GILA MONSTERS - BLOG

Presenting a chronological log of the Gila Monsters' triumphs and disasters.

Tuesdqy 3rd January	Matt
Entering the Sahara!
A very quick update from Laayoune in the west Sahara, while flash is off having its suspension raised ready for the rough roads up ahead. The journey so far has been great, with surprisingly few mecanical diffiuculties. Morocco is stunning, the scenery is great, the cities buzzing and the people are friendly. We spent new years eve being stopped at every police check point so they could wish us a happy new year! There is a lot more to sqy, but no time now to say it - especially not on an arrabic keyboard. For more photos, click the photos link on the sidebar, and check any of the teams flickr pages. We will be out of range of mobiles from Wednesday, so no more updates untill we reach Senegal!

Sunday 25th December	Matt
Merry Christmas!
We finally leave tommorow! We'll be driving down to Dover after collecting the Team from Stanstead and Enfield. After watching cars being torn apart from underneath on the DVD of last years rally, we decided Flash needed a few more very last minute tweaks done, and the front suspension has been raised to (hopefully) keep us off the rocks in the desert. With any luck, we'll also find a mechanic in Dakhla to fit some kind of bash plate! We may well not be able to blog regullarly enroute, but we will be sending entries by text message to the PBC website. You'll be able to read those here The lovely picture is of Flash posing infront of Kings College Chapel, Cambridge. Note that it now has a roofbox! A donation from Kevin Williamson has also allowed us to buy the parts to raise the suspension and replace a dodgy looking drivebelt.

Tuesday 13th December	Matt
It's the final countdown!
Our final week before departure has been going very well! A generous Ł200 donation from Green College toward SOS children has pushed us that little bit closer to the halfway mark on our sponsorship thermometer. Individual sponsors have also been incredibly generous - a donation from Vicky Sham, and a big discount from Halfords let us treat flash to a new set of oil and filters, as well as buying a few bits and pieces to help bodge the car back together should anything go wrong. Finally, flash is leaving oxford tommorow, and it seemed a shame not to show it the sights, so this updates picture is flash taking a spin around the Radcliffe camera.

Tuesday 13th December	Matt
Front Page.
Our equipment is slowly but surely arriving. We now have jerry cans, sand ladders, and a roof box, with the roof bars and water bottles still to come. Thanks to Helen Hayward, Lauri Loebel Carpenter, Nathan Goldschmidt, John Leslie, Jeffrey Forshaw, and James Welch for donating the cash for these items. We're also hoping to get some oil and filters and so on donated by Halfords. We've had a bit more publicity, including getting an article on the front page of Simon's local paper! Sponsorship is now starting to roll in a little more smoothly, though we've still got a long, long way to go to meet our target. Still no interest from corporate sponsors though - we've pretty much given up on that. Whats really important though, is that flash survived a long test drive this weekend without leaking any oil! Looks like the car is ready to go!

Sunday 4th December	Matt
Three Weeks to go.
A pretty busy week for flash - the silencer was replaced at cost price by the nice guys at national tyres and autocare. The parents of one of the gila monsters kindly donated new tyres to increase the chances of seeing their son again, and an article in The Register brought our website a lot of hits, so we're starting to get a bit more sponsorship! Flash is also running a lot better now, thanks to having the valve gaps set correctly. We now have a lovely strong steady idle, rather than the 'about to stall any second' type feeling you got before. Hurrah!

Friday 18th November	Matt
Living Loud
Flash is road legal! Equipped with a shiny new tax certificate, I was finally able to take flash for a test drive today. It was great untill the muffler came off the exhaust. It's still hanging from the car, though, so hopefully it can be patched up. In other news, we will be taking Flash to the Haynes fixup day to get a hand with the cylinder head gasket! One less headache!

Sunday 6th November	Matt
Vos papiers, Monsieur?
The challenge start date is drawing worryingly close, and everythings getting a bit real. There has been a lot to sort out. Quite aside from the Car, there's Visas, Yellow Fever Certificates, International Driving Licenses, Insurance, Information Sheets, Hotel and Ferry Bookings, and Sponsorship to worry about! Flash is running a little better now thanks to some spark plugs, and a new head gasket set arrived yesterday, so the oil leak may soon be sorted too. The biggest headache right now is getting publicity and sponsorship. If you are reading this and can help at all, send us an email!

Tuesday 11th October	Matt
Lovely Motor!
After having a more thorough inspection of the car, with aid from car-expert-friend Arthur Bullard we are still fairly happy. Main problems are a seeping cylinder head gasket, a very dodgy looking bulge on the inside of one tyre, and a pretty dodgy set of remaining tyres. We are now desparately looking for someone to donate a set of new or partly worn tyres! Anyone who thinks they might be able to help, please contact us at gmonsters@gmonsters.com The cylinder head is a tricky one - do we try and replace it, and risk destroying the engine with our limited mechanical skills, or do we chance it? Both options have their own unique lack-of-appeal.

Sunday 8th October	Matt
Information Super-Dirtroad.
Simon has already whipped up the glorious website you are now viewing, and now thanks to the kind owners of Urchin, we have web hosting and can use a vaguely memorable domain name! Hopefully gmonsters.com will reap fundraising dividends, Thanks Guys. (Donate now!)

Saturday 1st October	Matt
Flash!
We bought a car today! After a night out in Manchester, and about 6 hours sleep, we were both refreshed and ready for the drive to Farnborough to look at a potential vehicle! By the time we arrived, it was nice and dark, making inspection much quicker as there was less to look at. After a jumpstart, the engine lurched into life, and flash took us for a thoroughly enjoyable spin around the block. In the end, it was the fact the stereo worked that convinced us to take it for the bargain asking price of Ł150! So little over budget not even Ming The Merciless would hold it against us. So, we are now the proud owners of a gorgeous 1987 LHD Renault 5 called Flash. With a logo like this, we are in no doubt that we got value for money. Check out the car page for a photo.