Rally Raiders

Dakar cars help local youngsters

2011-07-22T19:38:00.000+01:00

The Up and Under Foundation teamed up with Rally Raid International to raise funds at the recent Cholmondeley Pageant of Power. The money raised will be used to subsidise adventurous trips run by local schools, Scouts and other youth groups.

Andy Fewtrell of the Up and Under Group said that “visitors to the event were generous in their support paying at least £10 for a ride around an off road circuit in a desert race car” In total we raised £925.

The Charity, founded in 2007 by Crewe based civil engineering specialists has helped a number of local organisations this year including Underwood West Junior School and the Wilson House Scout group.

Rally Raid International provided one of the cars and a driver to support the fund raising event. The Desert Warrior car has completed the Dakar Rally, probably the toughest motorsport event in the world, so took the bump and dips of the Cholmondeley course in its stride.

For more information see www.upandundergroup.com/community.html

See what happens between rallies

2011-05-22T21:28:00.000+01:00

This is so much fun!

Hold on there ;o)

News Report

2011-02-20T17:28:00.002Z

This is the TV report, the link below is the whole interview

Arctic 4x4 - Linus on the TV

2011-02-20T17:26:00.000Z

Here is another of the teams in the race.

Swedish TV appearance

2011-02-20T17:24:00.002Z

http://svtplay.se/v/2332540/hela_intervjun_med_rallyvinnarna_otextat

Arctic 4x4 Rally - Up and Under Foundation

2011-02-20T16:52:00.000Z

If you want to supportthe Up and Under Foundation you can on www.justgiving.com/upandunderfoundation

Day 8 and 9

2011-02-20T13:57:00.000Z

Day 8

The end of the rally is drawing near and today we have a short day with some difficult navigation to get through the woods so that we can get to the ferry. After a nice hotel stop we set of at the luxurious hour of 9 o'clock.

Some of the drivers at the start with Martin as race director

Tina (Rally Lady) was having a fun time with only two gears due to a mysterious clutch problem. The rest of the remaining cars set off with much fun and team spirit in the air as we now all wanted to get to the finish.

Peter and Thomas - have laughed and
smiled the whole race through - great people

As we had collected all the points with several hours to go before the ferry we had some time for playing and this gave me a chance to get the skis out.

Later when we arrived in Turku we walked up the river to the town from the docks - no really up the river!

Then it was off to the ferry. This was uneventful, but was noteworthy because the ferry pushed through ice the whole way and the noise on the car deck was incredible.
Day 9

We were woken on the ferry at 5.30am and made our way to the car ready for a short navigation section through Stockholm. We were constantly promised warmer weather but it was still -22C when we set off. 10 locations later and we were handed the location of the finish point. As we drove the final kilometers we reflected on what a fantastic event this had been, the people who had made it special, the beautiful scenery, the animals, the cars and especially how much effort Torbjorn and Hanna had put into the organisation. The reason I rally is to enjoy adventures with other people as crazy as me, this has been one of the best!

Torbjorn and Hanna - the reason we were all able to do it!

The reason we wanted to do it!

Oh and BTW we won ;o)

Arctic 4x4 Rally - Day 7

2011-02-18T19:34:00.000Z

Today as we move further south the weather gets warmer, starting in Kajaani at -35C we travelled to Tampere (near Nokia) where the evening temperature was a mere -20C. The theme ofthe day was not to lose at this late stage and all ofthe main protagonists stayed close together. After finding 17 geo-points, five of the remaining teams found themselves trying to find a control point. As this point was worth 4 points it was inportant not to miss it. I suggested that if we all agreed to skip it we would be no worse off, but Peter was having none of it and said he would stay until he found it. Being just as stubborn it looked like we might end up searching all night when a call to the organiser revealed a slight error in location and an hour and a half of wading around in waist deep snow came to an end, otherwise Peter and I would still be there.

Negotiations taking place

End of the search

With no cut off time there was time for fun and games and photography, we had missed many opportunities to record the beauty ofthe environment in our competitive dash through these fantastic countries so a few minutes were well spent with the camera.

With only two days to go I have no idea what the result will be at the end, in fact no one does because the race diector will only reveal the result in Stockholm on Sunday, suffice to say I think we are in a good position for a high placing with the main competition coming from Peter and Thomas from Sweden in the Toyota with far too many lights ;o)

Lorna's office

The trusty Volvo

What to bring on a rally - a sandwich toaster!

We are on Redshift radio again tonight at 7.30 uk time at www.redshiftradio.co.uk or listen again to the late late breakfast show. ther is still time to donate at www.justgiving.com/upandunderfoundation

Arctic day 5 and 6

2011-02-17T19:00:00.000Z

Day 5
Today we drove from Kemijarvi to Kajaani, however our secret weapon was taken from us when we were told we could not walk more than 500m. I was a little upset but considering that one participant already has frostbite it was reasonable ;o)

Day 6

We awoke to a true Arctic Morning, clear and very cold, -36C according to the ever reliable Volvo. This temperature was going to cause some problems. Martin’s Toyota was very unhappy, the engine could not be coaxed into life even with 4 batteries. Hitched up to , you got it, the Volvo, it was towed to a nearby indoor, heated garage and brought back to life.

The really tough points were eliminated today because of the remote location and the extreme cold, how cold? -40 was the coldest and believe me that is cold!

We had another treat in store when we arrived in Oulu, a 5 mile drive across the sea, on ice to a checkpoint on an island. It was real ice road trucker stuff with cracks and everything.

Spot your snowball

Llater on we saw two Elk as we drove through the forest finishing the day with all checkpoints visited. A short walk to a nearby garage rounded of the day with a filling meal of pasta. It is a real rock and roll lifestyle, I might even get chance for a shower.

