Caucasian Challenge
May 30, 2008 12:42 PM   Subscribe

Looking for a little something to do come August? Haul yourself from from Budapest to Yerevan in a "minimal assistance" rally they're calling the Caucasian Challenge. Our idea of a tricked out and dependable race vehicle is an old Soviet Lada with fuzzy dice.
posted by Wolfdog (18 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Yow, what fun! The grand prize? Free entry to the 2009 Mumbai Xpress Autorickshaw Challenge.
posted by Floydd at 1:07 PM on May 30, 2008


Matt says no more Clinton/Obama threads until after the primaries.
posted by yhbc at 1:10 PM on May 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Another interesting race: Escape From Berkeley (by any non-petroleum means necessary)
posted by pombe at 1:22 PM on May 30, 2008


Our idea of a tricked out and dependable race vehicle is an old Soviet Lada with fuzzy dice.

...pulled by a donkey?
posted by The Tensor at 1:28 PM on May 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


I thought your post said "our idea of a tricked out and dependable race vehicle is a old Soviet Lady with fuzzy dice." I'm a bit disappointed that it's not a piggy-back race.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 1:29 PM on May 30, 2008


If you want something even longer, the Mongol Rally is taking signups for 2008 -- it runs from London to Ulaanbaatar, and doesn't specify any route at all. Any way you want to get from A to B, from the most direct route through Iran, to the northern route up through Finland and down across Russia, is fine. They set up some optional meeting places but it's "an adventure, not a tour."

I have a friend who's in the process of raising money to participate in it (it's a charity event, 1000GBP buy-in); it's pretty incredible.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:38 PM on May 30, 2008


See also The Mongol Rally for a similar "competition". It has run from London to Ulan Baator (capitol of Mongolia) a few years now.
posted by Harald74 at 1:39 PM on May 30, 2008


they're calling the Caucasian Challenge

Oh man, this isn't going to another discussion about reverse racism is it? Wait, what? Oh. Never mind.
posted by nanojath at 1:47 PM on May 30, 2008


The remains of the losers will be displayed in the town of the dead.
posted by languagehat at 2:10 PM on May 30, 2008


they're calling the Caucasian Challenge

Is this related to the Black Market Dongs thing from last week? Because, really, I don't wanna play.
posted by rokusan at 2:18 PM on May 30, 2008


Love that there necropolis, languagehat.
posted by everichon at 2:24 PM on May 30, 2008


Wow, according to the Google map, they don't even have roads in Armenia.
posted by sour cream at 2:48 PM on May 30, 2008


Dibs! Dibs! I call The Caucasian Challenge for my band name.

These races are the stuff of legend, or at least they are in the film version that runs in my head. For any scooterists in the States: The Scooter Cannonball Run 2008. This year is the third cross-country race; I've had friends take on the previous races in 2004 and 2006, and it seemed pretty awesome.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 3:00 PM on May 30, 2008


My brother is a mechanic, and I had been toying with the idea of discussing the Mongol Rally with him. (I figured a mechanic/anthropologist team would work OK.) This is shorter and more plausible. Hmm....
posted by cobaltnine at 3:03 PM on May 30, 2008


> old Soviet Lada with fuzzy dice

Though not strictly soviet, Škodas are pretty cool too. And not scared of anybody. You can pick up your new (to you anyway) Glasnost-era or even Kosygin'n'Brezhnev-era ride here.
posted by jfuller at 3:11 PM on May 30, 2008


1. Organize a rally through the scarier parts of SE Europe and the Middle East that'll attract adventure hungry rich kids too jaded to enter Gumball 3000 again.
2. As soon as they hit Georgia, stop their Soviet rust buckets dead in their tracks with a slight bump in the road and kidnap the lot of them.
3. Cut off their ???s and include them with the ransom demands.
4. Profit!!
posted by bunnytricks at 6:40 PM on May 30, 2008


A friend of mine did the Mongol rally, and ended up in some Kazakh (or equivalent. He may not have gone through Kazakhstan) newspaper. Unrelated, he also had to spend extortionate amounts on bribes, and was extremely worried at one point that they were all about to get shot.
posted by djgh at 6:43 AM on May 31, 2008


Soviet cars are awesome.
They are a lot more reliable and easily fixed than any other car I've known.
posted by k8t at 7:34 AM on May 31, 2008


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