The Rickshaw Run - “two weeks across India in a glorified lawnmower”

No tourist sites, no guides, no road signs, and sometimes no roads either. The Rickshaw Run is not sensible, and it's certainly not safe. And that's exactly what makes it an adventure!

The Rickshaw Run is about adventure and saving the world – teams taking part in the Rickshaw Run since it began in 2007 have raised a massive £750,000 for charities working in India. UK based organisers The Adventurists believe that you have to get out into the world, take a stroll off the edge of the map and save a bit of it while you're at it.

Teams from all over the world fly in with little preparation and even less luggage, play a game of cricket against the local team, test drive the rickshaws, have a huge party and launch ceremony and then set off to traverse India in a humble three-wheeled auto-rickshaw, often known as a tuk-tuk. Designed for short hops around town, the rickshaw is a 150cc glorified lawnmower and therefore the perfect adventuring machine for ensuring tales of adventure that you'll be boring your Grandchildren about.

There is no set route, no back up and it's not a race. Totally unpredictable, just the way it should be...

The Prize

The winning blogger (and a friend) will be invited to be an official media team on the Rickshaw Run in September 2011 and receive:

• Free entry to the Rickshaw Run (sold out until January 2012)
• Return flights for two to India from UK in standard / economy.
• Two nights hotel accommodation at the start in Shillong and at the end in Jaiselmer.
• Free access to the 'Pimp my Rickshaw' machine for making sure your rickshaw looks the part
• Two official limited edition Rickshaw Run team t-shirts
• Two Rickshaw Run Buffs (multi functional headwear)
• The lofty status of Official Media Team meaning your blogs and updates will be featured and promoted prominently on the Rickshaw Run and The Adventurists websites.

TOTAL VALUE = £2500

Official “Media Team”
As the Official Rickshaw Run “Media Team”, the winning blogger and a friend will not only win their place on a fantastic, adventure, they will also receive great publicity and exposure for their blog and their work.
Articles, videos or podcasts will be promoted by The Adventurists on their website, their Facebook Page & Twitter.  Not to mention other forms of Social Media and the more traditional media outlets.  Think of it has having your own PR Team behind you

All that is asked is that you . . .

• Write regular blogs about their participation in the Rickshaw Run and send updates from the road including SMS text message updates that plot directly into Google maps.
• Be available to take part in the September 2011 edition of the Rickshaw Run, launching from Shillong in Meghalaya and finishing in Jaiselmer, Rajasthan about two weeks later
• Have a good crack at fundraising £1000 minimum for charity – pretty easy with two in a team. (Travel Bloggers Unite will help to publicise fund raising efforts
• Like the idea of real adventure, whilst understand the “nature of the beast” before entering!
• Read the Rickshaw Run website and the Warning and agree to our standard team entry conditions including lodging a fully refundable vehicle deposit
• Pay for other costs associated with the Rickshaw Run such as clothes, visas, other travel costs and your spending money during the adventure itself.
• Work with The Adventurists (event organisers) on getting suitable sponsors for your team if you want them.

How Does This All Work Then?

• The Rickshaw Run is totally booked out until January 2012 and there's already hefty waiting lists. However this place has been hidden away ready for Travel Bloggers Unite.
• The competition is open to delegates of TBU 2011 and the winner will be announced at the conference.
• The Adventurists, organisers of the Rickshaw Run, will be at the conference to answer any questions you might have and learn about travel blogging themselves...
• The most important thing to understand is that the Rickshaw Run is a long way from a guided tour, overland bus trip or volunteering placement. You have to be up for a massive adventure to take this on, and be excited about travelling independently through remote areas that pretty much never see any tourists of any kind. We think this is the best bit but it's not for everyone...

Fund Raising

Each team is asked to have a good crack at raising at least £500 for the official Rickshaw Run charity Frank Water Projects, who do amazing things with clean water installations. And £500 for a charity of your choice. With two of you and a bit of effort its really easy to do and you have until a month after you've finished the adventure so just by blogging and posting your online fudnraising site you'd probably smash the minimum target.

Working with The Adventurists you can also get media coverage of your adventure and team sponsors to help both with costs, kit and the charity money and as an official media team you'll have lots to offer.

The Deposit

The fully refundable vehicle deposit is there to make sure teams do their best to give the vehicles back to us! We understand what a pasting the rickshaw will get being driven across India and money isn't taken out of any deposits unless it's handed back in 17 pieces or its obvious that the team has caused massive damage well beyond what we normally see! We want to give every deposit back in full and its very rare that we take money out of them.

The vehicle deposit is £1000 per team at the moment. Well over 500 teams have taken part in the Rickshaw Run since it launched and in that time only a tiny handful of teams have either lost their deposit and had a painful chunk of money taken out of it. This has usually been because they have misbehaved rather spectacularly or abandoned their rickshaw without making arrangements with us so that it can be picked up

If you have to abandon your rickshaw en route you call The Adventurists and arrangements are made for storing the vehicle somewhere nearby until we can pick it up.

Pretty much every team get their whole deposit back and that's the way we like it. For the small number of teams who have damaged their rickshaw well beyond what happens to the average vehicle we always keep the costs down to an absolute minimum.

If you have any questions about the deposit or anything else about the Rickshaw Run just give the organisers The Adventurists a shout. We can also put you in touch with past teams who can answer your questions about the run from a team perspective.