The Details: Poles of Inconvenience Rally
Welcome to the illegitimate love child of the Mongol Rally and the pandemic. What started as a stand-in when the rally was cancelled has evolved into a whole new form of overland adventuring chaos. So we’ve launched it as a stand alone adventure launching on 16th July 2023.
If you’ve arrived here first check out the main website.
1. What are the Poles of Inconvenience?
The Adventurists was founded on the principle of driving tiny shit vehicles to totally ludicrous places. In 2022, we couldn’t do the Mongol Rally proper, instead we launched the Poles of Inconvenience Rally so our teams could get lost and stuck in even more stupid places. It turned out to be a beast of an adventure, and now it’s growing hairs in all its grown-up places and becoming the behemoth we always knew it would be.
The un-route will start and finish in Czechia but it's the Poles of Inconvenience that really bring the stupid. Think of it as a curated network of chaos.
Instead of driving straight to the finish line - which would take you around an hour - you can join like-minded fools in seeking out totally ridiculous POIs along the way. Each carefully selected locational nonsensical nugget will force adventure upon you and your tiny steed.
The un-route will start and finish in Czechia but it's the Poles of Inconvenience that really bring the stupid. Think of it as a curated network of chaos.
Instead of driving straight to the finish line - which would take you around an hour - you can join like-minded fools in seeking out totally ridiculous POIs along the way. Each carefully selected locational nonsensical nugget will force adventure upon you and your tiny steed.
Some of the Poles may be inconvenient in the classic sense of being nestled in remote corners of wilderness areas. Others might be topographically inconvenient, like the top of a mountain, or in the middle of a sea of sand dunes in the Sahara. Some will be logistically inconvenient, and all of them will be comically unsuitable for your tiny vehicles.
It's totally up to you which POIs you tackle but your chances of winning the overall Champion of the Poles trophy will vastly increase if you bag at least a few along the way.
2. Where are the Poles of Inconvenience?
The image is just a sketch showing the range of possibilities for your adventuring inconvenience. We've already confirmed 45 POIs for 2023 and that number will rise over the coming months as we scour the planet for more worthy contenders. Check out all the POIs confirmed so far on our Google Map:
Clusters of Inconvenience
Unless you’re a spaniel, you should have noticed that the Poles on the map are split up into four different colours. These represent the different clusters. We’ve split them up as it might make it clearer and easier for you if you decide to focus on a certain cluster. You might want to only go for the Northern ones for example, or focus your energies on the Southern Cluster. It'll make it easier to meet up with your fellow ralliers too.
The British Cluster
Fancy popping to Britain to laugh at our teeth and political decisions? Then you’re in luck, there’s a huge amount of Poles to be had in a small space here. You can marvel at the weather, and discuss it at length with the locals whilst sipping on badly made tea.
The Northern Cluster
Feel like whipping up to the northernmost point of mainland Europe, drinking copious amounts of vodka from a reindeer's horn and dining on the smelliest fish on the planet? Then this might be the cluster that demands your attention.
The Eastern Cluster
The largest group out there. There’s a whole gaggle of diverse Poles to be found in this marvellous cluster of inconvenience. Can anyone get them all within the time limit? We don’t know. We hope so. Sort of. We also sort of hope you all fail massively, in the nicest possible way.
The Southern Cluster
Probably the toughest cluster. Some of the Poles in here are downright ridiculous. You probably just shouldn’t even try, and you probably won't make it to all of them. But what if you do? Well, then the nectar of the Adventure Gods themselves shall likely rain down on you. In other words, we might buy you a pint.
... or go with Pick & Mix POIs
You don’t have to focus on only one cluster. You’re completely free to go as and wherever you bloody well please. Indeed, managing to grab a few from each cluster would also be exceedingly cool. Or all of them. If you bag every POI you'll probably be crowned Champion and win the trophy.
3. Poles of Refreshment - New for 2023
There shall be a handful of Poles that, as well as counting as inconvenient, shall also count as refreshing. By this, we mean they’ll be slightly more established on the facilities front. Actual places you can go to where you can hopefully bump into some fellow teams, grab some refreshing beverages and possibly even lay your smelly heads for a night.
The details of these will be revealed to you once we’ve finished ironing them out.
