The following is an e-mail I'm sending to friends, family and anyone that has made it onto my address book

Hi guys,

Bit of a begging letter here. Some of you already know of my potential plans for next summer, some of you don’t. So for those of you that haven’t had your ears bent by my after drinking a couple of sherries I will give you a brief run down.



In July 2008 Steve Ross (a school teacher friend) and myself hope to be leaving Hyde Park on 2 motorbikes (yet to be decided upon, although we are leaning toward using 350cc Enfield Bullets, due to it being the 60th anniversary of the first one being built in 1948 and the offer of some firm sponsorship from a dealer) The destination of our trip is to Ulaanbataar, the capital of Mongolia, about 8000 miles away and we will be travelling some of the worst roads in what used to be the USSR. We hope to be one of the teams competing on an event called the Mongol Rally, this is a charity event that this year alone has raised more than a quarter of a million pounds for childrens charities in Mongolia and other developing countries.



It’s going to take us about 4 weeks and push us to the limits both mentally and physically, to be honest I think we may need to consider being certified. lol But before we can do anything at all we need to try and get a place, this could turn out to be as difficult as the rally itself. This year there were 200 places, 150 of these went online in under 30 seconds to teams as far away as Canada, the final 50 were given by drawing names out of a hat. 400 teams signed up for this process. (see The Mongol Rally 2007 :: Welcome for more details, but if you feel you need to donate to the charities please wait till next year)



This year one of the main sponsors is a web site called WAYN (Where Are You Now) and they are running a competition to win a guaranteed place for next year. I have entered a photo of an Enfield that was being ridden by one of the guys I was on the India trip with last year, and this is where the begging comes in. I’m asking all my friends to sign up to the WAYN site simply to register a vote and make a comment on the photo in the vain attempt to try and get this free place on the rally for next year and so try and contribute to the coffers of the chosen charities. So I’m not asking any of you to get your wallets out, well, not just yet anyway. In fact we have already been offered a substantial charity donation once the website and donation pages are set up to help things to get started.



Those of you on the Scamp Forum may have already seen the photos that have been posted of the team that did the rally in 2006 in a MK1 Scamp. And of course, being a Scamp, it made it. ( For Scamp Owners :: View topic - Pictures sent to me by Chaz )



So, for those of you that feel you are able to try and help here is the link to the page where you can find my competition entry photo, but you will have to sign up to WAYN first.



WAYN.COM - ckb911x Photo from Mongol Rally (MongolRally), London, London, England



I’ve been on there about a week now and as yet have received no spam through the site.



In advance, ta very much.





Chaz.



PS, don’t forget to tell you friends about what Steve and I are trying to do. We will choose 2 of the charities and hope to raise huge amounts of money for them, hopefully not dieing in the process.

good luck man.

With any luck i'll be doing a heroes legend in the next couple of years, for charity (and sponsorship) through work.

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Visit my space here
See my photos here

I was looking at doing the mongol, did you read the bit about engine capacities?
thought it was 125cc max for bikes and 1000cc for cars?

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Harley Davidsons,
The most effective way of turning petrol into noise without the side-effect of horsepower

Hi, yeah you are right about the 125cc for bikes and 1000cc for cars rule, but you exceed the cc limit if you pay a fine direct to your chosen charities of £100 per 100cc over the limit. This year there was a team with a Vitara (1600cc) and one with a Foutrak (1600cc)

Also they have this wording on the rules page 'Exceptions to this rule may be considered for vehicles of notable unusualness or with high comedy value.'

I feel a bike that was designed 60 years ago and has remained virtually unchanged in that time may fit the bill. Also next year looks as though it could well be the last year of the 350 Classic. So 'The bike that the world forgot to stop making' will no longer be made.

Just my feelings.

Are you looking to do the rally next year too Joe? Might see you on the start line.

was seriously contemplating it in a nissan micra with the girlfriend, but I think our work commitments may bugger up an otherwise superb idea.
we would only have 3 weeks with no margin for error, may also turn it into a full on rallye raid, not an enjoyable trip.

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Harley Davidsons,
The most effective way of turning petrol into noise without the side-effect of horsepower

To be honest Joe, I've not even mentioned the subject to my employers. However I hope my choice of transport might help me as I work for a M/C spares company. But in all honesty I feel that if I am to commit to this project I may have to hand my notice in as the rally falls in the middle of the busy season and the best I'll be offered is 2 weeks. It's OK for my mate as he's a school teacher.

It would be a bugger but I've decided life is all too short and there are plenty of jobs if you're not too fussy.

Mind you, my plea for help to try and get the guaranteed place are not going well. Still being left well and truly in the wake of two Swiss blokes wanting to go in a Fiat 500.