Here we attempt to give you an idea as to the progress we are making with our plans and ongoing preparations. The latest post is at the BOTTOM of the thread.
Rickshaw Test driving day video.
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Preparation pictures
Newspaper articles !!
Pontefract and Castleford Express
Aftermarket magazine – one of the largest UK magazines to the automotive industry.
Fundraising booklets have been made (see the link on the side bar) and are now back from the printers. We all have 2 or 3 each and are now busy getting them handed round immediate family and friends.
Once these have come back, we are to target certain larger corporations that we think will have an interest in having their brands all over the rickshaw.
got my international drivers permit on saturday. mountain biked into Halifax, on an off-road ride with my girlfriend. In hindsight it may have been better to go on the road straight there, as we did not relise just how wet and muddy the woods and tracks would be!! walked in the post office, sweating, wearing lycra cycling gear and dropping mud to a massive queue 30 deep. a p.o. women came straight accross and said would i like help. Filled out forms ( finding out her daughter used to live on my road, small world!!) by-passed the queue, and then got 2 people to process the forms!! Top people in Halifax P.O. !!
A quick blog:
I have managed to get my International Driving Permit this week. It looks like something from the 50’s with a load of rubber stamps in all the right places – 3 wheeler! We are having some good comments about the booklet. A great idea of Matt’s
Indian visa forms are complete and just require sending off next week. Travel insurance is also ready to apply for from a specialist.
The last of my rabies and hepatitis B injections are on Monday – what joy another few days with a dead arm!
I think we are all going shopping over the next couple of weeks for mozi nets and the like for the trip.
Mike G.
I’m famous………………. na.. not really.
Just had my photo taken for my local newspaper, the Pontefract & Castleford Express.
Not a huge paper by any means, but they are happy to mention our adventure in next weeks paper. I even got a complement from the journalist who has seen this site and said it was good, which says a lot considering i had no idea how to build a website till a few weeks ago when i started this.
Anyway, more exposure and soon we should be getting some response from the larger companies we have approached for support.
Thankfully I have now had all my travel jabs now and can stop feeling ill!
Travellers cheques and some US Dollars to pay for Nepalese hotels are ordered and a full set of team t-shirts will be ready for Friday.
I need to sort our Indian Visas tomorrow and go on the scrounge for some more cash from sponsors.
It’s all getting very close now. We are having a meeting to discuss possible place to visit on Sunday at Matt’s pad. Lashings of tea and cakes I think.
Mike G
My last jabs are one the 28 april, and not yet felt ill from any of them!! This means either i have had all the wrong ones, or i am going to be ill over there !!!
Got half a day off to sort stuff and get on the sponsorship trail today so hopefully the day will be worthwhile!! mike h
Sponsorship is now coming in and we have now passed two milestones this week, £500 raised online, and over 1000 visitors to the site.
We are starting to get company responses now to the requests we have been mailing over the last few weeks, some good, some not so good.
I think we have all finally realised that we don’t have long left and are starting to sit up and pay attention a bit more.
Visa’s, driving licenses, insurance…..blah , blah. It’s all hard work to be honest.
I am the one thats behind with jabs, and have the last one booked in just 3 days before we leave…typical lack of organisation on my part as usual.
Anyway, Mike G and I are off down to Southampton next weekend to test drive the Rickshaw and meet other teams, so we should have some video footage and piccies soon. We are all going for a curry after, which means i will go hungry no doubt.. I can’t stand them!
Matt
AHHHHHHHHHHHH !!
I never knew a picture could look so bad. Heres how scary i look in the local newspaper. Thanks to Pontefract express for rasing our porfile.
http://www.pontefractandcastlefordexpress.co.uk/life-leisure/Indian-rickshawchallenge.3964473.jp
This weekend saw Matt and I in Southampton trying to drive rickshaws.
Two points were realised
1. there is surprisingly more room than we thought the mighty machines – but they are still only the size of a shoe box
2. it’s going to feel a lot further than it is. The ride quality isn’t even as good as a standard builders wheel barrow!
We were pleased to meet and bond, over the odd pint, with other equally excited teams.
One final point I still have a hangover!
Mike G.
“One final point I still have a hangover!”
…… and you call yourself hardcore … ya soft bugger !
Apparently our visa’s have now come back from the Indian Embassy, which means we are now all set with the major essentials to get there, and do the event.
Anything else that doesn’t work out as planned from now on can be fixed and will not prevent this event from happening.
