Funk Soul Brothers - Czech Wrecks Team 46!

2006-09-06T18:53:00.000+01:00

Pictures are up!

I've managed to sort through my pictures and get most of them online. They are broken down into days like so:

Day 0 - to Calais

Day 1 - Calais to Annecy

Day 2 - Annecy to Bormio

Day 3 - Bormio to Salzburg

Day 4 - Salzburg to Prague

Day 5 - Prague

have a look! More will come as I get them from the other two! Click each pic below.

At the Hotel in Annecy.

On the Stelvio Pass.

Bomber gets interviewed by a Czech TV crew at the border crossing from Austria.

At the finish in Prague!

2006-09-05T10:47:00.000+01:00

We did it!

Hurrah! After some complications at the Czech border we were finally allowed in to the country. TV Crews were filming our plight and interviewing ourselves along with the other cars. We finally made it to the meeting place in the centre of Prague at about 5pm to a fantastic reception from the locals and TV Crews. It was quite a shock to see ourselves on the Czech national news later in the day whilst enjoying a beer in our hotel lobby!

The car was absolutely faultless, we had no troubles with it whatsoever!

2006-09-02T17:27:00.000+01:00

Still Going!

We are located in our stop for the night which is Bormio, Northern Italy! We have covered over 1300 miles in 3 days through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. So far so good! Without wanting to tempt fate, the trusty Volvo is running like a dream! What is supposed to be the hardest section of the event is now over, we are looking forward to tackling the Stelvio Pass in the morning. All three of us are well, and well fed and beered! Having a great time. THANKS AGAIN to all the sponsors for their contributions as we are now well over the £2000 raised mark, which is absolutely fantastic!

The story so far...

Day one: Calais to Annecy

Day one was mainly a hard slog of 500 miles or so along French autoroutes via Reims, Dijon and the rolling farmland of central France. The car was running well and we spotted a number of competitiors on the route (only one on the hard shoulder!). A good run today, only slightly hindered by some traffic around Annecy and the day finished at the Roche Blanc Hotel at the top of a steep twisty mountain road. The view was spectacular, across Mont Blanc. Some late night "team building" exercises in the bar set us up for a great start to day two.

Day two: Annecy to Bormio

First away! Our casual attitude to the event meant that by arriving nearly last at the start point we were able to leave first! This set us up well for a long hard day in the Alps, taking in Geneva, Basle, the Simplon Pass, Milan, Como, Lecco and finally Bormio. About 425 miles covered in perfect warm, sunny weather. Bomber had a great time literally "bombing" through the tunnels around Lake Como, getting us to our finish point in great time. Car still running well!

We are off now to enjoy the evening, looking forward to the challenges ahead tomorrow!

2006-09-01T00:12:00.000+01:00

We have made it to Calais!

So far so good!!! The car is behaving beautifully, after having covered 350 miles today! Had quite an interesting time when we arrived at our F1 Hotel, we were greeted by a pair of burly security guards who were determined to not let us in! Apparently a rally has gone through recently and rooms were wrecked. Several minutes of conversation later, it was clear we were getting nowhere...

...so we are now sitting, several beers later, in somewhere FAR better!

Updates to cone when we can, keep checking back!

2006-08-31T07:43:00.000+01:00

And we're off!

The day has finally arrived... Our journey is about to begin!

Fingers crossed eh? Hope we make it! Wish us luck!

2006-08-30T13:22:00.000+01:00

Introducing...

Ah I have access to the blog! Introducing myself I'm Bomber. Unlike these other two herbies I'm the southern element of the team. As the third member of the Funk Soul Brothers, my attributes include an absolutely massive affro and a seriously heavy right foot (runs in the family - my brother Jim Bamford No 302 successfully races Brisca F2 Stock Cars). The guys want me for my mechanical knowledge, which I know nothing about, but really they want me for my wit, intelligence and map reading skills.

We leave tomorrow, so desperately fund raising. Its going really well.
Ou revoir, Bomber

2006-08-30T11:18:00.000+01:00

Less than 24hrs to go..

The fundraising has gained a late boost with the addition of some sponsorship from the nice people at finnforest (click the logo at the top of the page to find out all about them!)

Which means......(drumroll)....we've made our £1500 target! Fantastic! Thanks to everyone who's contributed - you'll be pleased to know we'll be putting your names on the car tonight - you're all coming with us!

Car 'preparation' continues apace, well, we've given it a wash anyway :) and started stickering it up..it's going to look great!

2006-08-21T20:46:00.000+01:00

New Team Member...

We've gained an additional Funk Soul Brother! It gives me great pleasure to announce that Steve 'Bomber' Bamford will be joining us. With a wealth of mechanical knowledge* and map reading skills* we're sure that Bomber is going to be a huge asset to the team!

*Some of the above may not be entirely accurate...

2006-08-21T09:47:00.000+01:00

We've Met Our Target!

Wow...well we've made our (original) target.....so in true 'Blue Peter' style...the totaliser has been replaced with a new one!

