Organizers describe the three-wheeled auto rickshaw provided for a rally across India as the “ultimate long-distance off-road machine”. A driver calls it a “hair-dryer-powered tin can on shopping cart wheels”.

在主辦單位口中，這款橫越印度拉力賽的三輪自動嘟嘟車是「長途越野終極機種」。一名駕駛則說它是「吹風機供電、架在購物車車輪上的馬口鐵罐頭」。

A sense of humor is as important as a sense of adventure and a willingness to raise cash for charity for anyone signing up for the Rickshaw Run, a 3,500 kilometer odyssey organized by The League of Adventurists International. The British-based company says it is “not just hell bent on fighting to make the world less boring but also raising massive buckets of cash for charities.”

對所有報名參加3500公里嘟嘟車長征的選手來說，一點幽默感和冒險精神及志願慈善募款的意願同樣重要。這項活動由「國際冒險家聯盟」主辦。這家英國公司表示，它「不只卯足全力，要讓世界變得較不乏味，也志在募集大量善款。」

The Adventurists provide teams with one of India's famed Bajaj 145cc rickshaws, start and finish lines and a two-week deadline. In return, each team is required to raise a minimum of 1,000 pounds (about $1,500) for a charity chosen by the company, while also paying a rickshaw 'hire' fee of 1,000 pounds.

「冒險家聯盟」提供參賽隊伍一輛印度遠近馳名的145cc嘟嘟車，並規定起迄點和為期兩周的賽事。相對的，每支隊伍要為該公司所選的慈善活動至少募得1000英鎊（約4.7萬台幣）善款，同時還要付1000英鎊當「租用」嘟嘟車的費用。

The Rickshaw Run is held three times a year. The autumn run this year, from September 11 to September 24, was in benefit of Frank Water, a charity building water-treatment stations in poor village communities in India.

嘟嘟車拉力賽每年舉辦三次。今年秋季賽事從9月11日進行到9月24日，主要是為在印度貧困鄉里建設水處理站的慈善機構「Frank淨水計畫」慈善募款。

The route, accommodation, rough roads, wild traffic, monsoon floods, cows in the middle of the highways and mechanical and medical emergencies must be handled by the teams themselves. “That's the adventure,” said Matt Davis, an India Adventurists staff member.

路線、住宿、崎嶇不平的道路、瘋狂的交通、雨季水患，乃至於擋在路中央的牛群，和機件及醫療緊急情況都要由團隊自行處理。印度「冒險家聯盟」員工戴維斯說：「那才叫冒險。」

At the start of the autumn run at Shillong in northeastern Meghalaya state, 74 teams were presented with their rickshaws, brightly pimped in team colors and with names such as “By Hook or by Tuk” and “Tucking Awesome”. They were all supposedly in good working order.

秋季賽事在印度東北部梅加拉亞邦首府西隆開跑，74支隊伍各有一部嘟嘟車，車身鮮艷奪目，各隊選其代表色，並取些俏皮的名稱，像「不擇手段必勝嘟嘟車」及「石破天驚嘟嘟車」。車況應該都很好。

On the first day three teams lost their wheels. “We did not know anything was wrong until we saw the wheel roll past us on the mountain road,” a team member from Tucking Awesome said. “That was the start of our nightmare.”

但才第一天開跑，就有三支隊伍的車輪掉了。「石破天驚嘟嘟車」一名成員說：「我們根本沒發現有什麼不對勁的，直到看見車輪滾到我們面前的山路上，我們的噩夢才開始。」

Another team, Right Place, Right Time, also lost a wheel on the first day then went on to have its chassis split in two, its brakes fail, accelerator cable snap and an electrical fire.

另一支取名「天時地利」的隊伍也在第一天就掉了一個輪子，接著車子底盤一分為二，剎車失靈，油門線斷掉，還因電路問題而起火。

The breakdowns, getting lost or having to put the rickshaw on a riverboat because the highway “ran out” for Rangeela Racers, were all part of the experience.

不管是車子故障、迷路，或是像「蘭吉拉賽車隊」因公路「消失」，只好把嘟嘟車開上拖船，全是新奇的體驗。

Despite the challenges most teams tried to stay positive. Team Gandhi Warhol wrote on their blog: “Watched sunrise over Mt. Everest this morning in Darjeeling. Also, broken: brakes, rear lights, front fog lights, spark plug, chassis, horn, fuel intake. Service and MOT (roadworthiness test) complete. On we go through Bihar.”

儘管險阻重重，大多數隊伍仍盡力保持積極樂觀的態度。「甘地沃荷隊」在部落格寫道：「今早在大吉嶺珠穆朗瑪峰觀看日出。另外，全報銷了：剎車、尾燈、前霧燈、火星塞、底盤、喇叭、供油閥門全壞了。幸好維修保養和驗車（路上行駛性能檢測）過關，我們已經通過比哈爾邦。」

Not all who start the run make it to the end. One team left their rickshaw at a police station at the end of the first day, telling the organizers “it was not what we signed up for.”

並非所有參賽者都能有始有終，跑完全程。其中一隊在在第一天結束時把嘟嘟車留在警察局，並告訴主辦單位：「這和我們當初參加時所期望的相去太遠了。」

But the sense of achievement for those teams that did cross the finish line in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan was tremendous. “I never thought we would make it,” said Jennifer Morris, a Habibi Babes team member. “After days of breakdowns, driving in the dark and being driven off the road by big trucks, we had almost lost hope. But we made it, we made it!”

但對那些能在拉賈斯坦邦賈沙梅爾越過終點線的車隊而言，成就感無與倫比。「哈比比貝比隊」成員珍妮佛．莫里斯說：「我從沒想過我們可以辦到。經過連日車子故障，摸黑駕駛，又被大貨卡逼出路旁，我們簡直不敢再抱任何希望。但我們成功了，我們成功了！」

The Adventurists also host the Mongol Rally, Mongol Derby (on horseback) the Africa Rally, Ice Run (1,500km across the frozen Siberian wilderness on 650cc Ural motorbikes and sidecars), among others. Charity always plays a part. "We figure since we are rather fond of adventuring in the world we should do our bit to look after it," the Adventurists say.

「冒險家聯盟」也主辦蒙古拉力賽、蒙古騎馬橫越非洲拉力賽、冰上遠征（騎著附帶邊車的650cc烏拉爾軍用摩托車橫越西伯利亞冰原1500公里）等等。慈善是主要訴求。「冒險家聯盟」說，「我們認為，既然我們很喜歡在世界各地冒險，我們就應該對慈善事業略盡棉薄之力。」

Photo taken on September 11, 2011 shows teams of the Autumn 2011 'Rickshaw Run' as they prepare to depart from Shillong in India's Meghalaya state.

攝於今年9月11日的照片顯示，參加今秋「嘟嘟車拉力賽」的車隊正在印度梅加拉亞邦西隆市準備出發。（法新社）