JS and Paul are bored of living the easy life. Bored of living full stop, apparently - they've heard that dying in a warzone is the 'in thing' for Autumn 2008. Slaves to fashion that they are, they're heading off on the Silk Road Challenge; 3,500 miles of driving East across Europe and Asia. Via Georgia. *cough*

OK, maybe the Nissan was a bit too unreliable for crossing Africa in. So, we needed a new plan for this year's insanity. Somewhere a little easier to get to than Timbuktu, perhaps. And in something a little more reliable. Well, we've managed on one count... and resolutely failed on the other. Whilst a quick trundle across to the Caspian Sea seemed innocuous enough at first, not long after preparing everything, those pesky Russkies decided to invade Georgia. Our destination for Day 10 of the trip as was. And still our destination for Day 10 of the trip now. Ho hum. So, really, this is just about as sane as piling across the Sahara in a truck that couldn't go 10 miles without a major overhaul. But wait... this time we have a secret weapon... We're heading East. The Silk Road ends in the Far East (we're just too lazy to make it all the way). And, in keeping with that, we've bought something full of Eastern Promise; a Lexus. Not just any Lexus, a Lexus LS 400. A 4 litre V8 super saloon that was originally designed to be the best executive car ever produced. We think they hit the nail on the head, and produced an almost perfect car - utter comfort, pace, quiet, gadgets from headlight washers to electric head-rests to parking sensors to heated seats. Only they missed out on one key element: they made it look classy. Regal, if you will.

But don't worry - we've fixed that... Gone is the luxuriant silver. Replaced with camouflage yellow. Just to be sure we blend in the less savoury parts of Georgia, we've added viper stripes in 'stealth black'. The handling at 150mph+ speeds on these barges leaves a little to be desired - so it's now got a wing more befitting an Ekranoplan. What about the stickers, you say? Oh yes, it has many, many of those. And a red button. But we don't press the red button - or the whole car lights up like a Christmas tree. Repairs carried out in preparation for the rally? None. MOTd? No. Serviced? No. Oil changed? No. Tyre pressures checked? No. Just the bling; it's all about the bling. What could possibly go wrong?

As proven twice now, we suck when it comes to preparing the vehicle (paintwork aside), route, etc. But, again some effort has gone in to keeping in touch... Below are our live-updates (and hopefully those of any other teams that mention us) as we (fail to) progress towards Baku. It's set up so that either of us can send an SMS that's turned into an e-mail, that's picked up by a server, that's turned into web-content, and that's pulled into this page. Geeky? Yes. Simpler/cheaper than trying to get in touch with everyone individually? Absolutely. Now with added picture messaging...

MMS Photos

15.10.2008	10.10.2008	10.10.2008	06.10.2008
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01.09.2008

You've got away lightly this year! We've both been too busy tarting up the car and generally living life this year to bother pestering everybody for sponsorship. We're still giving the car away at the end of this, so this is still a charitable event. And, if you're feeling like giving something back to the world, head over to Just Giving and find a charity you like the sounds of to give a few pence to.

To check up on the progress of all the cars in our group, sponsor us, and so on, follow the links below:

• Updates from all of the teams in our group
• Official PDC 09 website
• The rest of Mssr. Greenwood's ill-advised adventures

Below left is a picture of what a 1991 Lexus LS400 should look like when it rolls silently away from the showroom. Majestic, no? Next to that is a picture of our LS400, rolling silently on its way to the knackers yard. Well, not so silently since my cunning 'sports exhaust' modification.

Here's a map. It's not a particularly accurate representation of where we're going, but it's both good for a bit of a history lesson on the old silk road trade routes, and also has a fab eastern pattern in the background. Yes, I could have found a more appropriate one, but as with the car, form won out over function.

And, with the aid of modern Web 2.0 technology, here's a slightly more useful map. Still not entirely accurate in terms of when/where we're going, mind...