Arctic 4x4 Rally - Day 4

2011-02-15T17:27:00.001Z

Today was a relatively easy day, only 400 miles driving and a 4km walk in the woods. Today is the aniversary of the birth of Ernest Shackleton, one of Britain;s greatest ever explorers and it is strange that the thought that was going through my head all day was that we may be the last generation who can exploit the technical achievements of the 20th century to travel relatively easily to remote places and experience their beauty and harshness in relative comfort. That is a sad thought because to do the trip we have done today has been an amazing experience.

N Norway in winter is a wild rugged place, but one that is almost painfully beautiful. Vista after vista drew gasps of amazement at what nature could produce, all topped off with a perfect icing sugar finish.

I've not gone all poetic, don't worry, but if you get the chance, come up here and experience it yourself. The cold is a force on it's own, today we experienced -38C and with a 10mph breeze it was so penetrating in a way that is difficult to explain.

We passed through an area still inhabited by the Sami people who herd the Reindeer. To say they are a tough, resourceful group is understatement on a grand scale. How they survived without the modern additions of electrcity, vehicles and oil is beyond my understanding.

Morning mist rising over a Fjord

The Geo-point must be here somewhere and we've
walked 2km so we will jolly well find it!

How about that for the open (and icy) road - 600km like this!

Tomorrow the rally gets tough and technical again so we shall have to see haw it pans out. Thanks to Stein for his help today.

Little house by the Fjord

Don't forget we are still collecting funds for the Up and under foundation, you can donate at www.justgiving.com/upandunderfoundation. and I am on http://www.redshiftradio.co.uk/ at 8.00pm uk time, really I am tonight.

Where are we? http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0SauyE7BAsX1dRyq8q7qchfjI9CdKcaci

Arctic 4x4 Rally day 1-3

2011-02-14T18:47:00.000Z

So it is Monday evening and we have just had our first hot meal since Friday evening – a hotdog from a garage, very valentine’s day I must say, but then we are on a rally.

Some of the competition

Saturday morning had us standing around a collection of offroad vehicles on what is probably a sports field in the summer but now was 3 feet deep in snow. We were in Stockholm at the start of the first Arctic 4x4 Rally. The vehicles surrounding us all seemed far more capable than our Volvo XC, evidenced by the fact we had a few problems driving through the snow to the start. Of dear what had we let ourselves in for. I have to tell you that Shrek wasn’t here due to the fact that he is not bult for the cold and we were expecting very cold!

We set of at 7.30 Saturday at intervals. We had maps and gps points (no gps maps allowed!) and we had to find letters fixed at points throughout Scandinavia, what could possibly be hard about that.

The first stage was 900km, the recent snowstorm that had hit S Sweden) and made the papers) was going to make it a long day, just how long we were to find out. The first geo-points were supposed to be an easy warm up but deep snow made quite a difference. By the fourth point of the day’s 20 we had had to be dragged back along a track, by a passing (honest) tractor as we had bottomed out the car and lifted the front wheels of the ground. We started walking. This sort of high jinx continued. The Land Rover sprung a fuel leak and the Swiss got stuck and were the first to be towed out by the ever reliable Volvo ;o)

The locals think we are crazy!

We drove further north, it got dark and every 50km or so we would have to stop, wade through waist deep snow to find the code letter hidden in the woods. Still this went on, 20 points for sure, but 900km was turning into 1100km midnight came and went then 0ne and finally at 2am we arrived at the hotel ready to sleep and get to the start line for 9am the following morning. It had been a warm night wit the temp only falling to minus 15!

The number of the beast

The Beast - we found him, honest!

Day 2 and we felt that the toughest day was behind us. However one team had almost missed breakfast only arriving at 6am. The start was conveniently close to the hotel and everybody lined up ready for another day. Tina and Uli’s Frontera had been plugged in to keep it warm through the night. The Landy was fixed again and the Volvo had the heated seats warming. Today was a short day, only 370km but there were some tough sections that we had been warned might be difficult for the Brits in their shopping car. When we arrived at this section after about 4 hours it was clear that it would be very hard for anything short of a snowmobile, so with an eye to a few extra points we set off to walk. 12km later we returned to the car, tired but satisfied, only to discover that the Danes (there are (were) 3 cars of them) had called the police as they didn’t think anyone would walk off into the wilderness and return safely – we actually enjoyed ourselves and the police were cancelled.

The Danes said they were going for a beer instead of looking for the final points and left us. It was only later at the hotel we saw the wreckage of their Toyota which had rolled off the road.

A note on driving here. The road surface on the main roads is a mixture of ice and snow, you routinely drive at 70mph on this stuff and what’s more you can stop really quickly if (and when) a reindeer jumps out in front of you, all down to the tyres I am told and if it is I want some next winter. It is not surprising that the Scandinavians make the best rally drivers, they drive stages every day to work, to the shops, and on teh school run.

Towards the end of the 2nd day we backed off a 10 mile drive up a snowy track on our own which regrettably may have lost us some points, but we didn’t get stuck and that would have lost us a lot more, especially as the temp went down to -35C! We finally arrived back the hotel at 10.30, had a brew from the flask and went to bed, ready to get up at six for the start of day 3.

Monday and a relatively short stage of 570km with a section likely to be blocked out by deep snow and unlikely to be passable by the school run 4x4. Of we set, a couple of easy points, some nave errors and we found ourselves at the start of another interesting snow track, alone again. This time we had to give it a go, After almost 20km we had some points but the track ran out. Another team were at the end of the track, minus a navigator who, it turns out had yomped off up the hill to a point about 3.5km away by track (2.6 direct), it appears that our exploits the previous day had set some minds racing. We had no choice but to follow suit. 1:10 later I was back at the car and Lorna was ready with a brew and a sandwich.

Another 200km on snowy and icy roads, some more points along the way and yippee we arrived at the hotel. There was hot food at the garage and that beat any cordon bleu cooking I’m ever going to taste.

We have had three beautiful days, very cold, but clear and sunny. Like any rally the folks are good fun and we are currently handing out stickers to cars we’ve towed out, three so far.

The Snowballs have made it to the Arctic!