Our adventure in the test rickshaw last weekend was eventful, i think we made a name for ourselves amongst the other teams. As mike says above, they are bigger than we thought, but my god they are unstable !! I can see us having lots of scrapes as we learn how to bail out at speed.
We also are now pleased to announce we have been offered a major sponsorship contribution from Snap-on Tools UK, who as you know make the worlds best tools. http://www.snapon.com.
We are very grateful for this support, and several of the franchisee’s have personally contributed towards this trip as well. Thanks guys.
we now have a fuel can and some spot lights, just need some sort of horn, but talking to a guy who has been there, a horn wont do us much good as no one takes any notice anyway!!!!!!!!!
we have now “pimped” our rickshaw with some fancy design in order to make ourselves stand out on route. Theres plenty of rivalry between teams to have the weirdest, loudest looking hunk of junk on the road.
We have decided NOT to show piccies here until we set off in only a few weeks, so that we dont give away any secrets.
we do however need a printing company to help out, if we have any out there that are reading….please…… (imagine big doe eyes and a pouty lip)
Fundraising is going well, we think we have pledges now of around £5000 in total, well on our way to the £7k target to build that water treatment plant.
Reality is kicking in on what is involved now its getting very close, and i think we are starting to get a tad nervous about both the amount of miles and the state of the roads over there. Until now its just been an idea and something to talk about, now its gonna actually happen.
We now have a Horn, well 2 of them if you like and a 12 volt compressor!!. i will start my time off work, by fitting air horns and spotlamps, just so i dont miss been with tools in my hands!!
started a trial run of Anti malarial drugs today, so with a possibillity of not been well for a few days, then 3 weeks of not been well, looking forward to may and june of this year!!!
Now the trip feels extremely close!
My work diary is full from now until we leave with a number of evening meetings scheduled in. If nothing else it should stop me thinking about the trip and packing then repacking my bag!
We have now qualified as vehicle wrappers. This exercise in itself gave us more things to think about, equipment to get to Nepal and challenges to overcome. It’s not as easy as just sticking transfers on!
So the countdown is on. We still need to find a few more bits and bobs and collect some last sponsorship before we go. I know we will all be glad to get to the airport and stop the organising and start the trip.
I asked matt about a countdown timer on the webpage a couple of months ago, and our resident website wizard did it.
Now every time just it now seems very close, and today, oh shit, we are into single figures!!
Totally Dynamic have now provided us with the graphics for the rickshaw, and they are bloody fantastic!!
we are gonna look so cool …. and in just a few more days we will show you what the rickshaw should look like.. we dont want to give anything away too soon now do we.
now, where did i put the travel insurance and passport?
Three days to go!!!
My undercrackers are in the wash and I’m going to have a go at packing today.
There is no way its all going in my 30ltr bag.
Air horns, first aid kit, sterile & dental kits, maps, guide book, extension, DEET, sun cream, anti-malarial drugs, Imodium, sun glasses, hat, and a smattering of clothing. It looks like there will only be one change of clothes going with me!
Spofforth Village Hall is going to host a lantern show when we return so we can spread our diseases though out the community!
Having the same problem as mike, and proberbly matt!!
I feel sure most people do not take gaffa tape, ratchet straps, bungee cords, Snap-on adjustable spanner and spot lamps with extra wiring and connectors, on holiday with them.
Feel sure the guy at the airport will hit reverse on the x-ray conveyor with a “what the f**k ” coming out of his mouth!!
think a few other teams may be on the same plane, so he might hopefully be getting used to it!!
At least you guys are not carrying the very ominous looking “heat gun” in your pack, note the word “gun”. If i have to get that thing out to explain it, then we are in trouble as its so far buried in the pack it will be another day re-packing.
i have managed three sets of clothes, but thats in two packs !!
Kilt or on kilt that is the question?
I’m packed and have a pistol (water pistol)! It’s a must I feel on all trips such as this for that feeling of added security!
I’ll be repacking tonight and reducing my t-shirt collection to just two.
Browsing through the photos I have forgotten to pack a glove – That’s going in now.
I have had some great feedback on the website – Matt you’re a marvel. Well done youth.
Tally ho (-:
I know we have all done it! Well I did it this morning!
Repacking that is! I shaved a few less essential items down and managed to get everything in to my smaller expedition bag.
If I achieve nothing else today I’ll still leave happy.
We fly this evening. Mike and myself are catching the train to Heathrow at 1pm from Matlock.
Let the fun begin……