Day 21 - Kazan to Niz. Novgorod

Two more days until the next rest day in Moscow (including today’s passage of course) =)

A 392km drive from Kazan to Niz. Novgorod.. Wonder how Blue Roo is battling on with the Russian tarmac so far?

Andrew say the drive today is trouble free!!!

Day 20 - Perm to Kazan

Wow! Its another long drive! From Perm to Kazan… it would be 688kms today!!!

After some daily checks… the Mykytowychs and the Blue Roo would embark on their journey for Day 20… wonder what will they see and what will they come across?

The Ural Hotel is the largest hotel in Perm (see phtoto above). It managed to house all the entrants... some 300 bookings! Upon some research on the internet… this hotel has 434 rooms!!!
No wonder it could house all the rally entrants without any protest =)

Today has been a rather interesting drive… it’s a nice warm sunny day and the entrants are driving through green scenery with rolling hills.

Day 19 - Yekaterinburg to Perm

Another short run of 378kms from Yekaterinburg to Perm..

By the end of today, all entrants that have checked into Perm would have completed 6613km… just over half of the 2007 Peking to Paris Rally!

Wow!! What an effort for all the entrants whom are still driving in the rally since Beijing (Peking)! Regardless of whether they still classify in the rally or not, it is still a feat to have come so far! They have all proven that they are not quitters!!! They could all adapt, change and make do with what they have got! The entrants are quite resourceful!!!

Let wish them all the best of the remaining 6408km between Perm and Paris! May they all enjoy themselves and the remainder of their adventures!

Back to our favourite team… The Mykytowychs and the Blue Roo… despite facing the unknown world of Mainland China… the heavily corrugated desert tracks and sandstorms of Mongolia… the cold and wet Russia with long daylight hours… and along with various minor problem with Blue Roo… the team is forging on with excitement and determination!

Be it a different culture… sandstorms… hailstorms... roads or no roads… for the last 19 days… it appears that nothing would stop the Mykytowychs and the Blue Roo from reaching their destination.. Paris!

I am proud for their achievements and proud of being able to create this blog for them… to share with the world some of the titbits of their adventures!

Now that we are over the halfway mark… there is a total of 110 cars that has clocked in at Perm as oppose to the 128 cars that left Beijing… The rally organisers found various problems and many of which could have been minimised should the entrants take heed to the book “How to Prepare a Successful Rallycar” published by the rally organisers… To a degree… some of the entrants have no one but themselves to blame! Remember it’s an endurance rally… its not a beauty contest!

As the day comes to an end.. the Mykytowychs is still holding onto their position on the board… for those whom has forgotten… they currently hold… an overall position of 8 and a class position of 6! They are still holding onto their Gold Medal!!!

Keep up the good work!

Oh!!! Almost forgot!!! The link to the webpage and the blog for the Mykytowychs is officially on the 2007 Peking to Paris Website maintained by the Rally Organisers!!!

YAY!!! I have finally made it! Now it’s a call for celebration!!! Haha =D

It is another rainy day today… and a chance to test out the newly installed yet modified windscreen wipers.. the wipers worked really well so there no worries! Andrew has checked the internet to source for a set of shock absorbers… he emailed the distributor in St. Petersburg asking for help and will check out any possible retailer in Moscow.

Andrew target to fix the shock absorbers prior to leaving Russia and entering Estonia… so that Blue Roo is better prepared for the pending time trials!

Andrew’s review of the roads so far... he says to a certain degree… despite the erosion and corrugations in Mongolia... since there is no road/track you could drive anywhere you want, and make your own judgement on which way is the best… However, back on the tarmac in Russian… one have no choice but stay on it and be bombarded by the pot holes and other road damages due to poor maintenance…

Andrew has a chance to visit the Kungur Ice Caves in today’s journey! The general temperature inside the cave do not exceed 5°C.. there are various forms of fine ice formations and the ice crystals are all very fragile. Some are even columns that reach from the floor of the cave to the roof! However, Andrew say they are not as good as the caves we visited around the South West of Western Australia!

Day 18 - Yekaterinburg (Day Off)

A well deserved rest day after travelling for 1615km in the last three days… Lucky, all the driving are now completed on tarmac roads… so… in a way all the entrants are blessed with a smoother road surface unlike that of Mongolia! Just have to watch out on the occasional bumps and pot-hole!! =)

Hopefully, not as much trouble will arise for all the rally cars from now on… but since we all don’t have a crystal ball… we all will never know., unless we keep in touch with the entrants!

After being sand blasted in Mongolia… the pass few day has been fill with wet weather… hail storm… steady icy rain… for those with open top cars… they can’t help but be drenched and chilled to the bone…

Wonder how they are handling the extreme change? How are the entrants getting along with each other? How are the relationship between the driver and the navigator within the same car?