There are more we will get round to photographing them later!

The trick is to finish these events and we will be doing our best over the next 6 days. I will be on redshift radio tonight at 7.30. www.redshiftradio.co.uk

Arctic 4x4 - The calm before the storm

2011-02-11T19:54:00.000Z

We arrived in sweden on a plane that had been delayed by a massive snowstorm which had passed over southern Sweden earlier in teh day. Stockholm is gridlocked in a way we normally are after 1" of snow. Here however it is about half a meter!

We have registered and things look ok. Scrutineering was pretty lax and having a car and being able to find the registration point seemed to be all you needed. Our car really is the baby with the others seeming to be proper big, high offroaders so I think we will have our work cut out having any success.

We've had one problem already - how do you put stickers on a car when it is cold windy and snowy? Answer.... cruise around until you find an open warehouse, drive in and do it in the warm!

This one is broken already, but it doesn't seem to be phasing the team from Sweden

Tomorrow is a 900km drive north so we should be pretty tired by the end of that. follow us in lots of ways including:

http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view?trip_id=241627

and on Redshift radio http://www.redshiftradio.co.uk/ at 7.30pm each day

Arctic 4x4 Experience - and they are off!

2011-02-10T16:50:00.000Z

Well not quite we start at 7am Saturday with scruitineeringg being tomorrow evening. If you want to follow us go to:
http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view?trip_id=241484

you will see something like this!

Arctic 4x4 experience - Fruit and Lorna go North!

Share your Adventures with SpotAdventures

Wish us luck!

Snowball Progress

2011-01-27T18:21:00.002Z

We are making good progress towards our target of raising £500 for the Up and Under Foundation. We were helped considerably by generous donations from businesses on the High Growth Programme run by Winning Pitch for NWDA.

Snowballs bound for the Arctic

Details of our journey can be found here. We leave for the start line in Stockholm on 11th Feb. We will activate the tracking on the 12th. Details will be available on this site. If you want to donate on line www.justgiving.com/upandunderfoundation

Dakar 3 place

2011-01-13T09:00:00.000Z

Our friend Miran Stanovnik (SVN) took third place on yesterday's stage behing Marc Coma and Cyril Despres. Nice one Miran and good luck for today.

Arctic Preparation

2010-12-08T20:27:00.000Z

You've got to take this kind of stuff seriously so Fruit has been out getting in some practice ;o)

Snowdon Summit

New car from our friends at Rally Raid

2010-11-02T17:28:00.000Z

The New Desert Warrior

I could be biased, but this is beautiful!
more info @ http://blog.rallyraid.co.uk/2010/11/748/

Pharaohs Rally Stage 4

2010-10-07T22:00:00.001+01:00

After what looked like a good day Shamy and Paul have moved up to 7th Place
I'll be away from my pc over the weekend so follow the results and live tracking here:
http://www.rallyedespharaons.it/

Pharaohs Rally stage 3

2010-10-06T22:30:00.000+01:00

I'm not getting any news from the bivouac, but looks like Paul's warrior was the only one to get through unscathed today with the new car suffering som'broken body parts' and the Warrior of Karim having a problem 'without physical consequences'

So Paul is lying 11th at present with more fun to come tomorrow, I imagine there will be some late nights amongst the mechanics this evening.

Pharaoh's Rally Stage 2

2010-10-05T16:37:00.001+01:00

After what looks to have been a challenging day Paul Round is sitting in 14th place with the Rally Raid's Aussies in 20th.

Full results:
http://www.jvd.it/2010/rally/rally_online/classifica.php?id=4&cat=auto_camion

Pharaons Rally

2010-10-05T08:01:00.000+01:00

Our freinds at Rally Raid International are currently involved in the Pharaons Rally in Egypt and are lying 6th after the first stage, JL schlesser is currently leading.

Follow the race at: http://www.jvd.it/2010/index.php?lang=uk

Arctic 4x4 Experience

2010-09-18T17:29:00.006+01:00

This looks fun and well worth investigating:

Start: Stockholm 12 feb 2011 08:00 AM - Finish: Stockholm 20 feb 2011 11:00 AM
Distance: ca 5000 km

"Experience the thrill, challenge and the adventure in the Arctic! The rally takes you through a landscape that can be both beautiful and threatening, where the weather can change very quickly and the northern lights can be seen under the stars. Simply an adventure rally and a challenge for everyone who likes cars and adventures!"

http://blackseaadventures.com/eng/

You would definitely need your thermals. I'll keep you posted
Fruit

No Rally This Autumn

2010-08-14T21:49:00.000+01:00

OK so its official we will not be racing this autumn. Sadly the lack of a navigator means that we have cancelled plans to visit the big sandpit until 2011.

With this down time we will be working on the car - the electrics are getting some serious attention and some new lights will be appearing on the front.

There may be an opportunity for a testing trip in late December if anyone is interested.

Sahara Masters Rally - Navigator needed

2010-06-11T23:14:00.000+01:00

We will be entering the 2010 Sahara Masters Rally and have an opportunity for a navigator to join the team for this race. If you are interested contact us.

Cheers
Fruit

Helping the Foundation

2010-04-05T08:40:00.002+01:00

Meeting remote farmers.

Although a little bit out of our normal operating area The Up and Under rally team assisted the Foundation by delivering a box full of sports kit to younsters in the Missor area of Morocco. The kit was passed on to Mr Baroudi a prominent figure in the area for distribution to those youngsters most likely to benefit. Kit was donated by the South Cheshire Harriers, Crewe Alex, Up and Under Staff and supporters of the Foundation.

Kids always like new stuff.

Handing over kit in Missor

Mr Baroudi, Andy and Rainer (rally organiser)

The finish - at last!

