Where Are we Going?

Well, it appears we have a plan of sorts. Open up a map of Europe, start at London, and draw sort of circle to the South East. That's our route. And that's pretty much our methodology too.

The pic's pretty big, so give it a while to download if you're planning on inspecting it more thoroughly.

The black route is our 12 country route: England (bit of a cheat that one), France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Leichtenstein (should be through there in about half an hour), Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany and Netherlands. If we get time - or if the cars are still running - we'll try for the red route, which adds Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland to the tally.

We're ramping up the activity now (well, you'd think so with only three weeks to go wouldn't you?). Jon has secured some publicity in the Watford Observer (we're going big time baby!), and we're having some pics taken for the article in a couple of weeks. Watch this space.

The boys have also been busy trying to resurrect the Chevy Van. They arranged a recovery truck to pick it up from its field, but the Chevy was 6 inches too wide to fit on the back, so it remains in Reading awaiting plan B. If we can get it back to Herts, we have plenty of manpower waiting to work on it, so we'll see how we get on. It's still a long way off being roadworthy, so there is also a plan C.

Plan C is my 1997 Ford Escort LX, ready to step up to the challenge if we need a third vehicle at short notice. Not quite a luxury motor, I know, but I got it off eBay for £260, so it's within the '£500 rule'. And let's face it, it's probably more likely to get round Europe than the Jag.

Speaking of the Jag, we've had tyre trouble. The old wheels have 'metric' tyres, which are notoriously hard to get hold of and very expensive (£150!!), and three of them aren't great. So we've bought a set of imperial wheels off eBay with three good tyres for a paltry £50. Whether they fit or not, we've yet to see. If they do, we need two of those and we're pretty much set to go. The stereo has been fitted and speakers rewired, and although the engine's a bit lumpy, it seems to go alright, so fingers crossed.

The BMW should by now be fitted with its monster 1000w amplifier (you can tell where our priorities are can't you?), so at least if the engine starts to fall apart no-one will be able to hear it ove rthe stereo. Rich is apparently very attached to the beamer, and drives it everywhere he goes. Rumour has it that at night he pops down to the garage and sleeps on the back seat. It's a lovely relationship.

Stick with us

What's happening? Well - we all got a some bargain stereo equipment from Rich's brother at Kenwood, so we're busy over the next week or two fitting speakers and amps to the cars. Well we have to get our priorities right don't we?

Quent's bought a new head unit and four speakers - despite not having a vehicle on the road just yet. Well, we all know he's a failry optimistic chap.

Just to say apologies for the lack of postings on the blog. The truth is, we have nothing much to blog about at the moment. Please stick with us - as the departure date approaches we'll have much more to impart, hopefully with routes, updates on the cars etc.

Some would say that we're disorganised, but I'd say we're keeping everything loose for the moment. No doubt we'll be frantic in a week or two. Watch this space.

Two Grand

We broke the £2,000 barrier on our sponsorship yesterday - thanks so much to all who have sponsored us so far.

To those of you asking - yes, we will be taking cameras and video cameras and also trying to update the blog on a daily basis as we set off on our folly. If only our cars were as technologically advanced as we are.

Jag-tastic

I'm very pleased to report that the Jag passed its first test last night, and completed a 250 mile round trip to Salisbury without a hitch. We cruised comfortably at 80, doing a reasonable 25 mpg - not too bad for an old girl. On the way back, we even had a little Talk Radio just to help me stay awake - all this comfort makes for a very relaxing drive.

More pub chats

Lads chatting in the pub is a dangerous thing. We never really grow out of our childish ideas, and now we have a bit of money in our pockets and a driving licence we are a liability to ourselves.

So what better way to continue the plans for the trip than another meeting in the pub? Spreadsheets, maps, timetables, detailed costings and itineraries. None of that rubbish - a pint of beer, a mouth, and an unrealistic notion of what's possible are all you need these days.

So Bob, Rich, Tim and Jon (four of the six) met up on Wednesday just to go over the general idea of what's in store. After all, a general idea is all we have at the moment. I wasn't there, but as I understand it we've assigned everyone jobs - route planning, booking the channel crossing, checking into visas/danger zones etc etc. On the subject of danger zones - one of the original ideas was to travel to Albania, but we recently heard stories about it been one of the most lawless places on planet Earth, so have struck it off our 'must go there' list.

News on the cars. The BMW, much to everyone's suprise, has sailed through MOT and is the clear contender to make it back in one piece. The Jag still has a few rattles and shakes to sort out, but is still cruising nicely. It's set for it's first 'long' trip to Winchester tomorrow evening. If I don't make it back from Winchester then we don't stand a cat in hell's chance of escaping the Albanians.

Shall I compare thee to a 1981 Chevy Day Van?

Let's be honest here - the original idea of this foolish escapade was simply a big lads' jolly, loosely inspired by Ewan McGregor's 'Long Way Down'. However, we are all pretending to be grown-ups now, and what better way to appear grown-up than to raise money for charity - Christie's in Manchester in our case.

For those who don't know, our very good friend Quentin was diagnosed with cancer in October 2006, and wasn't given a great deal of hope at the time. To cut a long story short (see 'Webb-blog' link to the right for the fantastic blog by his wife, Helen), he is now having treatment up at Christie's, and the outlook is nothing short of miraculous. So when Rich, his best man, suggested Christie's as a recipient for our fundraising, we could see no better cause, or one closer to our hearts.

Now, sadly, we have another patient which needs a miracle. A 1981 Chevy Day Van, as donated to the cause by Quent's friend Chris. Much like Quent, it has seen better years, and the diagnosis is not brilliant. Chris (our surgeon in this case) informs us that it hasn't had a good run in a year, the power steering is shot, and it needs complete re-wiring (among many, many other bits and bobs).

However, Chris has given it a once over, and there is some hope. We've rallied the troops and there is a slim chance that we can get it on the trip with us in April. I know Quent really wants this van on the road - and his record with slim chances has been pretty good to date. Watch this space, but don't get over-excited just yet.

No going back

Yikes - we've gone public. What started out as a bit of drunken chit chat in the pub is starting to take shape. And it needs to by the looks of things. The sponsorship we have received almost seems to have taken the form of betting- will we or won't we make it - and now we have something to prove. Thanks so much for donations so far.

So where are we now? Well the Jag is back on the road, with completely overhauled rear brakes, and we are just starting to enjoy driving around in the luxury of yesteryear - although I accidentally spun the back end out the other day, so we'll have to watch that. Still a few rattles and vibrations to sort out, but all in all it feels fairly solid. The major concern at the moment is the average of 13 MPG - over 2,500 miles that's going to work out at...er...a lot.

The BMW is going strong, and Rich seems to have fixed his headlamps with a bit of nifty wiring, some blu tack and part of a coat hanger. I think there'll be a lot of that when we start the trip. He's fixed the noise coming from the electric window. It doesn't buzz any more - but it doesn't work any more either.

The Chevy van? In a field somewhere near Reading we think.

Over the coming weeks, apart from tinkering with the transport, we need to start getting our route planned and start thinking about accommodation, supplies etc. (don't worry, none of this comes out of the sponsorship money). It's time to knuckle down and get a plan together - watch this space.