Day 19 - Ufa to Samara

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Earlier start than usual, 07.49, and about 585kms today, passing through several passage checks but no competitive sections. Weather bright and sunny, and quite hot late in the afternoon.

After a short drive on main roads almost all the day is spent on country roads and some fairly smooth gravel. We pass villages and towns small and large.

Strange arrival in Samara, firstly we have to put the clocks back by two hours, so after arriving at 5 pm it is actually 3pm.

John takes advantage of this by heading off to a recommended workshop to have the non or erratically working turn signals (indicators to some) and steering/alignment fixed/adjusted.

Brett, who learned to drive in Miami, thinks the whole idea of using turn signals is ridiculous.  Dad’s a bit more old school. Off comes the steering wheel to reveal the turn signal contacts caked in Mongolian dust.  A relatively easy fix. 

  

Famed VW/Porsche guru Francis Tuthill has flown out to Samara from the UK to rebuild the engine of Car #49 Porsche 356 we have nicknamed the The Swiss Army Knife Porsche because of its white Swiss flag on the red paint.  Francis Tuthill’s reputation for reliable rally cars was cemented in 1977, when Francis raced the London to Sydney Rally in a fully prepped Volkswagen Beetle.  Francis stops working on the Porsche engine to inspect and assist with Little Red.  A few deft turns of a wrench and a screwdriver and the steering is greatly improved. After several minutes of inspection, Francis looks at me a says “Nice preparation!”

We realize that we are now just past halfway through our adventure, with 7138 kms of the anticipated 12,400 kms covered to date.

Yekaterinburg to Ufa

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Correction – June 12^th: Three time trials were cancelled, not three days of time trials.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Upon arrival in Yekaterinburg, the teams were billeted at the Hyatt Hotel. From all reports, accommodations and food were the best, so far, since they left China. However, team #55 did not fully enjoy what the Hyatt had to offer.

According to Brett, Little Red drives, but to John it still was not “just right.” After the repair (13 hours of labor) at Novosibirsk, John and a few other team members noticed that Little Red’s back side was a bit too high, so upon arrival in Ufa, into a local garage she went. They were in the garage from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and missed dinner. Two other teams also visited the garage: Car #98 - 1965 Mustang and Car #75 – 1960 Rover.

It frustrated John not to be able to communicate well with the Russian mechanics, it was stressing him out. The man speaks four languages and Russian is not one of them!  Luckily he found the shop owner, who spoke German, so they were able to communicate. As they enter Europe, should they have to take Little Red into a garage (and one does not wish it), John should be able to articulate any problems and needed repairs.

When adjustments were not completed by 11:30 p.m., the mechanics suggested that John and Brett return to the hotel for some sleep. With reluctance, at least on John's part, they finally left the garage. Later, I chatted with Brett (via Facebook), who informed me that John had gone upstairs to bed, but has set his alarm for 1:30 a.m. to check on the car. Surely enough, John was back down just after 1:30 a.m. and wanted to go and see the car. Pacing around, Brett sent him to call the garage. Little Red was not ready, but the mechanics assured him that work will continue throughout the night in order for her to be ready in the morning. Ringing off, John asked one of the other teams if they were going to the garage. The response was that all the drivers and navigators work on their cars too much and too hard, they forget that they need service just as the cars do; they service the cars too much and ignore themselves. He went back to bed, setting the alarm for 3 hours and 15 minutes later.

With little sleep, team #55 returned to the garage a few hours later. When asked how much the work on the car cost, the mechanic replied, “$3.00 dollars”. Incredulous, John asked why it cost so little; after all, they had the car all night. The mechanic, in his best English, explained that working with old cars is a hobby, and that he looked forward to having old cars in his garage. For the pleasure of working on Little Red, it cost $1.00 for suspension, $1.00 for the alignment, and $1.00 for washing the car. John asked if they had a Tip Box for the employees, but there was none and the mechanic absolutely refused to accept more payment. Cars #98 and #75 were also charged only $3.00 each. We cannot thank the mechanics enough for their assistance.