Shrek

2010-03-30T12:49:00.000+01:00

Link to a vid of shrek doing what he is designed to do ;o)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyZvW5m0RRU&feature=related
Fruit

Rally Coverage

2010-03-29T16:45:00.002+01:00

It’s in German, but fun all the same

http://www.marathonrally.com/news/14983.0.html

Fruit

Tuareg Part 2

2010-03-24T20:55:00.000Z

So the Dune race over and only three more stages to go. Two long days in Morocco and a final stage in Spain. During our last attempt at the Tuareg rally these were the most stressful stages as we nursed our broken car northwards.

This time we were in a great car and in good spirits. After our roll and success in the dune race were placed third in the amateur class and determined not to lose it. During the 6th stage to Missor we crossed the dunes, gambling on track tyre pressures to avoid the need for a stop to inflate. Shrek took it all in his stride delivering us to the secret check point after the dunes, at which point one of his eyes fell out, well ok a headlight. This carefully stowed we charged through the stage with no mishaps.

Inch perfect navigation led us to the road section through the Gorge de Ziz which is really impressive. We were on a bit of a mission and passed the Rally Raid Truck along with many others on route.

On arriving in Missor we fuelled up, zip tied the headlight back in and did a couple of minor adjustments before finding our tent for the night. Fed on omelettes and Moroccan bread we slept well.

The last African stage started by crossing the bridge which had failed earlier in the week. The repair was basic but effective, several bucket loads of rocks dumped in the river. Everyone was in good spirits including the local kids who seemed intent upon exploiting the last blagging opportunities to the max.

A very fast track stage proved largely uneventful for us, but was painful for two Belgians in their new soft top Defender SVX. Their skid and resulting crash was the talk of the docks later when everyone came to admire the newly dented panels and off centre axles, ouch.

Our biggest problem was motorbikes and there were loads of them, we overtook 20 on the track and more at checkpoints. At one point one stopped at a drop into a Oued directly in front of us leaving us with a choice of wiping him out or a 4' jump into the river bed, there's no blood on the car so you can see which option we took. The navigation stages were very picturesque as we entered the greener valleys closer to the coast, much of it quite like the mountains of home, but quieter.

Immediately upon leaving the nav stages it started to rain or should I say RAIN. It was great for us to clean the car after the muddy tracks, but was pretty tough on the bikers who faced a 4 hour wait in the port in wet gear. When we arrived in Nador the roads were like rivers, up to a foot deep in places, really quite exciting! An early load onto the ferry meant we got a full 8 hours sleep before the final stage in Spain, luxury.

The early part of the day was about 50km on roads followed by a very spectacular hair-pinned route up to 800m altitude. The descent was similarly spectacular, but off road. Such was the effectiveness of Lorna's navigation that we passed 5 cars on this section and although it was a nav stage, thus not timed, it was pleasing.

The final special was a 2km sprint down a dry river bed to the sea. We lined up and we set off at 30 second intervals. I was out for a result again and set off with a will, just like everyone else I suspect. When we arrived at the end we were able to relax at the beach for a couple of hours before having some fun at Ben's expense and driving to the Hotel, where two more surprises awaited us.

Firstly the stage result; Amateur and Pro winning times were exactly the same to a 100th of a second, so Paul and I had tied, what a way to end the race. Secondly Martin 'off the telly' decided it would be fun to do a duet at the prize giving. So with about one and a half hours to go we got together, sorted out words and music. I played another song before our double act and a sympathetic audience gave us great support.

So prize in hand, third place, and a victory in every stage but one - you remember that one ;o) - I finally gave in to fatigue and was forced to seek out my bed whilst the lady without her clothes entertained the bikers.

Another Tuareg over, another crash and another trophy, new friendships made, old ones strengthened. However much I hate this sport I love it. What next, any suggestions? Meanwhile I have some training to do for a 175km bike race at the end of June, oh and some work to do too. A busy life is a good one I guess.

Cheers
Fruit and Lorna

Tuareg Rally 1st 5 days

2010-03-19T15:48:00.000Z

After the usual chaos of the boat crossing we were in Africa. Nador is really very similar to a scruffy southern European town gone to seed.

We got our time cards and set off The stage added up to about 400km ending in Missor. It was a mix of navigation stages, where you have a time limit to get to the end, a special, where you are timed, and road sections. The terrain in N morocco is rough and it is an opportunity to find out what is loose on your car, fortunately we went through ok. The final special was cancelled due to a flodded river.

In the evening we handed over a rally box full of trainers to the locals along with a couple of footballs and some sport kit. This will no doubt find good homes amongst the local younsters. If you are passing through look out for the kids in Crewe Alex and Nantwich Town kit

During the night, as we slept in our tent with 20 bikers, the river did its stuff on the local bridge leaving us with the choice of a swim across or a long diversion to reach the days first special stage.

The bridge problems meant that we were 3 hours delayed, the end cut off time to start the final special was moved back by 5 minutes so it was 'get your skates on' time. The first special went well with no dramas. The following nav stage was really rough 50km of tracks that made Cheshire roads look like silk. at the end of the Nav stage we had 1 hour to cover 100km, on road, but with many villages where we had to slow down to 60 or less. If we missed the start of the special we would get a 2 hour penalty, It was a bit of a rush but we made it with 3 minutes to spare thus being one of only 2 cars to get through. This put us nicely in 1st place as we reached Merzouga.

Stage 3 "Three Ergs", all special for 170km. This was a mixed stage that required raising and lowering of tyre pressures at regular intervals. By now the temperature was feeling more desert than at the much higher Missor and running about in race suits soon got the sweat going.

Another straight forword stage, but wierdly we found a mobile phone lying on a dune in the middle of nowhere. Still in first place and cruising.

The King Stage and for us a day of drama. On this stage we went into the big dunes of Erg Chebbi and they are massive. 2km from the start we crested a dune to find a motorcyclist who had obviously had a big one. We stopped with a couple of others and did all the emergency stuff, marking the location on GPS, calling assistance and rendering first aid. We later found out he was Italian had hurt his back and wouldn't lie still. They don't teach you restraint techniques on any first aid course I haver ever been on. He wanted to move about and we had quite a job keeping him still meanwhile Lorna directed traffic at the top of the dune.

