Three young men who took a 12,000 mile taxi-ride to raise funds for a veterans charity are home after crossing 16 countries, three mountain ranges, two deserts . . . and a number of border guards.But no ‘fares’ were involved because the epic round trip to Mongolia for Veterans Aid was strictly DIY.
‘Mildred’, a black cab with 400,000 miles on her clock, was purchased on E-Bay by the three fundraisers – Olly Cardozo, Olivier Rident and Will Ogilvie-Graham. Duly signed up for The Mongol Rally, she left London on 19 July alongside 200 other ‘unusual ‘vehicles.
“We did it to raise funds and awareness of a great charity” said sole survivor of the adventure, Olly Cardozo. “The aim was to get to Ulan Bator but like many ‘good plans’ it didn’t survive contact with reality!”
Olivier Rident always knew he would have to drop out early to take up a new job, but when driver Number Two, Will Ogilvie-Graham, developed glandular fever and had to be flown home from Istanbul, Olly and ‘Mildred’ had to go it alone.
The 22-year-old graduate and 16–year old taxi faced fuel shortages, breakdowns and sandstorms. They managed to get rear-ended by another vehicle on a deserted road - and a diversion to do a good turn to some fellow-travellers left Olly with an expired visa and a stretch in an Uzbek jail.
The project that started out as an adventure, grew into a challenge and ended up as a nightmare didn’t achieve its fundraising target, but it totally gripped Veterans Aid supporters who followed the ‘Idiots Abroad’ via the charity’s website.
That narrative of events ended on a bitter-sweet note with news of ‘Mildred’s demise in Poland on the return journey but Olly Cardozo, who had been so faithfully served by the black cab, brought her number plate back to London.
His father Geoffrey, who works for the 82-year-old charity for veterans in crisis, said “I think this journey probably shaped the lives of the three participants as much as the money it raised will alter the lives of the veterans in our care. The challenge they set themselves was ambitious, yet not too unlike what many of the veterans who seek our help faced at a similar age. They took their share of knocks along the way but always remained steady, helping each other out in seemingly intractable situations.”
CEO Dr Hugh Milroy added, “This was never about money, and clearly the guys had very bad luck, but for them to even contemplate (never mind finish!) this epic journey for Veterans Aid is awesome. This charity is all about overcoming obstacles, and they did that with a vengeance!”
EDITORS NOTE: The ‘Idiots Abroad’ Just Giving Page is still live – https://www.facebook.com/TheFellowtrip2014 .