The AroundTheWorld1999 Domestic Support Team

Our team does not end with the six of us. The AroundTheWorld1999 Domestic Support Team (DST) is a group of volunteers back home whose exceptional involvement supported our expedition by volunteering their time to maintain various behind the scenes responsibilities. Together they did a wonderful job of maintaining the web site, transcribing journal reports, setup and maintenance of Internet infrastructure, and communicating our status during frequent periods when we were out of communication. A lot of people helped us prepare for this event and we couldn't have pulled it off without them.

Len Bruffett – Intrigued to know more about a guy who owns ten Land Rovers, Len just stopped by one day and knocked on our door. He's a '95 Range Rover owner, recently infected with Roveritis as he is now the proud owner of a '64 IIA Land Rover 109. We thank Len for all of his web development expertise. He's the guy who gave our site a facelift and a new lease on Internet life. Looking over our site, it's pretty easy to see where he's been. If it animates, Len did it. In fact, if it wasn't for Len you probably wouldn't be reading this right now.

Russ Groom – While on the road, we receive numerous email messages from Russ that would continually refuel our weary spirits. Then, in a journal report from Turkey, we announced that we had an empty seat in the Land Rovers. An email exchange later and our spontaneous family friend Russ was on a plane to Rome where he transformed himself from a content reader into content for our readers. Russ boldly traveled with us, Land Rover style, for three weeks and added a wonderful new perspective and lots of great energy to our group.

Gina Groom – Withstanding two and a half months and being the only woman, Chanda was probably the happiest when her sister-in-law, Gina Groom arrived in London. Like her husband Russ, Gina became a team addition just in time to make our stay in England and Amsterdam extra exciting. We were glad to have her. Prior to her arrival, Gina performed DST duties that included lots of HTML editing, journal transcribing and all kinds of coordination to bring it all together. She's one of those people who gets it!

Chris and Gwen Hauk – When we told Chris we were driving around the world he was one of only a handful of people who didn't bat an eye. He knew we were serious and seemed to know we'd be successful. Prior to departure, Nick would continually ask Chris, "Do you suppose we'll make it?" and Chris' response was, "YOU BET!" He says, "You'll make it because, wherever you go, people are generally friendly to travelers." Chris and his lovely wife Gwen are teachers but Chris is a natural born salesman. I tell him that he's selling futures to America's youth. He has a genuine enthusiasm for anything he is involved in so when Nick asked him to help us make contact with schools he really came through. Chris found a single fax number that sends a fax to every middle school in California. He and Gwen put together an educational bulletin covering our expedition and, as a result, we received and responded to email messages from students as we drove. Thanks Chris and Gwen for telling the schools about our journey.

Denis Kornilov – Denis is a seasoned System Administrator. He helped with a lot of our system administration setup and I personally thank him for answering all of my stupid questions. Denis helped build a system that met the requirements we gave him; a system that never skipped a beat.

Eric Pretarious – Our neighbor on Town Terror who was diligently involved in all of the DST duties and helped communicate our status whenever he could. Eric did his share of grammar and spell checking our journal reports and we thank him.

Richard Smith – The man who came out from nowhere to help us with everything from Unix system administration, to web development, content generation (when there was none), and recording audio reports. Richard kept the dream alive. Throughout our 78 days of travel, Richard was the backbone that supported the entire home front.

Carolyn Smith – Carolyn's fingers must have been awfully tired because she spent much of her time listening to our voicemail messages and typing up journal reports. She went way beyond with additional research to find correct spelling for many of the places we visited. She also bought us breakfast in Hinterweindenthal, Germany. Thanks Carolyn!

The AroundTheWorld1999 Mechanic Team
The best Land Rover mechanics on this continent!

British Pacific – The entire British Pacific crew of Keith, Tim, Marty, and Steve for lightning fast parts delivery and countless overnight shipments. Special thanks to Keith and Tim for going way beyond their jobs to support us with daily parts runs (Sunday even!) They even cannibalized parts from their own Land Rovers to help us out!

Matt Jackson – Matt knows Rovers. His '60 Series II is a solid runner that doesn't leak a drop. That's unprecedented in the history of Land Rover! Among other things, Matt helped us install our ARB air compressor for the rear differential lock. His pro installation allowed us to drive off road in Tibet on a frozen lake that sits at an elevation of 16,700 feet. Ask Nick about it. He swears it saved their life. Who knows, maybe it did?!