Eventually doctors arrived and we assisted them, the final diagnosis being broken ribs anbd a splattered nose. After pushing the doctor's car we set off again, dead last.

After about 10km we crested a dune and missed a camel by about a metre, lucky break for both of us!

After about 30km, of what is undoubtable buttock clenching driving, I took a left or right decision at the top of a dune, one of thousands, but this one was to end with a bump.

Directly in front of me was a 10 foot wide clump of camel grass, believe me you would rather hit a camel than this stuff, I avoided it to the left before seing, emerging behind it, some rocks so further right I traversed. Traversing is fun on a crag, but in dunes it is one step away from a crash. The downhill wheels dig in and it is easy to roll, As we reached the foot of the dune the car did just that. Slowly and gently, lay down on its right side.

So began a long day in the desert. It was mid day and too hot to dig, so we built a tent and waited. We got word to the Orga but knew they would be busy and we weren't a medical emergency. It was very calm at the bottom of our dune and we napped between waving OK to passing vehicles.

At about 4.30 it was cool enough to dig and dig we did until about 7pm. A collection of bikers from the orga arrive armed with shovels and lashings of good cheer. We did lots of things with jacks that went against HSE guidance, but after 3 hours of graft the car was righted with startlingly little dammage. A quick check over and a fantastic sunset drive out of the dunes flat out to avoid being stuck in the dark. We slept well that night. Overall it was a disappointment to loose 1st place but we had come out of it pretty well.

Friday brought us to the dune race. A mad flat out race around the Big dune at Erg Chebbi. 18km laps, 2 for us 4 for the pros as fast as you dare. This was where we had our now infamous flip and we didn't want any disaters this time. Except for shedding a tyre half way through and having a tough landing or two it was pretty starightforward. Oh and the wing fell off partly caused by yesterdays events and added to by today's.

We have been kept running by a great crew from Rally Raid, headed by Chris who trys to keep Pally and Ian under control. What these guys achieve is incredible. Another Warrior, driven by Izhar, had a big roll and looked quite a wreck on the King Stage, 24 hours later it is ready to race again.

After all these events we were placed third in class. Hopefully we can hold onto this until Spain but time will tell.
Fruit

Waiting for the Rally to Start

2010-03-13T21:37:00.001Z

We are now waiting in the Marina Playa Hotel in Mojacar for things to kick off. Tomorrow we set off to the docks then wait for a ferry. Finally Monday we will get to race.

In the mean time this is like a school reunion. Rally drivers, riders and support teams are arriving from all over Europe.

Its a great time before it gets a little serious.

We had a minor problem with a brake ligt switch earielr today but that was solved with a squirt of WD 40. Apparently we are leading the damage and repairs competition in the Rally Raid camp. Hopefully we will win with that, if so it will have been an easy rally for everyone.

There are three cars like ours all parked next to each other, quite a sight.

Ah well nothing much to report so I'll stop now, more info when we have it.

Cheers

Fruit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcRoL4E1lp8

www.upandundergoup.com

Ready for the off

2010-03-11T19:52:00.001Z

We fly tomorrow and take the ferry on Sunday - assuming the car arrives. As with all events of this type it has been a little fraught leading up to the off but we hope taht we are ready now.

Just before the car went Crewe Alex added some sport kit to the trainers we had collected from South Cheshire Harriers - see picture below.

Now it is a bit of a waiting game, registration and scruitineering on Sunday, ferry overnight then Africa.

If you have travelled on a cross channel ferry you would not recognise a ferry to Morocco. Firstly it takes all day to load, it is not full of shiney shops and the food is not cordon bleau, BUT it does take you to the magical lands.

With luck scruitineering will be the normal lights on, lights off type of thing then by mid morning Sunday we will be racing. After that it will be full on for the next week.

Wish us lluck, feel free to comment on the posts and we'll try to get as much as possible up during the race.

Fruit

Tuareg 2010

2010-03-07T09:40:00.001Z

Ok I know it has been a while since I posted something, but that is rallying, calm followed by total panic. Latest news is that the car is on a transporter somewhere between Crewe and Almeria. We travel to Morocco on Sunday and start racing on Monday.

The race route is Nador, Missour, Mersouga, Missour, Nador, Almeria, Mojacar, finishing Monday 22nd March.

This year there is an added dimension as we are delivering sports shoes, equipment and kit to Missour for distribution to the local youngsters this has been coordinated by The Up and Under Foundation with assistance from the South Cheshire Harriers and Crewe Alex FC.

We hope to keep this page updated during the race with results and comments.

cheers
Fruit

Instead of the Dakar

2010-01-11T17:03:00.005Z

Taking full advantage of the recent chilly weather Andy and Simon set out to dig themselves a mountain top retreat. So the weather started off fine, but soon deteriorated. But with a bit of shovel work (about 4 tonne) a home was excavated and the kettle put to good use.
For those with a head for the figures the snowhole had two entrances, three rooms, two wardrobes. was 7m from front to back and had a maximum span of 2.5m. The snow was over a metre thick over the highest part of the cave. The temperature inside was a consistent zero degrees whilst outside it was horrible!

Sahara Masters - Victory

2010-01-10T18:10:00.005Z

I am sorry it has taken so long but real world seems to be getting in the way but there was good news in our October outing.

We had an uncharacteristic trouble free win in the K2 class at the recent Sahara Masters Rally. The move from modified Land Rover, Defender to the Desert Warrior XLR kit car proved to be a great success. In the past we had spent more time repairing the Defender than driving it, in this rally it was so different!

The rally held in Tunisia covered a range of piste and dunes and attracted a field of drivers and riders from Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenia, Serbia as well as three Brits.

The longest stage in the rally was a 355km special where the K1 and K2 classes combined. Interestingly the K2 cars beat their big brothers in the pro class by quite a margin.