The day, from Yekaterinburg to Ufa, stretched on, longer than the itinerary indicated. The day was not without incident, though. For the second time, John was stopped by a police officer. His offence? Overtaking a truck whilst going downhill! In hand gestures and limited English, John discovered that one can only overtake when driving uphill on this stretch of road.

Once again, the Peking to Paris papers had to be produced. The officer then took a coin from his pocket and demanded, “Money! Money!” as he tapped the coin on Little Red. John and Brett had heard stories about officers demanding money and knew that they were going to have to part with some of their rubles. They took out some cash, but the officer responded with, “Nyet! Nyet!” as he continued to tap the coin on the car. They then realized that all that the officer wanted was an American coin as a souvenir, and since neither John nor Brett had any, they were waved off. Incidentally, the warning about not overtaking downhill was in the navigator’s notes so John held Brett responsible for the stop.

No time trials today and no passage or main time controls missed, so #55 remains in 4th place overall, 10 minutes behind # 87, the Citroen DS23, and 20 minutes ahead of #51, "Max the Datsun"

The first two shots were taken at the border where Asia meets Europe, in Russia.

John

Brett

The road towards Ufa.

Where is Little Red?

Lunch break!

Day 18 Rally Reports: http://www2.endurorally.com/pp2013/reports.html

More P2P photos - this time from Russian photographer Alex Polezahev:http://www.flickr.com/photos/sashapo/sets/72157634116848318/

Omsk to Tyumen to Yekaterinburg

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

After having coffee, I sat at the computer to check rally posts. It was a video call this time and John immediately reassured me that, “First of all, Brett and I are okay”. That “First of all” meant that a “second” piece of information was about to be revealed. And indeed there was, but he asked me not to post anything about it yet.

At dinner, the organizers reported and confirmed that there was a fatality involving a rally participant, but that no details had yet been received. They asked all teams not to post anything about the incident until the families were notified.

John promised he will be anticipating and driving defensively. Although the rally continues, Time Trials were cancelled for the next three days.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

We offer our deepest sympathies and prayers for the family and friends of Emma Wilkinson, who was tragically killed in a motor accident. Here is today's rally report, which includes information about the incident.

http://www2.endurorally.com/pp2013/reports.html

Here is a link, shared through ERA’s page, of a collection of images by Russian photographer Andrew Kena. They were taken early morning at the hotel and start in Tyumen. Andrew is the same gentleman who was “struck” by the sight of the rally cars on the road. He said he would send photos and here they are.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew_kena/sets/72157634101724188/

Today’s rally photos include one of Brett (#11) at the Bikers Museum.

Novosibirsk to Omsk

Before departure for Omsk (Late evening in Miami, June 10th)

A short Skype conversation with Brett revealed that John is not feeling well, that he has a cold. Brett, of course, is worried he may catch whatever his Dad has since they shared beverages in the car. Although John admitted to sneezing and having watery eyes, he thought that it may be an allergic reaction to …. something. He is not sure he has a cold.

Since the Novosibirsk to Omsk leg was untimed, there was no need to rush. However, a forgotten shock absorber had to be retrieved at the VW shop and by the time Little Red and team left Novosibirsk, it was 10:45 a.m., their time.

After arrival at Omsk (Early morning in Miami, June 11^th)

John reported that the drive to Omsk was long and wet, a straight drive of about 700 kms from point A to point B. Fortunately, it was not a timed drive as they would have lost precious minutes. John was pulled over for speeding! The Russian Police clocked him driving 74 km on a 50 km/hr road. Communication proved difficult as John’s knowledge of Russian equaled the police officer’s English language skills – zero! Having produced the usual documents asked for during a police stop, communication attempts using hand gestures ensued. This went on for a few minutes until someone stopped to help and translate. The Good Samaritan must have been persuasive as the officer waved John away without penalty. Thanks all around, Little Red continued to Omsk.