4. How it works: bagging POIs
The navigational gears to this wondrous chaos engine will be provided by the what3words app. They’ve basically turned finding places anywhere on the planet into poetry. If you’ve not come across them before, stick your face in their website for a bit, it’s bloody fascinating… The whole of the earth has been split up into three metre squares, and each one has a three word name, such as POI 17 in Turkey, which is: ///bidders.shrivels.rainbow
The other great thing is that the app will not give you detailed directions to the location of each Pole, therefore preserving the joy of getting completely lost along the way.
To nail a Pole to your personal wall of achievement you will need to use what3words' marvellous app. Once you’ve reached a POI you have to take a photo inside the w3w app, tag it with (roughly) the correct location, and then share it through our tracking app. That means even if you don’t have a connection the tracking app will automatically locate your pic when it next comes online. Pole bagged. Details of all this will be in the teams' handbook.
5. How to win the POI Champions Trophy
It’s not necessarily the team that bags the most POIs that will will be crowned 2023 Champions and claim the winners trophy, though of course, grabbing a clutch will definitely help.
Rather, the judging committee take a holistic approach to the entries. This doesn’t mean they’ll light some incense, and smother you in ylang-ylang oil whilst banging the gong of truth, but that they’ll take the whole picture of your adventuring search for inconvenience into account.
Teams who have incredibly unsuitable vehicles, make that little extra effort (serve high tea to some locals each day at 5pm for example), or just somehow add a touch of panache and style, will all get boosted in the rankings.
Rather, the judging committee take a holistic approach to the entries. This doesn’t mean they’ll light some incense, and smother you in ylang-ylang oil whilst banging the gong of truth, but that they’ll take the whole picture of your adventuring search for inconvenience into account.
Teams who have incredibly unsuitable vehicles, make that little extra effort (serve high tea to some locals each day at 5pm for example), or just somehow add a touch of panache and style, will all get boosted in the rankings.
What are the prizes?
As well as the prizes in each category, the winnings teams will also be featured in their very own adventure report on our blog and their winning ways lauded online.
The Champion of Poles 2023
The legends of the adventure, and the team that found inconvenience with the most style. This team will win the overall trophy. An actual fancy trophy too. Plus a discount off their next adventure.
2022 Champions. Classy fellas Tim and Jordan.
Team Going Nowhere getting stuck
Runner Up 2023
The nearly team. They will be legends, but second placed legends. A smaller but still splendid trophy will be their prize.
Team De Sloekertjes - 2022 Runner Up
At POI 21 - Pointy Rock Thingy, Spain
Best Adventure Vehicle
The finest machine employed in the search for inconvenience. The admiration of inconvenience seeking ralliers for generations shall be theirs.
2022 Best Vehicle winners Team Gear Knobs
The mighty 1958 Oxford Morris on the POI Rally 2022
Charity Champions
The team who raises the most for charity. To win this prize the team must have raised the minimum £500 for the official charity Cool Earth, even if the bulk of their world saving cash is donated to a different charity.
6. The Dates
8th July
Unofficial convoys to the launch begin. POIs can be officially snagged and count towards your total (there are several prizes up for grabs).
15th July
Massive launch party with the Mongol Rally teams in Czechia
16th July
Launch ceremony - time to thunder off in search of adventuring inconvenience.
5th August
Finish line open for glorious arrivals plus official finish party at Junktown
8th August
The Poles of Inconvenience network of chaos is closed. Entries to the competition can’t include any POIs snagged after this date and it's the deadline for raising your minimum £500 for the official charity Cool Earth.
7. The Rules
Team Subarians enjoying a breakdown in Georgia on the 2022 Poles of Inconvenience Rally
Rule 1: Small and Shit
You can take any car, as long as it’s crap and with an engine of 1.2 litre or less. Ideally under 1 litre. For motorbikes we've generously allowed 125cc, but would prefer it to be a scooter.
You need to drive a small, shit car to make the rally tougher. It's no fun if it's too easy. If you want easy go for a spa weekend. If you want to make it harder, take a small bike.
You need to drive a small, shit car to make the rally tougher. It's no fun if it's too easy. If you want easy go for a spa weekend. If you want to make it harder, take a small bike.
Rule 2: No set route
Bag as many Poles of Inconvenience as you can in any order you like, in any direction you want. Go backwards if you want. Or completely in the wrong direction, that always ends up with something funny. Or crying. One of the two. There’s no minimum or maximum number of Poles you need to reach. Where you go is entirely up to you (but the winner of the Champions Trophy will likely have a respectable POI count).
