After waiting more than 11 hours, the truck to pick them up had just arrived. It did not live up to Oupa's vision of a flat bed tow truck that would winch the car up and drive away. It was, exactly as advertised, a truck. There are a few pieces of rope and wood in the back, and the driver is confident that it will take no more than a couple of hours to load Matilda and set off on the 6 hour drive (in perfect darkness) back to the capital.
I predict there will be two very tired South Africans in Ulaan Baatar tomorrow. Let's see what happens...
In the meanwhile Oupa has asked me to source two new bearings and courier them out to a place along the route. That will be the easiest part.
It is difficult to imagine how remote these places are. UPS and Fedex are not even aware of the towns that they will be stopping in over the next five days. And the UPS International Expedited will take more than 8 days to get to their first stop in Russia.
Friday, 31 May 2013
Disaster strikes.......
I fear today I am the bearer of some very bad news.
The consistent high speeds over the rough desert roads took its toll and Matilda broke a rear axle "half shaft". This is serious. The shaft holds the wheel to the car and is the mechanism through which power from the engine is transmitted to the wheel.
This is what a half shaft looks like:
And this is what it looks like when it it broken (these are not the actual pictures)
Basically the rear wheel came off and Matilda is stuck!
If we can think of anything fortunate to report, it would be that the disaster struck in the middle of the Gobi Desert with nothing but camels, goats and nomads for hundreds of kilometers. That is except for a small town with a petrol station and a grocery store which was a few hundred meters away! (I know what you are thinking - but I don't know how many goats are in this town.)
The satellite phone proved its worth as Oupa called in to the capital of Mongolia, Ulaan Baatar, about 300km away to arrange a truck to pick them up. At the time of writing (8 hours later) the truck has not arrived. It is now pitch dark, the wind is howling (it is apparently blows from Siberia and is therefore very, very cold) and Gramma is unpacking the sleeping bags so that they can sleep the night in the car.
In the meanwhile, as we would expect, Oupa jumped to work and had taken the rear axle apart in the desert. He was able to extract the inner piece of the half shaft and took the pieces over to the town. Using his extensive Mongolian vocabulary (because no one there has ever heard of Afrikaans, or even English for that matter) he was able to locate a welding machine in a shack behind the petrol station.
With a very friendly and conversational Mongolian, who had sufficient old oil under his worn down fingernails to earn Oupa's immediate respect, they were able to clean the shaft and weld it back together. Unfortunately, the bearing (that holds the shaft) was also damaged when the shaft broke and Oupa will have to do some careful surgery on the bearing's roller cage to rescue it. This is not something that he cannot do in the middle of the Gobi Desert. Or he will have to look for a new bearing in Ulaan Baatar. I am not hopeful, what are the chances of finding a 1948 Chevy bearing (part # Hyatt 111119, 2.4058"OD 1.584"ID cylindrical roller) in Mongolia?
Fortunately tomorrow is a rest day in Ulaan Baatar and if they can get there in time I am sure that Oupa's ingenuity will result in a solution to save the trip.
Yesterday they lost more than two hours because they stopped to help dig another car out of the sand. I hope that that act of good samaritanship was noted somewhere higher and that luck will smile on them tomorrow - they certainly will need a solid dose of luck to recover from this.
The consistent high speeds over the rough desert roads took its toll and Matilda broke a rear axle "half shaft". This is serious. The shaft holds the wheel to the car and is the mechanism through which power from the engine is transmitted to the wheel.
This is what a half shaft looks like:
Basically the rear wheel came off and Matilda is stuck!
If we can think of anything fortunate to report, it would be that the disaster struck in the middle of the Gobi Desert with nothing but camels, goats and nomads for hundreds of kilometers. That is except for a small town with a petrol station and a grocery store which was a few hundred meters away! (I know what you are thinking - but I don't know how many goats are in this town.)
The satellite phone proved its worth as Oupa called in to the capital of Mongolia, Ulaan Baatar, about 300km away to arrange a truck to pick them up. At the time of writing (8 hours later) the truck has not arrived. It is now pitch dark, the wind is howling (it is apparently blows from Siberia and is therefore very, very cold) and Gramma is unpacking the sleeping bags so that they can sleep the night in the car.
In the meanwhile, as we would expect, Oupa jumped to work and had taken the rear axle apart in the desert. He was able to extract the inner piece of the half shaft and took the pieces over to the town. Using his extensive Mongolian vocabulary (because no one there has ever heard of Afrikaans, or even English for that matter) he was able to locate a welding machine in a shack behind the petrol station.
With a very friendly and conversational Mongolian, who had sufficient old oil under his worn down fingernails to earn Oupa's immediate respect, they were able to clean the shaft and weld it back together. Unfortunately, the bearing (that holds the shaft) was also damaged when the shaft broke and Oupa will have to do some careful surgery on the bearing's roller cage to rescue it. This is not something that he cannot do in the middle of the Gobi Desert. Or he will have to look for a new bearing in Ulaan Baatar. I am not hopeful, what are the chances of finding a 1948 Chevy bearing (part # Hyatt 111119, 2.4058"OD 1.584"ID cylindrical roller) in Mongolia?
Fortunately tomorrow is a rest day in Ulaan Baatar and if they can get there in time I am sure that Oupa's ingenuity will result in a solution to save the trip.
Yesterday they lost more than two hours because they stopped to help dig another car out of the sand. I hope that that act of good samaritanship was noted somewhere higher and that luck will smile on them tomorrow - they certainly will need a solid dose of luck to recover from this.
