Day Two. Into Mongolia (with updates below…)
Here is some basic information to help you follow along:
- Today’s Race begins at about 0700 China Standard Time, or 4:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time.
- At about 4PM PDT, you can follow the live GPS signals from the start of the race and then watch as the signals progress along the mapped route. See this link.
- For more comprehensive directions to follow a specific car, see this link from our previous blog post.
- To view a map of the Peking to Paris Endurance Race progress with daily route updates, go here.
- Local China Time (the country has only one time zone) is 15 hours and one day ahead of Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
- You can be reminded of regular web site updates when a posting appears on our Facebook page.
- Weather Forecast at Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China:
Hi: 71°F / 22°C
Lo: 63°F / 17°C
The #4 vehicle “The Liver Eater” nears the Mongolian town of Sonid Yougi (you’d think a Mongol made up these names?)…
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But #4 appears that is not stopping in this Mongolian town. Instead it is driving on.
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Meanwhile, the #1 car remains stopped. Oh Boy. More later…
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UPDATES @ 3:15 PM PDT or 6:15 AM Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
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Here is the update and explanation for the events noted above from Ike Trafton. The #1 Revenant just started its movement on a tow-truck (at 3:15 PDT) going toward Erenhot. That’s about 12 hours after it pulled to the road side. According to Ike, the #4 vehicle will continue on tomorrow, while the #1 vehicle is being transported directly to Ulaan Baatar and will meet up with them there.
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From Erenhot, Ike Writes: The day started hectic, but we were away at our official start time. The #1 car led off through the early morning rain on a 600 kilometer journey for the day.
Meanwhile in the #4, Tim enjoyed a relaxing morning drive…
…while Ike kept the “Liver Eater” on track from his navigation station with the GPS plotter, Monit rally display, and the tulip guidebook for our route.
While the #4 is running well, the #1 faced a series of mechanical challenges. The first was a sheared key connecting the water pump and alternator that resulted in loss of electrical power. As the Chinese crowd helped push the injured vehicle out of an intersection, Tim arrived and we quickly got it moved to a gas station.
After three hours of work, the damaged parts were replaced.
Additionally all the plugs were replaced as a further attempt to preclude trouble.
Unfortunately, only a couple hundred kilometers later, the “Revenant” was down again, with a possible water pump problem – related to the earlier alternator problem.
Steve and Katherine remained with their vehicle, awaiting a tow, while Ike and Tim continued into Erenhot with the “Liver Eater.” As of midnight here, Steve and Katherine are still alongside the road awaiting their tow. Tim and Ike are prepping the “Liver Eater” for departure tomorrow and awaiting the #1 and her crew.
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The race has moved from the coastal plains and river valleys of eastern China, and is now poised to cross the Mongolian Plateau and the Gobi Desert. As the sheep and goat herder below proves, modern technology of motorcycle shepherding has arrived, at least, in Inner Mongolia.
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Update @ 4:00 PM PDT: There may be no web site posting from Ike tomorrow June 14, since they are scheduled to camp somewhere in Mongolia. Katherine emails that she and Steve made it to the hotel in Erenhot (remember that it is early morning there). But both of them will continue on through the next night of camping and then to Ulaan Baatar. The #1 Revenant is still being transported by tow-truck and will meet-up with the group in two days at Ulaan Baatar. It will be there that Tim Taylor (the chief mechanic) will take a look at the vehicle and fix it. Hopefully. Probably.
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Remember, Erenhot in Xilin Gol League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is completely built on a desert. Here are some travel pictures that they have little time to see…
Oh my!