Oh to be back on the road again!

Have you heard the song by Willie Nelson? Back on the Road Again? Incredible it is, and reflects my state of mind entirely. How I wish to be back on the road again. And not just any ol' road - the road untrodden, a road where there is at least a thin sliver of sand enabling me to print my footsteps. And we have been trying. For over three years now. Trying to achieve the impossible dream. The dream of bettering a Guinness World Record. Of taking our vehicles to the highest ever altitude taken by any man (or woman) anywhere in the whole wide world. Our target is to drive to an unprecedented altitude of 23,000 feet.

But that is not the impossible dream. The impossibility of the dream lies here in the city. A dream that will see us manage to get enough funding to be able to go ahead and make the attempt. We are not looking at anything fancy - no fancy gear, no fancy equipment, no fancy vehicles, no fancy support team. Just enough money to be able to rig up a vehicle, enough money to be able to put gas in the tank, enough money to be able to manage three decent meals a day, enough money to pay the peak fees and the sherpas. Three years ago we started out with a need-based budget, today we are talking of a budget that just about meets costs.

And it is so difficult to convince people to pay heed to us. Maybe the sheer audaciousness (is that a word?) of it all, the extreme nature of the event, the impossibility of achieving success, is what is detering people from giving us their support. Or maybe it is just that they do not believe in anything that is not conducted with a piece of English willow and a five and ounces of leather!

But, it seems that a trip is likely in the next fe weeks. A trip similar to The Longest Mile (that is the name we have given our impossible dream). A trip that will take us back to my favourite playground - Ladakh. And a trip that will hopefully see us bettering a Guinness World Record. Come September!

But I really do have ot be back on the road again. Just to feel the cold and crisp air on my face, to go through places that teaches humility in the face of tremendous odds, to experience once again the sheer ruggedness and isolation of the coldest desert in the world. And this time it seems we will be able to do the trip thanks to the efforts of my two good friends - the Brothers Cooper.

Oh to be back on the road again!!!