It’s a test for understanding and tolerance for all as time pass them by, especially when trouble continues to sneak up on them and they are not close enough to Paris yet!

Back to the rally… so far the entrant would have done 6234kms (for those that are constantly on the road).. which means over last 15 days of driving… they have done an average of 416kms. I might sound a lot for some readers out there, but believe me.. it is not a lot especially when one is on sealed roads…

The Mykytowychs should be out hunting for a set of shock absorber replacement as well as the arm for the window wipers.. This will make them doing maintenance on Blue Roo on their day off… it doesn’t sound as if there much time to see the sites… but in order to do well.. to hold their place… and to enjoy the rest of the rally… I believe it a price that they are willing to pay.

The morning has been filled with routine checks on the Blue Roo.. an oil change, cleaning out of spark plugs and also a change to various filters..

Andrew will also be handing over some footage for the filming crew too.. and the father and son will be going to go for their shock absorber hunt!!!

Unfortunately… they did not end up finding the right shock absorber today… so it would have to wait until they reach Moscow in 4 days time… However, they have got the windscreen wipers sorted after some drilling and modifications..

With regards to the film crew.. Bohodar went to a Church with the crew to take some footage… this Church is where the Russian Royal family got assassinated. At the moment.. it look as if the documentary on the 2007 Peking to Paris Rally would also include some history of the areas that they drive through! I think it would be a very interesting series for all!!!

The Mykytowychs are now back down to an overall position of 8 and a class position of 6.. This is due to the changes the rally organisers made on Day 11 with regards to the checking in time and its location… Don’t worry they still carry a Gold Medal!!!

Lets keep cheering them on!!!

Go! Go! The Mykytowychs! Go! Go! The Blue Roo!!

Day 17 - Tyumen to Yekaterinburg

It’s a relatively short day compared to the last two.. Only 315km to Yekaterinburg from Tyumen.

Without a doubt all the entrants will be looking forward to their rest day… yes, there is one tomorrow! A well earned one don’t you think?! Especially after two day worth of long distance driving!

The Mykytowychs have more shopping/hunting to do to finalise some repairs for Blue Roo tomorrow..

What adventures would they have today?

Andrew say he is having trouble with sleep lately… We all won’t blame him when we know… the sun rises at 4am in the morning and doesn’t set until 11pm… There are 19 hours of daylight.. and only 5 hours in the night!!! What a long day!!!

How do you all think we will behave when we are being put through 19 hours of daylight! Especially for those thom are use to having mornings… afternoons… evenings… and night?!!! For those who work… it will appears if work will never end… for those who study (in daytime) the classes won’t appear to finish!! For the night critters.. the night is simply not long enough!

My… do you think we well all want to sleep all the time… just simply the night is not long enough?!

Today has been another wet day.. but the drive has been good and is hassle free!

Day 16 - Omsk to Tyumen

Today, the Blue Roo will be leaving Omsk for a 632kms dive to Tyumen.

Two rather long drive in a roll! Wonder what kind of place would Tyumen be? Is it like Omsk or would they be leaving modern civilisation behind once again?

Today’s been another fun drive for the Mykytowychs.. they are doing well considering that they are running on a rebuild set of shock absorbers… they will continue their search… although the rebuild ones are not at their peak but it is performing way better than before the rebuild.

Let all hope they have better luck at Yekaterinburg in finding one! Its only two days away before the next rest day!!!

The Blue Roo didn’t come away unscathed today.. during the rain.. the window wiper on the driver side broke.. for emergency repairs.. the Blue Roo was driven into a Petrol Station and the Mykytowychs have swapped the one on the passenger side as the replacement! Andrew advise that the arm has to be installed back to front in order for it to work…

So now… should it rain again.. the navigator, Andrew will have no visibility… but I believe we all agree that its better than the driver, Bohodar having none!!! Can’t be driving blind right?! =) Good on them for their quick thinking! All they have to do is wait for the next rest day and go and get some new wiper!!!

Day 15 - Novosibirsk to Omsk

Another long drive today… 668 kms from Novosibirsk to Omsk. Novosibirsk is a modern busy city which all the entrants hasn’t seen for a while… there are several garages nearby willing to give all those in need a hand (with a price of course).. Many has spent the day going over their ride undoing all the damages that Mongolian road has dealt them..

Let hope the Mykytowychs have fully utilised the rest day to finalise and complete all that is required on the Blue Roo, while allowing some time for themselves to wind-down and relax.

There have been quite a few changes in the placing board for the entrants… with quite a few cars retiring and some that are unable to be classified for the race. There is only 109 cars that set out from Novosibirsk with a few having an early start while some are still playing catch up…

The Mykytowychs appear to have no big troubles and have managed to hold onto their placing… an overall position of 6 and a class position of 4!