As of today, we're at £1149.70. It'd be fantastic if we could make the £1500 mark....just £350 (and 30p) to do it, and a little under two weeks before the off.

A HUGE thankyou to everyone who has contributed. You've made a real difference.

The car has been relocated from Dorking in Surrey to the Funk_Soul_Brothers HQ in NorthWest England, ready for some, ahem, rally preparation...

It's in ridiculously good condition, drives beautifully, and has been totally reliable. I've been driving it round for a week now, including a trip to Birmingham. I can't believe how good it is.

Thanks Spiderman (I think that's p0ossibly not his real name) for selling it to us!

The only prep so far has been a trip to the local garage for a brake fluid flush and a check of the transmission levels.....oh, and an ear bending from the mechanic when he found out what we'd be doing with the car....turns out he's a Volvo enthusiast.....

Breaking news.....looks like one of our letters seeking some 'corporate' sponsorship may have hit the mark....we'll let you know.

2006-08-08T10:30:00.000+01:00

Nearly there!

We are just eighty-two pounds off our fundraising target! Amazing! And we have weeks left yet!

We are both utterly thrilled at the response, neither of us can quite believe it.

A big, huge thankyou to everybody that has contributed so far:

THANKYOU!

2006-08-02T11:54:00.000+01:00

We've got a car!

So here it is! Finally! Here's the motor we'll be driving to Prague. Or at least trying to anyway. Better pictures will come once we pick it up, but here it is:

Not bad, eh? Volvo 240 GLT. We're really pleased. It's almost too good to leave there!

2006-07-21T19:37:00.000+01:00

Donation Update!

Crikey! We've only semi-publicised our fundraising efforts, and we are a quarter of the way to our target of £1000 already!

Thankyou so much to everyone that has made a donation.

It is massively appreciated!

If you want to help, please click the "Make a donation!" link at the side. Thanks!

2006-07-21T18:19:00.000+01:00

Auction Hunting

So we recently went and paid a visit to our local car auctions, in the hope of finding a suitable wreck for our journey. Sadly, we didn't come away with anything, but here's what we looked at and what we found interesting!

I was absolutely made up when I saw this:

A huge old Benz! Perfect for wafting along the autobahns in proper smokey style. Not so sure about the fuel economy though. But, alas, we arrived too late to see it go through, and I reckon it made way more than our £100 limit.

Now I (Darren) am thinking that one of these might not be a bad plan. Because of the dreadful image they're worthless, which means you can buy a much newer car for your money. So in theory it'll be more reliable. Maybe. Hmm.

Again, missed out on it so no idea how much it went for.

We both liked the look of this:

But alas it went for too much. Would've been great - leather interior and everything!

To be honest, I'm not too bothered what we get. So long as it's not one of these:

Because I despise them!

So, the search continues. We've got time yet so there's no panic.

2006-07-20T09:02:00.000+01:00

Hey! Welcome to our team page!

We are two guys from the North West of England - Darren and Tim. For years we've talked about doing some kind of rally - you know, like you see on the telly and read about in glossy car magazines. Exciting stories of glamour and adventure, high speed thrills, continental encounters, celebrities and stars in flashy motors.

Well, we've finally gotten to doing it. Only, it's not quite as posh as all that, we're doing the Czech Wrecks banger rally. Basically, we have to buy a fully legal car for £100 or under and somehow hope it will take us on an epic voyage to Prague.

Yes, that's right.

A car bought for £100.

To Prague. The one in the Czech Republic. That's MILES away.

Fingers crossed eh?

We're doing it in aid of a charitable cause - The Cardiomyopathy Association.

Why them? Well, the CMA is a cause that’s (literally!) very close to one of our hearts. They fund vital research into these heart muscle disorders, and provide information and support to patients and families affected by this condition. Cardiomyopathy is thought to be the cause of sudden death for 400 typically young and fit people every year - it’s one of the principle causes of SADS (Sudden Adult Death Syndrome) but it’s currently incredibly difficult to diagnose and predict. So the work the CMA are doing is really important.

If you want to help, please click here and make a donation. We'll add you to our mental list of "people with waaaay too much optimism that think we stand a chance of making it..."

Actually, on that note, on the justgiving site there’s a selector for ‘sponsor us now’ or ‘pay on completion’. Now, we're not telling you what to do, but the chances of us two mechanical incompetents getting 2000 miles in a knackered car are slimmer than a very slim thing on a crash diet. Personally we think this adventure is more likely to end on the hard shoulder of the M62 with an AA guy laughing at us than it is in Prague. And it’d be a shame for the Cardiomyopathy Association to get nowt.

We’re covering all the costs of the event, so every penny goes to the CMA. As will any prize money in the unlikely event that we actually ‘win’. Stop laughing at the back.

We’ve not bought our banger yet, but we are working on it! Pictures will follow of the stuff we've "czeched" out (oh dear) and uncovered, and hopefully soon we'll know what kind of car we'll be cursing at and kicking on the hard shoulder of a motorway somewhere in Europe.

Thanks hugely for any support you might be able to give.

And wish us luck. Frankly, we’re going to need it!