive springs and they sit higher. It wasn’t pretty and we were not happy. Tony and I were almost unrecognizable by the end. Our hair was matted and our skin covered in a think layer of dust and soot. The towels after showering were still dirty. We passed massive bulldozers and cranes on our route. We sat behind cranes while they tried to clear a path for us to drive on.
By the end of the day we wanted out of the car. One of the participants tried to pass us later on and hit a huge puddle on the road while passing. He coated us with mud and water spraying the whole car. We were now caked in it.
This was not the end of day we expected.
Finally at 6pm we pulled into the hotel, looking a bedraggled. Tony rotated the tires again while I checked us in,Aloha on the Ganj Rishikesk’s great claim to fame is it was where the Beatles came during their period with the Yogi’s in India
Mid-day Break …just finished changing the tires got some muched needed rest before traversing the 50km of constrution and fractured roads
Nuts and Bolts:
At the midday break Andy, one of the lead support mechanics had a look at the bald tires and shook his head and convinced me that we should mount the spare tires I have been saving right away. It took a quick 15 minutes to swap the tires and we continued onto one of the riughest segments of road we have yet encountered; 50 kms of serverly broken road and construction. I was grateful that Andy convinced me to put on the fresh rubber.
I also adjusted the front and rear brake drums to tighten up the brake shoe clearances. I topped up the sump oil (so far consumed only 1 litre of oil). The radiator shutters started failing on day one of the rally but I managed to keep them working regardless. But the severe vibrations generated by the twisitng and broken roads rendered the shutter control useless and I was reduced to adopting the same fix I used in the P2P rally…..bungie cords. The fuel vapour lock problem has been very annoying and persistant through out the daily events. I typically run all three pumps and still get misfiring and power loss when standing in traffic or when restarting after a breif break.
