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Preparing for the Mongol Rally

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It’s in my DNA to be prepared, to plan, to have a giant project plan that I can happily tick off the accomplishments. I’m happy when I can graph the critical path, and build dependencies. I’m a project planning geek and in my past corporate life I was paid big bucks to plan and prepare software applications and rollouts for some of the largest American retail stores.

But seriously, how can one really prepare and plan for this?

“Imagine you’re lost in a massive desert, hundreds of miles from civilisation, driving a car even your granny would be embarrased by. 50% of your wheels just fell off and a search for tools turns up a dirty sock and two dried apricots.
This is what the Mongol Rally is about. Getting stuck, lost and in trouble, then finding your way out armed with just your wits and the sock and apricots.
It’s about setting forth to tackle 1/3 of the surface of the Earth; unprepared, ill-advised and with no idea of what might happen. What you generally find is a whole giant shit heap of adventure.” –From the Mongol Rally Website

I met my match at the Mongol Rally, and it won. I’ve given up trying to plan for it and have surrendered to the absurdity of it all.  I don’t really think it’s possible to plan for adventure – as the word ‘adventure’ is like a slippery, wet water balloon…you can never get a good grip on it, and it could completely burst at any time.  Adventure is immune to planning.

I still remember the first Skype call I did with Dave, Deb, and Rick; I immediately went into project planning mode and quickly learned that I was losing ground against the unknown of the Mongol Rally. There are so many risks and contingencies in this project plan; it was an exercise in futility.

packing

I have been able to break down a few things and prepare the best I could – but it’s far from a plan:

Physically Preparing:
How do you prepare to sit in a car for 6 to 8 hours a day for 6 to 8 weeks? Well, the obvious answer is you sit. And you sit a lot. This is actually pretty easy for me as most days I’m sitting at my computer for about 8 hours a day…sometimes, I barely move! I have also been busy updating my playlists on my iPod, and I’ve been practicing saying, “Are we there yet?” in the perfect questioning, a whiny tone that will make my teammates want to push me out of the car and put me out of my sitting misery.

Tactically Preparing:
I’m not a camper, yet this rally will have me camping for about 3 to 4 weeks. That’s the longest I’ve ever camped. I’m expecting I should get a Girl Scout badge when it’s all done (or I would be equally happy with a box of Thin Mints). I figured I better give my tent a test run so last night I set it up all by myself in my friend’s NYC apartment. Seriously – if I can set a two person tent up solo in a small NYC apartment, then I can set it up anywhere…right? I blew up my new air mattress and lay in the tent, trying to imagine being in Uzbekistan in the tent…but the NYC taxi noise distracted me from my camel daydreaming.

indoor tent

Geographically Preparing:
My good friends at Lonely Planet donated the digital guides for all of the countries we pass through in the rally…woohoo…that means we have less books and more space for toilet paper! Since they donated the guides, I purchased a Kindle and have been busy loading it up with the guides and other books for the long days of driving and no internet access. I’ve also thrown in a big bottle of Dramamine in case I find that I can’t read my Kindle while riding in the car!

Mentally Preparing:
This is the hard one. The key to long-term traveling is to find your ‘travel zen’; the sweet spot of not knowing what’s going to happen next and being okay with the unknown. It’s about embracing uncertainty and discovery. I wish I could say that I was fully mentally prepared, but I’m not. I feel like I’ve got a pretty good start on it, though, as I’m tired of futile planning and simply want the ‘games’ to begin and see what happens. If there is anything that travel has taught me, it’s that the only predictable thing is that it will be unpredictable.

Until I find my travel zen, I’ve been watching this to mentally prepare me…the Mongol Rally trailer from a few years back….still entertaining, still disturbing, still kickin’

I have been able to gain a little sanity by preparing myself physically, tactically, geographically, and mentally – but the rest is left up to the big, bad unknown.

I’m now at the point where I’m super excited to simply get on the road and see what it throws at us. I’m tired of worrying, planning, and trying to plan for contingencies…I just want to drive.

Chance, Luck, Faith.  That’s what my plan is.

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3 Comments

  1. I am getting excited for you! I cannot wait to read about all the trials and tribulations.

    Something struck me though as I read “The key to long term traveling is to find your ‘travel zen’ ; the sweet spot of not knowing what’s going to happen next and to be ok with the unknown” I would love to live everyday life like that.

    Perhaps that is why travel is so appealing because within the space of “everyday life” we know, or at least think we know, what is going to happen next. When we travel we feel like we have less control and that the place and the circumstances have the control. It’s almost as if it is a release.

    Anyway not very profound but I would like to adopt the ‘travel zen’ philosophy in the day to day and see where it takes me.

  2. “Adventure is immune to planning.” Great quote – and I think it takes courage to challenge yourself and comfort zones. You’re continually doing that – which is very inspirational.

    You’ve got the heart of a traveling lion, good luck to the finish line 🙂

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