It could just be the craziest idea ever: On July 21, over a hundred
teams from across the world will depart from London’s Hyde Park for
Mongol Rally 2007,
an annual 10,000-mile race during which contestants travel a third of
the world’s surface—from England to Mongolia—in a piece-of-crap car
with an engine less than one liter, crossing deserts, mountains and
wilderness with no guide, no guarantee of arrival and no safety net.
According to organizers, the Mongol Rally’s mission is to bring some
much-needed adventure to a sanitized, safety-proofed, over-planned
world. “The world is just a little bit too safe,” the group’s website
reads. “What if you want things to go wrong? What if you want a bit of
unknown in a world full of health and safety measures?” The Mongol
Rally promises to deliver: “If nothing goes wrong, then everything has
gone wrong. You only start having fun when you break down in the desert
with only a short stick and some chewing gum to fix your car. If your
automobile completely lets you down and all else fails, e.g. the sky
has fallen on your head…prop it up with a windscreen wiper and carry
on.”
This year, the
New York Press’s very own
Joshua M. Bernstein, of
My So-Called Strife
infamy, will be one of the brazen participants taking part in the
rally. We spoke with Josh for an insider’s look at how a team prepares
for the journey and what type of person is willing to risk life and
limb all for a
damn good story. Click
here for the Q&
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