After reading some P2P updates, I carried on with my chores. The “ding” of a Facebook notification summoned me to the computer. The message below appeared on my screen:

“Good afternoon. Today casually on the city street I saw cars racing. I proceeded behind them and it was struck. This simply fantastic event for Omsk. It is a pity that I didn't know about your rally earlier, I would help you and accompanied. Tomorrow at sunrise I will arrive to photograph cars and pilots while they won't leave from us.
On work I shoot film about the rally championship of Russia to raids. and I will go on rally soon the Silk way and then to Dakar 2014. Tomorrow I can send you photos from Omsk. Many thanks for such event in Omsk. This miracle."

Little Red in Omsk, courtesy of Andrew Kena.  

Can you imagine my reaction when I read the post and then saw the photo above? Only a few minutes earlier, I was looking at photos posted by another team. Two trucks had sideswiped each other, pushing one off the road and on its side. Rain made the roads slippery and very dangerous.  Fingers shaking on the keyboard, I imagined the worst. Here is the exchange of messages between Andrew and myself:

Celia: Andrew  -This is Ceia, family of Little Red Beetle. Are they OK? Do you mean "struck" as in getting hit in an accident? Please respond as soon as possible. Thank you.

Andrew: Today I met them at us in the downtown. everything is good, cheerful happy. tomorrow at sunrise I will go to photograph them. then I will send you a photo.about incidents I unfortunately not in a course. (but in appearance everything is normal

At this point, I started to calm down….

Celia: Thank you. When you said "struck" I thought you meant they were "hit" in an accident. I believe you mean "surprised". Thank you again for making clear. I am looking forward to photos. Celia

Andrew: I am sorry  I only study English. the surprised - you are right

Celia: All is well, thank you. Did you meet Brett? He learned a few Russian words and is happy to practice the language. Keep Calm and Rally On!

Yes, Keep Calm and Rally On.

Tashanta (Border) to Aya to Novosibirsk

Saturday, June 8, 2013

It was time to make the appointment for Little Red at a VW maintenance shop. Many thanks to all who sent suggestions for repair and leads to VW dealerships. Since the team did not have Internet access, I went ahead and made phone calls to the Russian VW dealers. (In a few days they would discover that there was too much work to do on Little Red that the decision to take her to a proper garage was prudent.)

A call to one VW dealership proved unsuccessful. The lady at the other end of the line did not speak a word of English. “English please” resulted in a Russian response (I did understand NYET) followed by the click of a disconnected call. Remembering a site Brett told me about earlier, I armed myself with “Google Translate” on my computer screen and made the call again. Cleverly, I thought, I typed what I wanted to say, pressed the audio for Russian, and placed the telephone in front of the speaker. The same lady’s response was a barrage of Russian, liberally spiked with nyets, and subsequently followed by a familiar – click! Not so clever at all.

With “Google Translate” still on, I proceeded to call MAX Grand Motors, the official dealer of Volkswagen in Novosibirsk (Автотехцентр "МАКС Моторс Гранд" - официальный дилер Volkswagen (Фольксваген) в Новосибирске, автосалоны Новосибирска). I did not have to resort to the computer screen. The lady who picked up the phone understood and spoke enough English to direct me to Manager Alexander. Although he had not heard of the P2P event, he is happy to welcome Little Red on Monday. I gave him ERA’s website, and our blog and Facebook pages to introduce Little Red and the other teams. Thank you, Alexander!

Here are the Reports for Day 12 - June 8th: http://www2.endurorally.com/pp2013/reports.html

Brett with Mongolian children at the Mongolian / Russian border.

John and Brett with Mongolian tykes on their two-wheelers.

Chelsea thinks John's turning into Santa.

Asphalt (bitumen to the Brits) in Russia!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

The locals watch the teams drive off from Aya to Novosibirsk.

Finally…. Internet connection! Spoke with Brett via Skype, from Novosibirsk.

After the long drive from Mongolia and one night just over the Russian border, the teams arrive in Novosibirsk, Russia's third most populous city and the capital of Siberia.