Thursday, 30 May 2013
All the comforts
I just found this on the official site - almost sounds even better than a Hilton resort! Where you have heard of a Hilton Resort that offers mobile workshops complete with welding machines alongside "extended daylight guaranteeing fantastic social evenings"?
Mongolia
Once again the Mongolian section will surely be the highlight for many crews and we are currently considering a number of optional routes including an all new Northern option and many new sections in the Gobi Desert.
As in 2007 and 2010 we will again be supported by our Mongolian partners who will provide unrivalled levels of facilities at each of our overnight camp sites including hot showers, toilets and freshly prepared food and drink.
A new addition for 2013 will be the provision of generators to light the camp sites, a very welcome sight for stragglers arriving late in the evening. These generators will also power our new for 2013 mobile workshop facilities which will even include welding equipment!
Finally, running the event in the months of May and June ensures the weather will be much warmer than in 2010 and extended daylight guaranteeing fantastic social evenings.
Mongolia
Once again the Mongolian section will surely be the highlight for many crews and we are currently considering a number of optional routes including an all new Northern option and many new sections in the Gobi Desert.
As in 2007 and 2010 we will again be supported by our Mongolian partners who will provide unrivalled levels of facilities at each of our overnight camp sites including hot showers, toilets and freshly prepared food and drink.
A new addition for 2013 will be the provision of generators to light the camp sites, a very welcome sight for stragglers arriving late in the evening. These generators will also power our new for 2013 mobile workshop facilities which will even include welding equipment!
Finally, running the event in the months of May and June ensures the weather will be much warmer than in 2010 and extended daylight guaranteeing fantastic social evenings.
Internet free zone?
There seems to be no new news from any source today. Not even the official site has a rally update and they have not posted the results for the day.
The official Rally Results site shows Matilda is still running joint first (along with about 40 other teams - so don't get too excited!)
I believe the circus has moved into an internet free zone. (Not many of those around anymore are there!)
Unfortunately there is no new news - so, like all the other credible news sources I had look to Google to fabricate some.
Here is the begin and the end point of the route for the day (courtesy of Google maps). They crossed from China into Mongolia.
I tired to find the various routes that they could take but according to Google it is not possible to drive between these two points. Don't believe me? Here is the proof:
But, as we can see you can nevertheless invest in property in this area. From the pictures below there is no shortage of real estate.
Tonight they will sleep somewhere in the greater metro region of Altanshiree, Mongolia.
Yesterday the organizers warned of inclement weather. In Altanshiree this means strong winds and sand. Their suggestion was to get to the site as quickly as possible and to securely pitch the tent before the wind makes it impossible. I looked at the satellite picture and I could see why they should bring tents:
Fortunately, this area is quite small and from what I can tell there is no shortage of space in which to pitch a 2 man tent. Not much going on here, but I suspect that Google maps does not do really do it justice. I bet there are at least 200 goats for every person and a few horses for good luck. (No wonder these guys wanted to invade China - that is clearly where the fun is!)
-Gerrie
The official Rally Results site shows Matilda is still running joint first (along with about 40 other teams - so don't get too excited!)
I believe the circus has moved into an internet free zone. (Not many of those around anymore are there!)
Unfortunately there is no new news - so, like all the other credible news sources I had look to Google to fabricate some.
Here is the begin and the end point of the route for the day (courtesy of Google maps). They crossed from China into Mongolia.
I tired to find the various routes that they could take but according to Google it is not possible to drive between these two points. Don't believe me? Here is the proof:
But, as we can see you can nevertheless invest in property in this area. From the pictures below there is no shortage of real estate.
Tonight they will sleep somewhere in the greater metro region of Altanshiree, Mongolia.
Yesterday the organizers warned of inclement weather. In Altanshiree this means strong winds and sand. Their suggestion was to get to the site as quickly as possible and to securely pitch the tent before the wind makes it impossible. I looked at the satellite picture and I could see why they should bring tents:
Fortunately, this area is quite small and from what I can tell there is no shortage of space in which to pitch a 2 man tent. Not much going on here, but I suspect that Google maps does not do really do it justice. I bet there are at least 200 goats for every person and a few horses for good luck. (No wonder these guys wanted to invade China - that is clearly where the fun is!)
-Gerrie
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Day 2 - Matilda sighted!!!
Still no news from the crew but Matilda was sighted twice in the stretch of road between the towns of Daihai and Erenhot.
The pictures show a car much less clean than the one in Peking and with a noticeable sag in the sun visor.
Tomorrow they cross into Mongolia and the Gobi Desert proper. Overheating is one of the greatest challenges for these old card and if there is a time for overheating this will be it.
Looks like Gramma is driving here:
The pictures show a car much less clean than the one in Peking and with a noticeable sag in the sun visor.
Tomorrow they cross into Mongolia and the Gobi Desert proper. Overheating is one of the greatest challenges for these old card and if there is a time for overheating this will be it.
Looks like Gramma is driving here:
Wait a moment ... these are not the highways shown on state TV
As the rally was leaving the metropolitan area the cars had to contend with a number of flooded roads. More than four cars needed towing and one car, a Bentley, drew water into the engine and bent 2 con rods - the rods that connect the pistons to the crankshaft. (This is very bad! The car is limping along and the owners hope to fly new parts out to make repairs.
So far we have heard nothing of Matilda and her drivers - but we hope that is good!
Here is a picture of one of the crossings.....
So far we have heard nothing of Matilda and her drivers - but we hope that is good!
Here is a picture of one of the crossings.....
And they are off.........
Yesterday the rally officially started from Peking, in the shadow of the Great Wall. We have heard nothing from our team yet, but we believe they are still in the race!
Here is a short video of the send off:
Here is a short video of the send off:
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