Rule 3: You're on your own
You're on your own. If it's not dangerous and you aren't lost, you're not on an adventure. That means no backup or support. If you get stuck or in trouble, you need to solve the problem yourself. Any ‘Help! We’re broken down in Algeria,’ type phone calls to Rally HQ will be met with a snort of derision and a click of the receiver.
Rule 4: Raise £500 for charity
It only seems fair that if you’re having the mother of all adventures you should give a little back, so we ask teams on the Rally to raise a minimum of £500 for the official rally charity Cool Earth.
If you'd prefer to raise money for other registered charities too that's all good. Anything over the £500 minimum for the official charity can be donated to your own causes.
If you'd prefer to raise money for other registered charities too that's all good. Anything over the £500 minimum for the official charity can be donated to your own causes.
8. Entry fee and what you get
Launch of the 2022 Poles of Inconvenience Rally at Juntown, Czechia
The entry fee is £695 per car - you can have up to 4 people squashed into your tiny steed.
A motorbike entry is £325 per bike. You can travel as teams but each rider pays the entry fee and registers online separately.
Here's what you get for your dosh...
A motorbike entry is £325 per bike. You can travel as teams but each rider pays the entry fee and registers online separately.
Here's what you get for your dosh...
Launch Party including camping
- The Czechout launch party in Czechia including live music, DJs and other excellent entertainments.
- Camping included on the 15th July.
Launch Day
- Launch Day ceremony to depart in style amidst a cacophony of noise and tiny vehicles full of like minded idiots.
- Professional photographer to capture your moment of glory setting forth to wobble off the edge of the map.
Live tracking map and daily reports
- Free tracking on the live Poles of Inconvenience may using the handy tracking app supplied by Wayward Travel (iOs & Android). Live from the start of the UK convoy on.
- A rolling newsfeed of coverage including your teams updates and photos posted for the world to be jealous.
Giant Finish Line Stage
- A Finish Line stage to mark the end of your adventure and a free beer on arrival from the rally crew.
Official Finish Party at Junktown
- A suitably enormous and chaotic party at Junktown, the post apocalyptic former missile silo festival venue of excellence and weirdness. Host of many a Mongol Rally launch, this place is the perfect place to finish an adventure rally.
- Overnight camping on the 5th August included.
- On site catering for survivors breakfast, and anyone that didn't go to sleep.
Rally Swag
- Rally decals for your car or bike.
- Poles of Inconvenience patch for each team member.
- Team t-shirt for every rallier.
The Poles of Inconvenience (and Refreshment)
- The sprawling network of carefully crafted and curated Poles of Inconvenience - or POIs - to track down on your circuitous route to the finish line in Georgia, or after Georgia on your way home if you prefer. Listed online and in your tracking app.
- We will also select some Points of Refreshment - PORs - rally friendly establishments where you can meet up with other ralliers.
Rally Handbook and Team Chat Group
- A team handbook full of info.
- Teams only chat groups to meet your fellow inconvenience seekers.
Start line of the 2022 Poles of Inconvenience Rally at Junktown, Czechia
9. Contact us
Give us a shout if you have any questions.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)1174223400
Whatsapp: +441174223400
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44(0)1174223400
Whatsapp: +441174223400
Follow the POI Rally
Follow The Adventurists
10. The Warning
The Poles of Inconvenience is a genuinely dangerous things to do. The website is written in a light-hearted fashion but you cannot overestimate the risks involved in taking part in this adventure.
Your chances of being seriously injured or dying as a result of taking part are high. Individuals who have taken part in past Adventurists' adventures have been permanently disfigured, seriously disabled and even lost their life.
This is not a glorified holiday, it's an unsupported adventure and so by its very nature extremely risky. You really are on your own and you really are putting both your health and life at risk. This is what makes them adventures.
Your chances of being seriously injured or dying as a result of taking part are high. Individuals who have taken part in past Adventurists' adventures have been permanently disfigured, seriously disabled and even lost their life.
This is not a glorified holiday, it's an unsupported adventure and so by its very nature extremely risky. You really are on your own and you really are putting both your health and life at risk. This is what makes them adventures.