The car handled like a dream. Paul (at Rally Raid UK) said it would be good in the dunes, but the biggest joy was the way it handles the piste sections, flicking through twisty sections with ease. I suppose the fact that the dune sections were so uneventful as to be forgettable gives credence to Paul’s assertion. The only minor hiccups we had were caused by our mistakes; wrong tyre pressures and forgetting to put the diff lock back in after a road section ;o) Other drivers commented that they were unable to follow our tracks in the sand. I put this down to the engine power and manoeuvrability of the car. Some less generous mentioned my tendency to follow the route for a while then to head of seeking the most fun route, but hey if you can, why not.

Our plan had been to go hard from the start then defend a lead and it worked out very well. The main competition was provided by two significantly modified Pajaeros who kept pressing to the end, but were unable to close the gap we had earlier built up. Andy Tank was very sporting earlier in the rally giving us a tug off a crest, but he was running a car cooled as a result of a couple of relays we donated, so fair’s fair.

Other cars in the race included a Range Rover, a T2 Nissan, a Jeep, a couple of Toyotas and a Disco that had a catalogue of incidents including crashing into the duty free shop in Tunis.

Rally Raid were helpful with preparation of the car and with supply of spares, cheers for the assistance, we look forward to racing with you all in Morocco.

Shrek Guest Appearance

2009-11-27T14:35:00.004Z

Our new rally car, christened Shrek by Lorna - Big, Green and tough -has recently had a holiday, spending three weeks in the Blue Bell BMW showroom in Crewe. Being as beautiful as it is, it no doubt attracted lots of attention. I imaging the shiny new BMWs were a little intimidated ;o)

2009-10-09T17:23:00.008+01:00

Friday 9th October. We are on our way. we travelled to Folkstone then through the tunnel
attracting lots of comments wherever we went.

The first picture is of a bit of work being done on the drive before we left and this seemed, as ever, to be the theme of the trip. Upon stopping at a garage in central France we discovered that we had a little fuel leak, from the fuel cooler, bet some of you never knew such a thing existed, well I do and I know where it is, how to take it off and bodge it up with a variety of glues, thanks Glen!

The leak, almost, fixed we set off again and reached our goal just outside Chamonix for the
night. Good night and get some zeds. Next day it was through the Mont Blanc Tunnel and off to Italy where we are currently.

On arrival we realised that the back of the truck is getting really quite hot. Before we left we drilled some holes on the advice of BD. It seems we didn't go far enough so with a little help from the maintenance team at the 'Business Hotel' in Casale Monferrato we were going at it with a will. The back will not keep the rain out but should let the heat out from the radiator. We'll soon see.
Tomorrow we set off early for Genoa and the ferry to Tunisia. This is where all the fun really starts. scrutineering, roadbooks, waying up the opposition and Africa.

Can't wait.
I'll update this whenever I get a chance.
Results may be on www.sahara-masters.de we are car 112 in KAT 2
Fruit and Lorna

Back on the Road

2009-10-01T09:57:00.004+01:00

Desert racing is a world inhabited solely by optimists. In this spirit we are planning our next adventure which will be the Sahara Masters Rally. 2 weeks in tracks and dunes in Tunisia. When possible I will try to keep this blog up to date with our exploits.

The car has had a few mods includingthe addition of a 3.0l BMW diesel engine, initial impressions of which are very good ;o)

Additional modifications are additional storage in the back, and a change from Terratip to Peltor intercom.

Fimgers crossed this will be a happier story than our last attempt.

One last thing the car has a new name; it's big, green, powerful, a bit grumpy but a good sort underneath.......Shrek!

Game Over!

2009-03-22T15:37:00.000Z

If guts, determination and sheer bloody mindedness were all that was required - we would be in Spain by now, waiting to go to Morocco. Unfortunately, some good luck was also required and that was sadly lacking!

Fruit managed to get as far as Montpelier in the south of France before the car just stopped. There had been the expected problems along the way but most were solved with a turn of a spanner whilst others required a little more ingenuity - fuel pumps wired via a cig lighter.

On Saturday morning Fruit was barrelling along when the engine cut out with no warning - this proved to be a problem too far. Despite numerous attempts to get the car going again both Fruit and his new French mechanic friends were stumped - game over!

It has been some adventure, and we have met and worked with some great people, but we just couldn't manage the happy ending we were after.

We would like to thank everyone who helped us with this project and hope everyone on the Tuareg has a great time - we'll be thinking of you!

Take Two

2009-03-20T12:11:00.000Z

It is probably true to say that when most blogs should get interesting - they dry up for a while - either because people are two depressed to write anything or they are so busy they barely have time to sleep - let alone be vaguely creative. We are no exception - Fruit has been stupidly busy and I have been trying to keep him going. Also, we are now up to about Plan F is it is hard to keep track!

Anyway - enough excuses.

Fruit set off for Almeria again yesterday evening (Thursday) - take two! He originally left at lunch time on Tuesday - but didn't get very far. The car conked out and we had to call upon the services of the AA to get him home. First thing Wednesday morning, man and car headed over to Land Ranger Services in Middlewich courtesy of Shaun's tow truck (2 days and 2 tow trucks).

Some work was needed to the cylinder head, and water system in general, a wheel bearing and the brake calipers. It sounds very much (to me at least) that if the engine hadn't conked out a wheel would have fallen off!!! It's funny how things work out sometimes!

So, by Wednesday evening the car was going again - but vibration was something of an issue - so Thursday saw the engine mounts being replaced with more compliant ones and me searching for some gel gloves and some ear defenders!

Last seen (and lets face it he is hard to miss) in France and heading South!

Dunes and desert maintenance

2009-03-10T20:19:00.000Z

Back to the Xmas trip......

We started the day camped under a palm tree by a dune, what we had assumed - the previous night - was "the middle of nowhere". In the morning our every move was observed by 5 kids and an old chap, who were quite keen on selling us something - but even more interested in not missing a single move we made. Initially I found this rather uncomfortable (largely because I wanted the loo), but once we had decided to engage it was really quite fun - especially when we turned the tables on them and subjected then to our version of the tea ceremony. They weren't too impressed and required about half a mug of sugar to make it palatable!