Brett heard from other UK teams that at the end of a work day, a British man needs his beer, and so to keep the tradition, sent his Dad off to the bar. The man worked all day and needed his beer.

Little Red is tired and needs some help. Her body is cracked and the driver’s door does not open properly so Brett had to show John the trick the open it easily. He admits that Little Red has taken some serious abuse since his Dad actually “can drive pretty damn well….and fast!” He added that John had Little Red airborne several times on the roads of Mongolia. The Mongolian roads are so rough on the cars that driving through the Russian countryside, on asphalt, was the huge reward for the battering they all received.

Having had his dinner and beer, John takes over the conversation while Brett signs off to meet his new friends for Russian vodka. John apologizes that he was quickly fading and after giving him directions to the VW dealer, he signs off.

The view from hotel window. Can you find Little Red?

Monday, June 10, 2013

A visit to MAX Grand Motors, the official dealer of Volkswagen in Novosibirsk (Автотехцентр "МАКС Моторс Гранд" - официальный дилер Volkswagen (Фольксваген) в Новосибирске), resulted in Little Red being a lot better for the road. It was a 13-hour job so one can only assume that there was little or no time to take in the sights on this “rest day” in Novosibirsk. As the ERA website reported, several cars were in local garages – even hotel parking lots - for maintenance and repairs. A few teams, including Miami’s Car#69 with Dirk and Alexandra, were interviewed by television crews.

Brett posted on his Facebook page today that “With over 21 million made, the Beetle is the most-manufactured car of a single design platform, worldwide. Despite this fact, not a single employee at the largest Volkswagen dealership in the Novosibirsk, the capital city of Siberian Russia, has ever seen one with their own eyes. Had lots of work done today, спасибо Макс Моторс! (Thanks MAX Motors!)” Interesting, isn’t it? Apparently, Beetles are not available in Russia, not even the new ones, so the VW staff must have been “bug-eyed” over Little Red, pun intended!

Having insisted that John send a few photos for me to post, he signs off.

Little Red arrives at MAX Grand Motors in Novosibirsk.

A "real live" Beetle!

Checking the damage.

 Note mudguard before Little Red left for China. 

Now note same mudguard after the roads of Mongolia.

Telmen Lake - Russian Border

Friday, June 07, 2013 – 6:00 a.m. (EST)

It is 6:00 a.m. and, having gone to bed late after watching a disappointing HEAT loss in the first game of the NBA finals, the ringing of the phone resulted in nasty thoughts about the caller. It is the first day of summer vacation and the daily 5:00 am wake-up calls had just been cancelled until August!

The call did not last long, we were cut off twice, but John reported that they arrived at the last campsite, which is 20 kms from the Russian border. It is very cold that they may sleep in the car on this last night of camping. All the cars are shaking to bits – the roads are worse than anyone anticipated. Little Red’s doors are sagging from the beating, making them difficult to open.

He thanks all suggestions for the repairs and although he and Brett can do a lot of the work on Little Red, a little help from a proper VW garage is welcome. Unfortunately, I had to inform him that I had not heard from the local (Novosibirsk) VW clubs or dealership.

Both are well …. and the call disconnected. We will have to wait until tomorrow for further reports.

Now for that big cup of coffee....

Ulaan Baatar - Bulgan - Murun - Telmen Lake

Tuesday, June 4, 2013 – 6:47 p.m. (EST)

John touches base for the first time since the teams departed Ulaan Baatar. The camp is just coming alive after their third night of camping, in as many campsites. It is cold on the morning of June 5^th and bright as they prepare for the 259 km drive to Chjargas Lake. Both driver and navigator are well; so far no problems.

Day 6 – June 2, 2013 - Ulaan Baatar to Bulgan

John confirms the report that Garrick Staples and Hayden Burvill (Car #54) rolled their car and had engine problems; that they are now out of the rally. Little Red got stuck in the mud (photo on Day 6 ERA Rally Report) and John admits that driver error got them in that predicament. The path he chose was wet and soggy. Later that day, an electrical problem resulted in Little Red having an “almost” fire in front. The issue was resolved, with no danger of it happening again, I was assured, but it cost them an hour’s delay.