Joe Mulqueen – Joe took a real interest in our journey and spent many hours at University Avenue Land Rover discussing everything from suspension installations and light relays to spare parts selection. He came up with several different approaches for installing some of the devices and accessories we threw on these trucks. We wish Joe could have gone with us but it wasn't in the cards; definitely next time though. Oh, and he has a sweet '67 Series IIA 109. A vehicle that has a unique Northern California history having been owned by four LeftCoast Rover owners. Can you name them? Joe will give you a candy bar if you can!

Ron Ogomori – Ron owns Fabricor 4X4 Fabricating in Sun Valley, California. We leveraged Ron's three dimensional mind to build custom roof racks and heavy duty custom swing-away jerry can carriers that can carry 20 gallons of spare fuel each! Ron also repaired several long sections of rusted frame underneath Hercules. He's one of those guys who can somehow weld, lying on his back! He also fab'd some hi-lift jack points by squaring off the rear cross member which permitted the installation of military bumperettes that protect the vehicle in the event of a rear end collision.

Darryl Shirozowa – Darryl owns Shiros Auto Body in Campbell and we wish to thank him for recognizing the coolness factor of this effort and continually helping us out during the final days before the Rover were sent to China. Darryl's fabrication skills are of artist caliber. Specifically he helped us paint Alaska and weld a new front cross member in Hercules when we couldn't remove the rusted and seized steering stabilizer. His work is fast and reliable and he's the kind of guy you can learn from just by watching. Darryl even pulled a couple all-nighter Rover work sessions with the group, accepting only late-night games of Death Tank (Sega!) as payment.

Geoff Tobin – Jeff operates Expedition Engineering. We thank him for his pragmatic advice. Geoff also collaborated with Ron Ogomori of Fabricor by supplying his engineering blueprints for the jerry can carriers.

TeriAnn Wakeman – World renown Land Rover oracle, TeriAnn Wakeman drives a 1960 Series II 109 that contains a slew of well planned and executed modifications. Not only do we thank TeriAnn immensely for her endless advice, encouragement, and inspiration over the years, not only do we thank her for a solid re-wiring job on the Alaska Rover just three weeks before we loaded the trucks on the boat (Not a single electrical problem yet TeriAnn!), and not only for designing our rugged roof racks, but we also thank her for all she has contributed to the Land Rover community at large. At some point, every Land Rover owner points their web browser to TeriAnn's web site to obtain her sage advice. TeriAnn was also kind enough to accompany us at the Palmdale Rover Ranch work party that preceded our departure. In 120+ degree heat it wasn't much of a party however, but her attitude was always positive.

Pat Young – Alphabetically he's last on this list but this amazing individual deserves to be first. Pat owns RoverGo, a Land Rover service specializing in engine and gearbox rebuilds, vehicle restoration, and expedition preparation. Pat believed in this event from day one and worked every day for two months to help us prepare the Land Rovers, sometimes in 120 degree heat. Thanks also to Pat's wife for feeding us and opening her home in Palmdale to host our Rover Ranch Work Party. Great spaghetti!

Tom Clare – We'd be needing some tunes on this journey so I asked my good friend Mr. Tom Clare, who happens to be an experienced carpenter, if he could build a couple radio boxes. Tom outdid himself and built two lightweight overhead units that had plenty of room for several radios, speakers, and even cupboards to stow the laptops! They worked out great because Tom knows how to do things right. He's also the owner of two Land Rovers; a Series III 88 and Discovery, so we hope to team up with Tom on some future trips.

