A very big announcement

For a woman who writes about being open and honest, it seems strange to have kept a rather enormous secret from you all over the past nine months. No, don’t worry, it’s not a baby… Though it’s likely to be just as life-changing as bringing a child into this world, what’s been cooking behind the scenes is not a bun in the oven, but rather a very big and exciting adventure.

And now it’s finally time for me to share my exciting news with you. It’s probably a good job you’re reading this rather than talking to me face to face, as I may deafen you as I shout with glee…

I’M DOING THE RICKSHAW RUN!!!

… cue tumble weeds.

For those of you who haven’t heard of this awesome tri-annual adventure before, it’s a 3,500km road trip spanning the length of India. In an auto-rickshaw.

Organised by a lovely little British company known as The Adventurists, the Rickshaw Run is a totally unaided, self-driven journey that takes you from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan in the north of India, down to Cochin, Kerala in the south. There is no set route and no support system, you simply have to drive from A to B, and arrive safely within two weeks.

Oh, and another thing I should probably mention, I’m doing it with two strangers. Yup, you read that right. I’m driving 3,500km across the sub-continent of India. In a rickshaw. With two people I’ve never met before. Over two weeks. Jealous?

If you’re not yet, you will be after watching this video:

It all started back in January. I had always wanted to take part in the Rickshaw Run but never managed to find anyone crazy enough to take part in it with me. Until I met fellow travel bloggers Kim and Sarah. Well, when I say met, I mean I saw their names in the comments section on Almost Fearless, but that’s good enough for me.

So one day, with the January 2013 Rickshaw Run application deadline looming, I decided to send them an email. In the subject line I wrote the immortal words “Call me crazy but…” and I fully expected them both to do just that.

Except they didn’t.

They embraced the idea immediately, and though they both had doubts, we signed ourselves up and together the three of us make team Namaste Outta My Way (I feel like I should be wearing a cape and spandex onesie as I write that).

We are launching a brand spanking new blog, Rickshaw Run Diaries, that will chart our progress as we prepare to putter our way across India. We will be writing about every aspect of our journey, before during and after the event takes place, and aim to build a permanent resource for future participants of the Rickshaw Run. We really hope you will all follow along and support us as we prepare for the adventure ahead.

NOW FOR THE REALLY IMPORTANT BIT

Before you write us off as three crazy women with a death wish, we have some very good reasons for doing this. Obviously getting to share the adventure of a lifetime is one of them, but the main reason is because this is actually a charity event.

We will be raising money for FRANK Water, a wonderful charity who have been funding clean water projects in India since 2005. All FRANK Water projects are sustainable, community run rural projects for villagers living below the poverty line.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

You can support team Namaste Outta My Way in a number of different ways. First and foremost, we would LOVE it if you would be kind enough to sponsor our epic adventure. No donation is too small – every penny really does count, and 100% of the money raised goes directly to FRANK Water.

DONATE HERE!

Our aim is to raise at least £2000 ($3215 USD) for FRANK Water, as well as recruit some corporate sponsorship to help us make the expedition happen.

Other ways you can support us are:

• Visit the Rickshaw Run Diaries and sign up for our FREE email updates.
• Like our Rickshaw Run Diaries Facebook page.
• Follow us on Twitter

WE NEED CORPORATE SPONSORS

We are currently canvassing for sponsorship of the expedition and can offer promotional packages for just about any budget across all four of our blogs. If you own a small or large business we invite you to sponsor team Namaste Outta My Way. 

Sponsorship is a great way for your business to gain exposure across multiple websites. All sponsors will have their logos and links placed on our team website as well as the accomplished blogs of Further Bound, Sarah Somewhere and So Many Places.

In addition, the primary sponsor will have their logo painted on the team vehicle, which will cover 3,500km of one of the most populated countries on Earth! Not to mention feature on YouTube videos and other media coverage of the event, such as The Adventurists official website.

If your business would like to sponsor team Namaste Outta My Way please click here for more information or contact me directly. As Sarah put it – who wouldn’t want their business logo painted on an auto-rickshaw and driven 3,500km across one of the most populated countries on the planet? Where else could you get that kind of exposure?!

So now the secret’s out, all that’s left is to actually do this thing.

It’s going to be epic!

::

Why not read about the launch from the perspective of my team mates?

• Read Kim’s launch post
• Read Sarah’s launch post