In 2009 both Joe and Scott participated in a charity rally that would take them from the U.K. to Ulan Bator, Mongolia–the Mongol Rally. Both of them and their teams put in countless hours and dollars to ensure the success of their mission, but each of them failed to make it to the end with their car, for various reasons. There was unfinished business, and not long thereafter Joe and Scott started to concoct plans to eventually retrieve their vehicles and continue on the path as they had planned. This was the beginning of the Shoebaru concept–although somewhere along the way the continent was planned and the idea of retrieving vehicles was abandoned (for now…).
So, how did Joe and Scott get involved in such craziness, and why are they doing it again? Well, that would be the fault of an organization called The Adventurists. Yes, they were the ones that offered us a sample of adventure and got us hooked–big time.
That wasn’t the last they had seen of us, no sir! Since 2009 Joe, Scott, Emily, and BKK have all participated in yet another crazy charity event called the Rickshaw Run (Scott’s hilarious account of his journey along with his friend Mike last fall can be found here).
The Adventurists was formed in 2004 along with their first big adventure, the Mongol Rally. Since then the organization has grown to cover seven events throughout the world (horse riding in Mongolia, a motorbike trek through Siberia, riding moto-taxi through Peru, etc.), all of them including a charity fundraising aspect in which every participant must raise a set amount (or more) for a related charity. As one might expect, these events draw a certain type of (awesome) person to participate, and meeting your fellow ralliers before and during the events is half of the fun.
Shoebaru will be partnering with The Adventurists in that they have been gracious enough to allow us the participate in the annual Festival of Slow–the launch party for the 2012 Mongol Rally. Lefty and Righty will both be lined up with hundreds of other vehicles as they do a lap around Goodwood racetrack and start the journey eastward. A couple of days later everyone will meet up in southern Czech Republic for the Czech-Out party at Klenová Castle, which will be the first and last checkpoint of the entire journey. Of course, Shoebaru will be taking a slight detour south the next morning, while the rest of the revelers will groggily awake from their vodka hangovers and head east.
To find out more about the the Festival of Slow, the Mongol Rally, the Rickshaw Run, or any of their other adventures visit The Adventurists web site.