We've been off the air with this blog for quite some time, mainly updating any Little Red progress and development on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/PekingToParis2013LittleRed
New developments are happening, not with Little Red but with John in another classic VW Beetle on another epic long distance rally in far flung lands.
To be decided whether to continue on this blog or report elsewhere.....
Peking To Paris 2013 - Little Red
Father and son team, John and Brett Layzell, drive their 1970 Volkswagen Beetle, # 55, on the 5th Peking to Paris Motor Challenge • May 28 - June 29, 2013 • 12,250 kilometers / 7,610 miles • 192 participants • 96 cars • 33 days • 8 countries
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Thursday, July 25, 2013
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.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Yekaterinburg to Ufa
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
Correction – June 12th: Three time trials were cancelled, not three days of time trials.
Correction – June 12th: 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"
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/
Thursday, June 13, 2013
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.
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.
Today’s rally photos include one of Brett (#11) at the Bikers Museum.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
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 11th)
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."
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.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Tashanta (Border) to Aya to Novosibirsk
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Having insisted that John send a few
photos for me to post, he signs off.
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.
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!
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.
Friday, June 7, 2013
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....
Now for that big cup of coffee....
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