Our Guides and Travel Hosts

Mr. Zhang Jian-ping, Manager CIST
Mr. Gao Song-Ying, Manager CIST
Mr. Wang Zhuang (King) our CIST Beijing guide
Mr. Da Lao Li Guiqing AKA big old Mr. Li, our guide through Mainland China all the way to Golmund
Guoyi aka “Jack” or “Beetles,” our guide from Lanzhou to Golmund
Shol Phurbu Tsering from TIST. Our guide through Tibet and his companion, Ninda.
Mr. Navlaka of Dehli, India. Our gracious host who we never had a chance to meet.
Angie Bryant and Randy Crawford of the US Consolate Lahore Pakistan.
Colonel Aga, Lahore Police Captain.
M.J. Ahmed (Ph.D) Managing Director of the Holiday Inn Multan, Pakistan for his gracious hospitality including offers for medical attention when Chanda was sick, free after hours repair work at his local Honda dealership, and fabulous picnic lunches, and overall Exemplary attention to our every need.
The Pakistan Police force.
Pakistan Police Colonel from Quetta to the Iran border whose name we can neither speak or spell click here to see his name.
Kamran and his nephew Ali Rheza of Pasagrad Tours in Iran Papalino in Milan.
James Taylor of Land Rover Enthusiast Magazine
...And the following receptive hosts at the Land Rover headquarters who took in our unannounced group for a fantastic tour. Click here to read all about it!
Robert G. Myers, Robert Poston, and Keith Taylor of Land Rover Special Projects
Mary Williams at the front desk and Bill Baker Director of Public Relations at Land Rover, world traveler, and swell guy

Team AroundTheWorld1999 also wishes to recognize and thank the following individuals
for their assistance, support, and contributions during the Around-the-world 1999 expedition.

America's Tire employees Bob, Jim, and their lightning-fast Campbell crew
Dr. Brad Baggarly and the staff at Claremont Optometry.
Randy Beggs.
John Besserman at Peet's Coffee and Tea for keeping us awake with caffeine during this overland marathon.
The California State School Board
Mark Cooker at DoveTail Public Relations
Desktop Innovations Web Design, George, Linda, Shawna Brynildssen, and Anthony
Michael Fanning of Michelin for sponsoring us with those incredible tires.
Chuck Charlie Hudson the 3rd for his diligent vehicle work and those pro, AroundTheWorld1999 custom-embroidered North Face shirts.
Ira, the pharmecist from Dr. Sirsiri Ludwig for donating medicine and writing perscriptions.
Brian Jackson at Sports Rack in Campbell, CA.
Don Jones and Carl Schneider, infamous drivers of the 1954 Packard Convertible and our personal heroes.
JB Kropp from Flycast.
Michael from ACE Fuel Supply in Santa Clara for drilling out our carburetor jets so we could climb the Himalayas.
Genevieve Obert and author of Prince Borghese's Trail and her co-pilot Linda Durnell
Shawn O'Donnell and Matt Candelaria for pulling an all-nighter run to requisition our roof racks from L.A. YOU GUYS ROCK!
Little Matty Shepard, Rich Leonitti, and Jim Herlihy for their hardcore encouragement.
Tom Sheppard for writing the Vehicle Dependent Expedition Guide
Mark A. Smith –follower of our expedition and Vasona Park Ranger who gave us a ticket on Day 1 for driving on the lawn at the park (I can't believe I'm thanking this guy for giving us a ticket!)
Steve Johnson at South Bay Driveline in San Jose. The drive shafts supplied by Steve turned approximately 24,266,085 times. (That's 2.33 shaft revolutions for each wheel revolution, over a distance of 16,000 miles, with a tire diameter of 31")
S&S Welding in San Jose.
Tony Tran at Kirkwood Auto Upholstery in Campbell, CA—Go there! He'll give you free Buddhist teachings while you wait for your seats to be upholstered.
Andy Vann Driver in the 1997 Peking to Paris Motor Rally who gave us lofty carburetor tuning advice for high altitude driving
Travisa employees Pete and John in San Francisco for micro-managing the visa application process.
Annette Pape for loaning us her husband for three months and terrific gear selection advice. Our neighbors
Tom and Michelle at 432 University for putting up with our loud noise when we pulled all-nighters
Mike and Elise at 425 University for just being supportive neighbors
Susan and Jim at 424 Unversity- ditto
Daniel Oppenheim for loaning us his phone and power adapters and sage shipping advice Blair Peterson for vehicle shipping advice. He warned us of the risks of RORO shipping and I wish we would have followed it.
Richard in Customer Service at Lonely Planet Publications for giving us books for all of the fascinating countries we visited
Fonda at the Council for International business for lickety-split carnets.

So you see, an event like this is best pulled off with a little help from your friends and it helped us make new ones.