We eventually got underway and headed into the dunes on a bearing - found the first waypoint and relaxed a bit. This was our first experience of driving in the dunes and the light was terrible - really flat - so it was difficult to see where the holes were, which resulted in us ending up in a couple of precarious positions. But a bit of digging and some advice from the locals and we were soon back on the flat lands between the dunes drinking coffee and comparing landrovers.

We filled up the tank and the jerry cans and headed away from Mersouga and civilisation following a route from BD. There was no sign of tracks or villages on the map - but the GPS seemed to know where it was going as we headed further and further off the beaten track. About 4.30 we spotted a rather nice looking dune which looked as if it would offer some shelter and pullled over for the night. It would have been a nice early stop, apart from the fact that the vehicle check revealed a dodgy wheel bearing! Time to put Jim's pre-trip lesson into practice with some desert maintenance. So Fruit's first wheel bearing change was done miles from anywhere, in the sand and in the dark. Quite an eventful day.

Shopping

2009-03-05T20:28:00.000Z

There's not just a car to think about you know - oh no. There are gizmos and gadgets (the trip meter and GPS I have mentioned already), there are video recorders and cameras, there are miscellaneous bits of kit, first aid kits and, of course, clothes! While Fruit has been ordering headlamps and intercoolers I have been buying clothes and today I received the first consignment of Up and Under rally team hats (which will, believe me, become collectors items - my dad is already after one). The fleeces and T-shirts are to follow.

Miscellaneous bits of kit

Speaking of clothes, there is also the small matter of a race suit. I wore one of these for one stage during the Tuareg in 2007 and hated it. Fruit, on the other hand, looks at his as a big romper suit and loves it. He thinks I should have one and I suppose he has a point - while I hope not to need one, having a chance of not being burned to a crisp in the event of a fire seems like a good idea. And I have capitulated with the boots (Asics don't yet make nomex training shoes - a possible gap in the market?) and gloves, but the jury is still out on the full suit .... shame they don't do a two piece.....!

Missor

2009-03-04T21:49:00.000Z

The second day brought more off road challenges and a few navigational err, how shall I say, hiccups. It strikes me that I am between a rock and a hard place here - as a poor workman blames his tools (so I can't blame the dodgy route instructions), but then if I admit to being incompetent - I might as well blame my tools.... Anyway, to cut a long story short, we got lost - a bit, but then we got found again - so that was probably good practice. The plan was, if lost, to go back to the last place where we were sure we had been. As we didn't have to go back to the start, I count that as a success!

We were certainly driving on terrain that was totally new for all 3 of us - the Rat being more used to axle deep mud, than to rocks and sand. We had tiny tracks to follow, oueds to cross and to drive up and washouts to negotiate. Odd bits of road were interspersed between the extensive off-road section, but even the road wasn't exactly what we were used to!

We made it to Missor at a reasonable time and decided to spend the night at the Hotel Baroudi, one of the hotels used by the Tuareg. I think we may well have been the only guests and given how chilly it was that, perhaps wasn't surprising (we ended up in our sleeping bags under their bed clothes with an electric fire on all night.

Now where was I?

2009-03-03T20:49:00.000Z

Oh yes, on our Christmas 'dip to toe in the water' trip.

We took the ferry from Almeria (in Spain) to Melilla (in Spanish Morocco). For someone used to cross channel ferries, this crossing bordered on the bizarre. There seemed to be no plan (we were sent to the top of a multistory car park, only to be sent straight back down again), and the staff (all of them) gave the impression that this was their first day. Once on the boat, things weren't much better - the restaurant only opened briefly, about four hours into the crossing, long after hunger had passed.

Still, we got there, and then had the border to face. Another time I would go to Nadir (i.e. Morocco proper, instead of a small bit of Morocco the Spanish have claimed) and deal with customs on the boat. The border was pretty chaotic and something of a culture shock. Every time the gates briefly opened there was a rush of humanity loaded up with all manner of items fantically trying to get back into Morocco to sell their wares as soon as possible.

BD, a mate (and Dakar old hand) from just up the road from us, had given us some routes to try out. We had good instructions and GPS points - but hadn't worked out how to upload the GPS co-ordinates. After about 30 km on road, we turned off road and started to follow a canal and then it was truly off into the wilderness - just the three of us.

I was navigating well (I had no idea where we were - other than on the route we had decided to follow) and all was well in our world. Although it was dark by the time we decided where to stop for the night - but I think that was just an excuse for a camp fire (that and the fact that it was perishing!)

Progress?!!

2009-03-02T19:49:00.000Z

OK, I'll admit it - I've been putting off writing this, largely in the hope that I could announce a major breakthrough - breakdown more likely (of the nervous variety)! So, we are still some way off. The engine hasn't been started yet and our ECU (which is kind of important) is in Gloucestershire, while we are in Cheshire. We are now on a promise of one on loan (thanks Andrew), so there is still a cat in hells chance that the engine will get started this week.

So, we are still running up against the buffers, with Fruit needing a new seat, which won't be delivered until next week. MOT, yes that would be nice, paint - it takes how long to dry?

Do you know how many individual components there are in a car? No, neither do I - but let me tell you its a lot, and we are still ordering them. Today I found myself flicking through Land Rover Owner International and Land Rover Monthly (unheard of), looking for breakers yards to try to source some Defender push button switches (2002 onwards), you know rear wash wipe, hazard flasher, heated seats that sort of thing .......anyone got any they don't want.....?

The powers of persuasion

2009-02-28T09:49:00.000Z

The Xmas trip was supposed to be a way for me to dip my toe into the water before committing to the rally. Fruit had other ideas. He can be very persuasive and somehow managed to convince me of the benefits of entering the rally BEFORE we had been on the trip! He probably slipped that it while we were frantically converting the Rat to a camper van.

