Photo courtesy of Dust on a Throttle on Facebook
Post by Kim Bosch
The Mongol Rally: a 10,000 mile drive from central UK to Ulan Bator, Mongolia. This ain’t no jaunty ride along the trans-Canadian highway. The journey (whichever way you choose to undertake it) tackles some of the most massive mountains, desolate deserts and heinous “roads” in the world. Which might leave you asking: What kind of nut-jobs would participate in such a thing?
Enter Danica Doucette-Preville, a public servant and Ottawa gal, who first stumbled on the idea to participate after seeing the rally’s finish line during a trip to Ulan Bator last year. “When I got home, I sent out an email to everyone I knew, telling people I wanted to enter and asking who was interested.” And in true “who’s-coming-with-me” Jerry Maguire fashion, only one person answered: her co-worker Jessica Dawson.
That being said, no one should compare Jessica to that ever pucker-faced and weepy Renee Zellwegger character. Along with Danica, she is more than ready to lead, drive, pull and push her way to the finish line. Together they make up team ‘Dust on the Throttle’, one of only a handful of all-Canadian participant cars entered in the event.
And what a car it is: a right-side driver 2003 Suzuki Swift in eighties blue, with very little torque. Cars entered in the rally cannot exceed 1.5L engine capacity, and the Dust on the Throttle-mobile is no exception. It’s currently waiting for them in the UK, where a friend outfitting the roof with headlights (night+middle-of-nowhere = dangerously dark), a “snorkel” (to make the car more amphibious) and jacking up the frame for more clearance.
Despite the obvious driving challenges that a 10,000 mile (off) road trip like this brings to mind, there is are a few more: Danica and Jessica have only known each other for a year, they’ve never traveled together before, and both admit that they have little patience and zero desire for negotiations. But neither of them are worried: Danica has been studying Russian and Mogolian and Jessica plans to pack oodles of mini-bottles of Canadian whiskey to use for bartering. These things, paired with lots of coffee, a “functional” CD player and two great senses of humour are part of their arsenal.
The rally requires that each car raise a £1000 for charity, at least £500 of which goes to the official rally charity and the other half to a charity of your choice. Dust on the Throttle, one of only a small group of all-female cars, has opted to donated their half to Plan Canada’s ‘Because I’m a Girl’ campaign that empowers young women and girls all over the world through various initiatives. On April 7th, they will be having a fundraiser at Yuk-Yuk’s on Elgin. For more details on this event and their fundraising, check out their website or see them on facebook or twitter.
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