Rally
Team
Fundraising
Who or what is SkipLizard? We are a group dedicated to the idea that one can find order in chaos, joy in hardship, and peace in the unknown...and change lives in the process. We are adaptive leadership in a world where the only constant is change. We ride for the truly impovershed...those that have no hope of rescue and no system to bail them out.

We're also proof that charity can be the party of a lifetime...
THE DRIVERS

Name: Ryan Dunnavant (on the right)

Residence: Austin, TX

Roles: Captain (the lesser of two evils), Negotiator, DJ

Education: Rice U...Houston, TX...Chemical Engineering...the only place this might come in handy is in Kazakhstan's former Soviet nuclear and biological weapon testing fields

Experience: 1700 km trip through northern Mongolia in the summer of 2005 (slept and/or drank most of the way, never drove); skilled in the arts of tent construction and pretending not to understand foreign authorities

Story: Ryan is a redneck-hippie and unbalanced optimist. He's got a couple reasons to run the world's gauntlet to Mongolia...first, the promise of a racing horse if he can ever return and beat Puujee (on the left) in a wrestling match...and second, hell, defining moments aren't supposed to be subtle for a stud like him.

Name: Andy Taylor

Residence: Lubbock, TX

Roles: Mechanic, Survivor

Education: Texas Tech Law School...Lubbock, TX...how no one knows

St. Mary's U...San Antonio, TX...Finance...can calculate currency conversions at the speed of whatever computer he is using

Experience: Skilled in lawnmower repair and jimmy-rigging (once lit a cigarette with an empty lighter and a bottle of cologne)...negotiated more back-country Texas roads than a 14-year-old ever should...owned minivan that blew up one morning for no reason, auto-karma we're hoping is reversed before trying to drive a shoebox 10,000 miles.

Story: What do you say about a man who once ran 17 miles the day after suffering the most graceful concussion of all time trying to prove a drunken claim that he could run a marathon in 6 hours with less than no training? Andy is stubborn and cocky enough to either make this ride flawless or drive us astray into Amsterdam while Ryan is asleep...there's really no in-between.
THE COLLABORATORS

Name: Nicki Dunnavant

Residence: Colorado Springs, CO

Roles: Fundraiser, Encourager

Education: Colorado College...Colorado Springs...Contentment Studies

Experience: Expert GORP producer...once ran underground jewelry and exam reference card businesses while in 2nd grade

Story: Nicki is the original Little Miss Sunshine. She's a unique mix of mountain goddess and redneck (while she consistently longs for the Colorado backcountry, she once answered a musically-inclined friend's question of whether or not she was a CCR fan with, "Oh yeah! Cross Canadian Ragweed! They're great!").

Name: Evan Monckton

Residence: Chicago, IL

Roles: Fundraiser, Exaggerator, Bad Luck Absorber

Education: SMU...Dallas, TX...Mechanical Engineering, Living Above Means

Experience: Member of 2006 River Rat Coalition...tried once to repair blown tire and failed miserably

Story: Evan has less to do with this trip than anyone. He's on the squad because he's a story-teller (that is, every story he tells might be the greatest of his life). He spreads legends until he becomes part of them. Preach on, Brother Tum-Tum, preach on, the spirit soaks up the sweat.

Name: Tasha Nisttahuz

Residence: Lubbock, TX

Roles: Publicist, Motivator

Education: Texas Tech Law School...Lubbock, TX...to keep Andy alive

U. Texas...Austin, TX...Public Relations...we're counting on her to make us seem professional...no small task indeed

Experience: Dating Andy is testament enough to her perseverence

Story: Tasha was the first kick in the butt for this journey, and should probably get credit for whatever shred of health Andy has left. Andy and Ryan may get all the nuts and bolts together for this deal, but Tasha's the one who pretties them up and keeps us close to "reality."
THE AFICIONADOS

Name: Holly McFarland & Alicia Viani

Residence: Austin, TX & Bend, OR

Roles: Good Karma Inducers

Education: SIT...Mongolia...Culture, Peace, Bliss

Experience: Spent half a year together in Mongolia and China livin' the dream...there's really no other way to put it

Story: Holly and Alicia are a couple of soul sisters who have to be listed together because separating them does humanity a huge disservice. Holly is a travel queen who opened the doors to Mongolia for us in the first place, and Alicia is our flamey haired spirit guide. Give these two a jug of wine and a campfire and you've got a night more fun than a hog in a mud hole.
THE HOSTS

Name: Mika Roberts

Residence: Everywhere and Nowhere

Roles: Ambassador, Not Do-Gooder

Education: Bates College...Lewiston, Maine...Music, Anthropology

Mongolia...Morin Xoor, life in the moment

Experience: lived in Mongolia, studied in Mongolia, IS Mongolia...

Story: Mike plays music. He's a reflective sinner who's too adventurous even for the Mongol Rally, but word on the street is he'll be hanging about in places we'll be lost in during our ride...so he's the final gatekeeper.

Name: Steve Brewin

Residence: London, England

Roles: London shelter provider, British pub authority

Education: U. of Bristol...Bristol, England...Geology

Experience: Direct witness of one of Andy's near-death experiences...set foot in roughly 50 countries

Story: Stevie lends perspective, seeing as he's been in more than a quarter of the countries in the entire world (note: this is the same percentage of Century Club he made it though on his first try). He's a walking Atlas who will lend a huge hand to our kick-off and first leg through Western Europe.

Name: Enkhbayar

Residence: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Roles: Translator, Search & Rescue, Spirit Guide

Experience: Mongolian tour driver...has been known to drive through the night in the Mongolian countryside, powered by nothing but fermented mare's milk, yogurt, and stale noodles

Story: Enkhee is a Gobi Desert rat making a living driving wide-eyed tourists as far out into the middle of nowhere as they dare to go. He holds that friendship and relations far outweigh material possessions and accomplishments (well, except vodka), and is, as he proclaimed, Ryan's Mongol brother.

Name: Togoo

Residence: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Roles: Translator, News Correspondent

Experience: Ulaanbaatar Post employee...the polar opposite, yet best buddy of Enkhee.

Story: Togoo is a city-boy amongst the Mongols, a fact that continues to lead him to numerous business ventures, tourists, and large bottles of Xapaa brand liquor. He is, in his own words, our "Mongol Vodka friend."

Name: Gans

Residence: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Roles: Translator, Traditional Mongol BBQ Expert

Experience: Gans knows all and sees all!!!!! (in Mongolia, and possibly China)

Story: Everybody knows Gans. If you ever travel to Mongolia, you'll meet him. Period. He's a 28-year-old creative genius with the smarts of a man in his 40's and the looks/attitude of a pre-teen boy. Sound familiar?

OTHER TEAMS

Here are links to some other groups crazy enough to take on the challenge of all challenges:

Hobo Logistics (Kindred Spirits...Brothers in Radge)

Team Driving Miss Daisy (UK hosts)

Team Bad Idea (Saved our spirits in Russia)

Team Mongol Monstrosity (Saved our lives in Russia)
THE SPONSORS

We have no official sponsors yet. Hey! You could be the first! Check out the Contribute/Donations page for more info on how.