What started off as being a bare basics conversion gradually transformed into something of a work of art; fully lined, artwork on the window panels, a ‘double’ bed, folding table, food cupboard, solar panel, reading lights (I kid you not), over bed shelf and of course water storage and cooker. Well, it was to be home for two weeks.

Testing the kettle

In addition to that lot we had a jerry can on the back, a high lift jack, sand ramps, shovel, a box full of spares, tool box, two spare wheels (largely used for sitting on at the table as we didn’t run to garden chairs), sleeping bags, pillows and clothes for the trip – precision packing at its best - especially without a roof rack.

The original plan had been to both go from home to Spain (Calpe) in the Landy and then onto the port before heading to Morocco – but as I have less holiday, Fruit gamely volunteered to drive to Spain and pick me up from the airport a few days later. Fruit had a few reliability issues and I began to look up the location of Land Rover dealers in advance of his journey – but after 2 tow trucks, 3 garages and 6 bottles of coke he eventually made it to the rented apartment in Spain – only to find that the keys for the apartment didn’t fit the door – where would we be without mobile phones?

A little maintenance later and a trip to the airport to collect me and we were ready for the next stretch – down to the port and our first night together in the Landy. Fruit, of course, had to sleep diagonally and if I curled up it worked out nicely – although we did have to coordinate rolling over.

The mists of time?

2009-02-25T20:22:00.000Z

It was back in summer 2006 when Fruit first started talking about doing the Tuareg rally. I wasn't against the idea, but was rather more cautious and wanted to 'try things out' first. So, it was agreed that we would do a trip to Morocco over Xmas and New Year. Plan A was to join a group, plan B was to go it alone. Plan B won out.

At this point we had never driven a 4x4, let alone owned one, so the first job was to go shopping. We plumped for a Land Rover Defender 90 - one, because it looked the part and two, because there was one for sale just up the road. Enter the Rat stage left.

A short wheel base probably wasn't the brightest choice as we planned to turn it into a camper and Fruit is 6 foot 3, fortunately I am only 5 foot 4. So with the seats folded forward, the creation of a cunning sleeping platform, Fruit sleeping diagonally and me filling in the gap at the side it kinda worked.

We bought the Rat in October and after a few off-road lessons courtesy of Jim at Explore Off-Road (http://www.exploreoffroad.co.uk/) and some camper van conversion work we set off to Morocco via Spain.

Get lost?!

2009-02-23T22:43:00.000Z

When Fruit first suggested that I be his navigator for a desert rally I was, I confess, rather worried. Virtually the ONLY thing we ever argue about is navigation! Was this some perverse (and expensive) way of seeking a divorce?! If it was it was not a success as we are now approaching our 18th wedding anniversary (although there is another rally before then).

There are some pretty crucial differences between rally navigation and your day to day, "get me to Lower Thrupwell", map reading. For a start there are no maps (what a great idea). I am not very good with maps - contour lines are just brown squiggly lines to me (apparently some people can tell what the topography will look like from them.... could explain why I was crap at orienteering..!). Rally navigation, however, uses something called Tulip diagrams and 'accurate' distances between points.

Some of the diagrams are a bit of a mystery until you actually get there - but when you arrive all is clear - basically just follow the arrows. It seems to be de rigour among navigators to mark up your road book the night before using lots of highlighter pens. Being new (and, on the quiet, being rather partial to colouring) I did the same - I'm not sure why though. More important for me was to mark 'L' on the left hand turns and 'R' on the right hand ones - as under pressure I don't actually know my left from my right!

You also get a number of gizmos to keep you busy and make you feel important - like a trip meter and a GPS. The trip meter measures the total distance travelled and, by resetting at each instruction, individual intervals, which is great when your meter is calibrated EXACTLY the same as the person who made the road book!

Thus armed you can give your driver clear and easy to follow instructions. In 300m turn left at the T junction......... in 100m turn left .......... NO LEFT! Ahh the route to martial bliss.

26 days and counting

2009-02-23T21:58:00.000Z

26 days until the start of the race - unfortunately its more like 23 days until Fruit leaves to drive to Spain ....

We started the new car, for now lovingly termed the 'Duck' (for reasons which may become apparent) in September 2008, when we got a Land Rover Discovery to act as the base vehicle. We then went away for a month to Libya in the Rat, which we had rapidly converted from desert racer to desert camper, on the Libya Rally Raid pre-tour (http://www.libya-rally-raid.org/-raid.org/). So nothing much happened until November.

After a bit of a incident in our last Tuareg, when we unexpectedly ended up upside down, we decided that an integral roll cage would be a really good idea and so with some egging on from BD and Paul Round at Rally Raid International 'the Duck' was born.

Fruit, while undetered by most things, doesn't actually know a great deal about cars (other than how to drive one) so he is on a steep learning curve. The Duck is currently being wired and the lights were switched on for the first time yesterday.

We have taken the rally seats from the Rat, but Fruit may be looking at a new one as it is a bit of a squeeze in the cab and, lets face it, any excuse for shopping (it's not a female preserve you know - its just that blokes buy different things).

A month to go

2009-02-23T19:30:00.000Z

Welcome to the Rally Raiders Blog. A month today (inshallah) March 23rd, we will have finished day 1 of the Tuareg rally in Morocco (http://www.tuareg-rallye.com/).

We have a number - 252 - trouble is we don't yet have a car..!

We are Up and Under rally team (aka Fruit, Lorna and others) and this will be our second Tuareg. The first time, two years ago, saw us zipping through the desert in a 10 year old Land Rover Defender (lovingly known as the Rat).

This time we thought we would go for something designed for the job, with an integral roll cage and all that sort of stuff. Although the Rat had a roll cage it was a bit of an after thought and when given a thorough testing proved to be OK but only just.

Fruit is busy (very) building the new car, with help from Rally Raid International (Dakar veterans) but as you can see it looks as if will go right down to the wire.