VW Golf GTi Mk2 '91



'91 VW Golf GTi (1.8L)


So why Honda?

I'm not obsessed with Honda's and they are not my favourite car company out there. They are very (were very) reliable, cheap and prolific. For that reason, I picture them being the best bet for going around the world by one company's motive power.

I have always loved the Honda CR-X. I have always loved hot-hatches. I cannot currently find a decent priced (decent - something I can afford) but I have tracked down a decent VW Golf that fits the bill.

I'm very interested to see what kind of price I can get it for, and what can be done with it over the next few months. If all goes well, I'd like to chronicle the experience. Updates to come.

Ayrton Senna

I watched the 2010 documentary entitled Senna last night, and by the end I was in tears. Not big girly ones, mind you, but I did have a little weep. Anyone with an interest in racing or motorsport or cars or awesome human beings should definitely check this film out!

My only issue with Senna was his attributing of his skill and insight as a gift from God, but in the end that is a very inconsequential aspect of this amazing driver. It was his ability to read the track and the car, anticipate other drivers and how different conditions would effect both the drivers and their cars.

He was stubborn and arrogant like the rest of us, but he didn't do it with an air of superiority, he simply knew he was right and continued with his course of action. He was dedicated and inspirational. He was a driving God!

And for it all to end in such a fluke of coincidence... a few inches in any direction and we might very well have had Senna around for plenty more Championships, and long enough for those of us born too late to feel what it was like when he was more than a memory.

For those of you who still follow F1 racing, there is a brilliant 20 second clip with Rubens discussing what it's like to drive for Williams with an icon like Senna. Brilliant.

CHECK IT OUT FOLKS!

Where is the motivation?

I was super excited about doing this.

That went away as the drudgery of work set in again...

But every time I think about it, the excitement returns and it just makes sense. I know it can be done, I'm pretty positive there would be the support for it, and if the goal is distance and speed, it should be able to be accomplished in relatively little time. Other transglobal car journeys seem to take upwards of 500+ days to complete. I'd like to cover a larger distance, a more thorough expedition across the globe, but in less time. 9-10 months, why not? It's not about sight seeing or luxury travelling, it's about taking a Honda to the edge and back again.

Since I have a lot of other stuff to set in order and get moving in my life, outside of my car interests, it seems to make sense to take the time to plan the route first. Plenty of research will need to be done, determining the best course to accomplish the route in the least amount of time and least amount of doubling back or re-entering specific geographical regions.

There are many countries that have such horrible diplomatic relations that travelling into one renders entering the next nearly impossible. I am curious if there are actually mainland countries we will have to fully avoid for political reasons.

Task number one is to deal with South America. I anticipate starting the expedition in Tierra del Fuego, making the trip north through the Americas and heading across to Asia after.

Is the Bering Strait passable in a Honda under the right conditions? Doubtful, but I'll have to look into it.

Time to buckle down, prioritise and start being productive.

Need to figure out where this is going

Its an epic task, and one that I'm not quite ready for. I have to keep in mind that in order to get a Honda around the world, a significant amount of planning and preparation will be involved, which can only be accomplished with the force of will behind such a project. My main task isn't to figure out the specifics or the technical aspects of the project - yet. My mission must be to draw interest and intrigue among a community of people who would like to see it accomplished.

It does make it far more difficult to find things to write about on a blog. A blog about this particular subject (until the trip is actually on), it would seem to me, would be better off a discussion or back and forth about what to and how to accomplish specific aspects of the expedition. Of course, that means more than just myself needs to be reading this on a regular basis and more than just myself needs to be providing input and feedback.

So again, it comes down to my job being one of "marketing guru and publicist." It is my goal to get as many people interested in watching and seeing the outcome of such an endeavour, to gather and discuss the possibilities and ramifications together in a common place.

As an English friend of mine would say, jokingly - "Holla back, aiiiight"
     -comment, discuss, tell me I'm crazy or to keep going!

1 week hiatus... too soon?

I have too much to write about to stop now, but life decided to catch up with me this last week. I'll be back in the next couple of days with plenty more ranting to fill the void!

Photography and being interactive

Just pondering the possibilities with time lapse photography on a transglobal journey.  It's not just as simple as strapping a camera to something and going at it, there are so many possibilities! Views coming and going, various compilations depicting activities from around the world, all from a car's perspective.

But why stop with just post-edited content? With today's technology, shouldn't it be possible from most places globally, to provide directly streamable content of the journey?

In what ways can the journey, taken by a few individuals, be experienced and enjoyed the world over? I would love to see specific events and challenges, and have it possible for people to watch us coming days in advance. I can't imagine a more enjoyable journey than one were the audience is involved long before it's finished, not just an afterthought on how to make it entertaining.

I do have quite a few ideas kicking around, and I will get them up for consideration and review - but drop all the suggestions you have!

Overland Journeys

Surfing the web, looking at some different routes and attempts at Overland, transglobal journeys. A couple from the UK (http://www.goingoverland.com/) that have spent a few years and a few expeditions travelling the world by Land Rover. Just checking out some of the pictures, the places they've been and conditions they were up against seems daunting...  How in the world can a CRX do that!?!

But it dawns on me quickly that it isn't the point to put a CRX through the exact terrain as a Land Rover, but to geographically travel around the world by whichever route a CRX could indeed make it. So when there is 4 foot deep snow in that direction, we go the other way. When a river needs to be forded instead of a 200 mile extra journey, it's the 200 miles that get travelled.

This is all about setting out in the world's most reliable brand of car, running it into the ground and being able to repair it anywhere along the way to keep going. There will be plenty of places the CRX cannot physically travel, which is why the expedition is called "Around the World in a Honda" and not "..in a CRX." Honda makes plenty of offroad vehicles that will surmount any challenges we would face.