Day 7 – June 3, 2013 - Bulgan to Murun

About 1 or 2 km from the end of the time trials, the alternator light came on, however, John decided to continue until the end. They soon discovered that the fan belt had disintegrated; the engine was very hot and smelled of burning oil. After letting the engine cool, the fan belt was replaced, and Little Red continued to rally on.

Day 8 – June 4, 2013 – Murun to Telmen Lake

Owing to the rough terrain, Little Red is now sitting low in the back. The back torsion bar is twisted and the wheels now sit inside the fender. The torsion bar just needs to be re-indexed, not repaired, and John has elected to wait until they reach Novosibirsk, Russia (in another four days), to have the adjustments made. In the meantime, they will have to tread carefully on the road. 

Little Red before the torsion bar damage.

My assignment is to research an “air-cooled” VW club (old Beetle club), whose members can direct Little Red to the appropriate Novosibirsk garage or VW dealership for re-indexing of the torsion bar. Any ideas?

Reports and photos can bee seen at: http://www2.endurorally.com/pp2013/reports.html

Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia - Rest Day

John checks in with Celia via Skype as he prepares to enjoy a full night’s rest on a proper bed. The next six nights will be spent in sleeping bags and tents as the teams continue their trip west, across the northern section of Mongolia, towards the Russian border.

Today was a rest day, however, most teams did repair and maintenance on their cars. Brett and John replaced the damaged shock, but were unable to find spare bushings. It is a public holiday – National Children’s Day - and most shops were closed. They were able to purchase granola bars and water to sustain them through the next few days’ long stretches of, according to Brett, “…so much nothing” in the Gobi Desert.

When asked about what he likes about driving in the rally, John responded that he enjoys the Time Trials. For those unfamiliar (like Celia) with the term, it means driving “flat out” in a specific amount of time. Some teams apparently complimented Brett on his driving skills, and when informed that John did the driving exclaimed, “Your Dad’s fast!”

As they drive through Mongolia in the next few days, there will be no access to the Internet so check the ERA website for daily Rally Reports. http://www2.endurorally.com/pp2013/reports.html

Follow Car #69 Dirk and Alexandra’s Yellow Brick tracker; zoom in and see why rest days end up being repair days for many cars. http://my.yb.tl/2013P2P69/

Check out Car #50’s blog. There is a good photo of the two Miami cars (#55 and #69) together. Read updates from a different source. http://rscottok.wordpress.com/

Brett with the damaged and new shock absorber.

Replacing the damaged shock.

A fellow Chelsea Football Club fan in Mongolia!

Go Chelsea!

Job done!

Brett and a security guard.

Security guards offered to clean the cars for a fee, 

and after the dust of the desert, John agreed.

Little Red's clean and shiny again!

It cost $15.00 - a fortune, apparently - for two people to clean the car.

National Children's Day is a public holiday, and a No Alcoholic Day.

The rally folks, of course, availed themselves of what the hotel mini-bars had to offer.

Little Red's clean and shiny and ready to...

...pose with a lovely young lady. SMILE!

Local ladies admiring the cars.

China to Mongolia

John and Brett arrive in Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia. Saturday is a rest day for the rallyers, but many teams will be working on their cars. On Day 4, they place 3rd overall in their category, but it's a long way to Paris. John says that it's all good doing well, but they want to make sure Little Red reaches Paris through her own power and not on a flatbed truck!

John reports: We have broken the left rear shock-absorber upper bushing, but have a spare shock, which we will install Saturday morning and then go shopping with the damaged shock for some spare bushings. Thursday was very hot and Little Red suffered from vapor lock and the little mechanical fuel pump couldn't handle pumping fuel over 3,000 rpm. Friday was much cooler and Little Red ran better, but sometime during the day, the engine just died. We had run out of fuel! About 6 other cars (including Dirk in car #69) suffered the same. At this altitude and pushing cars as we are, fuel consumption is much higher than anticipated. There is dust everywhere. It's one thing to create the dust, but another to follow a car and its dust!

