Peter and Harry have been friends and vintage car aficionados for many years. They first met in high school in the Netherlands, and a mutual love of fast vehicles drew them together.  Whether it was a car, a motorbike or a moped, the two boys were obsessed with making the wheels turn as fast as possible.  Peter’s mechanical skills and their mutual fearlessness meant that speed limits were routinely disregarded as the two bonded and shared adventures on the road.

As the boys grew older, they traveled together across Europe, hunting out classic and antique cars to restore and sell.  They had a foolproof technique for finding old cars:  they would drive along country roads in France and keep an eye out for farms with big barns.  When they found one, they stopped to talk to the farmer.  More often than not, the farmer would have an ancient car sitting there that they just couldn’t bear to throw away.  When these two strange, foreign boys were crazy enough to offer them cash to cart their 1930s Citroens, Peugots and Bentleys away, the farmers were more than happy to let them go.  Peter and Harry would cart these rusting hulks back to Holland, restore them and sell them for enough money to finance their trip and pay for their college educations.

Eventually, Peter moved to the United States, got married and settled in Southern California, while Harry moved to the United Kingdom and settled in Suffolk.  The years passed, and although they weren’t as close as they once were, they made a point of staying in touch with one another.

Harry’s passion for antique and classic cars never faded, and when the Peking to Paris rally was revived in the 1980s, he was determined to take part in it one day.  Luckily, his wife, Jackie, was completely supportive of his dream.  When Harry found a 1925 Buick two years ago, the planning began in earnest, and he could think of no better driving partner than his old friend and fellow speed demon, Peter.

That’s why, a year ago, out of the blue, Peter got a call from his old friend Harry.  They had a brief conversation, and then Peter handed the phone to his wife, Valerie.  “Harry wants to ask you something,” he said.  Harry wanted to ask whether Valerie would mind if he borrowed her husband for a 37-day, 9,000-mile journey across six countries.

She said yes, of course.

Preparing for the Peking to Paris rally has not been without its challenges, but these two old friends are looking forward to resuming the adventure of a lifetime on September 10, 2010.