When I first read about Andy’s trip, I was randomly searching the web for parts for my truck. It jumped at me. So I entered the blog and got to reading. Every year, Land Rover awards the Go Beyond Scholarship, their aim being to widen our understanding and enjoyment of the geography on our doorstep. LR, together with the National Geographic Society, has funded travels on the world’s largest fault lines, along the Atlantic and through Iceland for glacier studies.
This year, the scholarship goes to the “Pushing the limits” project, led by disabled adventurer Andy Campbell. They received a brand new Defender 110 SW that the team filled up with equipment, including a kayak, a custom handcycle and the awesome parajet, a custom built paramotor aimed at personal flight.
Now, they traveled through Europe, with the boys driving and Andy running his machines on land, air and water. Having had a Defender for years and being an explorer myself, I thought I should get in contact with them, as they were coming to Bucharest, Romania. I sent them a mail and waited for days. Finally a UK number shows up on my phone screen.
“Hello, I got your mail and we’re closing in on Bucharest. Want to meet up?” And so started four interesting days with the guys.
We met in front of the House of Parliament. I asked them how will I know their car, and Andy replied “Oh, you’ll notice us, don’t worry”. In a huge parking spot of a few hundred cars, a boat and bicycle wheels were sticking out from the top of a grey Defender. How very inconspicuous.
We drove to our place and had the guys fed and bathed. I offered to host them for a few nights while they waited for spares. It turns out that both the hand cycle and the paramotor had a few problems and parts had to be shipped and changed for the trip to continue. Andy, who’s been quite open minded about absolutely everything, decided that he’ll be camping outside my house. So, we set up the tent and everything, and the base camp was well on it’s way. We had dinner in the old town and I tried to give them a taste of the cultural Bucharest. Turns out Steve, one of Andy’s team mates, is an adventurer himself. He’s ridden his bike across Europe in winter, zig zagging through Romania as well. He’s seen most major cities and spent extensive time in the capital.
It was a good feeling, to be able to actually sit down and have a chat with the guys, put faces to the names and hear about their trip so far. I had a busy couple of days so I couldn’t spend more time with team, showing them the sights and trying to make the time fly faster while parts were on the way. But we tried to make the best of it. The following night, we decided to have pizza.
For a long time now, I’ve wanted to have a picnic outside my block of flats and this was the best chance to do so without looking like a right nut. The guys were talking about leaving Bucharest for the weekend, and heading down to the Danube for a few kayak days so that no time was wasted while the bike and paramotor were down. They emphasized how much they enjoyed Romania and how friendly the people were. It was nice to hear that the locals always took them in, as they did in Sebia, rather than in the West where people tend to be less welcoming.
I bid them farewell the next morning, as they headed off to Giurgiu and the last leg of the Danube stretch for the weekend. Now, their plan is to drive, cycle, fly and float all the way into Kazakhstan and leave the Landy there until spring allows for further travels into China and Mongolia. For more information and constant upgrades, visit their adventure website at www.pushingthelimits.com as well as Andy’s Facebook page “Pushing the Limits”.