Check out Little Red's Facebook page for photos shared by other teams. https://www.facebook.com/PekingToParis2013LittleRed

Little Red and other teams somewhere in China.

At the Mongolian border.

Waiting to cross into Mongolia.

Brett and John enjoying themselves in Erenhot, Inner Mongolia.

Dust-covered engine. How does one begin to clean it up?

Campground in Altanshiree, Mongolia.

Camping in the Gobi Desert on May 30th. Staying in a hotel in Ulaan Baatar on 

May 31, then six straight days of camping before we enter Russia.

The Gobi Desert!

For the first time since the rally cars left the Great Wall of China, Celia finally hears from Team #55. It was a call nearly missed since Celia's hands were green with avocado as she prepared a salad for an early dinner. Hearing John's voice on the answering machine, she unceremoniously drops the avocado in a bowl of lettuce and sprints to another room where the telephone offers better audio reception. It didn't. The 7-minute satellite phone call, which included being reminded to make allowances for time delay, ended up being a 3-minute awkward conversation. It was, at least, on the part of Celia, who kept forgetting to say "OVER" at the end of statements, losing precious seconds.

It is the morning of Day 4 (6:41 p.m. EST) and the teams are preparing to make their way to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. John immediately reassures that they are well and that they have no access to the Internet, hence, the lack of reports. They are in the "middle of the Gobi Desert" and everyone slept in tents. It was cold and despite a huge windstorm last night, Brett slept for seven hours. John, on the other hand, only slept two. When asked about the results, John mentioned that they were pleasantly surprised to have placed 3rd, overall, in their category.

There were two off-road time trials ("just drive as fast as you can"), which Little Red was actually built for, but, owing to lack of time was never tested off-road in Florida.

In the first time trial, still learning the car's capabilities, #55 was fifth fastest overall, and in the second trial, growing a little more confident, they were 3rd fastest behind previous winner Gerry Crown in the 4.4 liter Leyland P76 and the 1974 World Cup Rally Citroen DS23.

More detailed reports will be added when the Internet is available. In the meantime, the following links offer updates.

Rally Reports and Results: http://www2.endurorally.com/pp2013/reports.html Check out the Gallery for photos of Little Red (Photo #s 26, 75, 84, 144) and other teams.

Little Red's Facebook page offers updates shared by other teams: https://www.facebook.com/PekingToParis2013LittleRed?ref=stream

Follow Car #69's Yellow Brick tracker, which gives updates every half hour on their location: http://my.yb.tl/2013P2P69/

Scrutineering and Last-Minute Preps

Scrutineering day found most participants doing last-minute preparations and adjustments, packing and repacking, and/or checking out the competition. Brett and John bled the brakes and changed nuts and bolts. There is a good photo of them doing this here:
http://www.endurorally.com/pages/5th-peking-to-paris-rally-2013.
Click on the Gallery tab - photo #26.

The afternoon's schedule included team meetings to discuss the itinerary - what to expect on the road; the doctors warning all about illnesses and how to avoid them; generally, an overview of the event. Wake up call  for start day is 4:30 a.m., breakfast at 5:00 a.m., after which teams drive to the Great Wall. The first car leaves at 8:00 a.m. with cars departing at 30-second intervals. Little Red starts at 8:26 a.m. local time. When asked, John informed me that the atmosphere was very good, very positive.

Unfortunately, most of the Yellow Brick trackers will not be available due to security concerns. You can follow Car 69 at: https://www.facebook.com/PtoP2013?ref=ts&fref=ts. Click on the link on the map. Car 69 is the only other car from Miami.

Bleeding the brakes - a day before the rally!

Car #60 - 1974 Peugeot 504 Berline. Tent on roof, access by ladder.

Car #62 - 1982 Renault 4. Exhaust pipe on roof.

Main Time Control (MTC), Time control (TC), Passage Control (PC) for Day 1 = 472 km (295 miles).