Gates Sponsors Turtle Expedition’s Worldwide Tour

You probably know that Gates sponsors NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars. But Gates also sponsors an adventure-seeking twosome in no hurry to reach their destination: The Turtle Expedition.

Gary and Monika Wescott (aka The Turtle Expedition) are world adventurers who have been traveling the planet for over 40 years. In 1988 they completed a 50,000 mile, 14-month circumnavigation of South America. In 1996 they became the first people on record to drive the breadth of Russia, including Siberia, where they followed tracks up the Lena River for 700 miles with temperatures averaging -40°F.

Now they are at it again. Their new adventure, The Trans-Eurasian Odyssey, will take them along the legendary Silk Road from Lisbon, Portugal to Beijing, China, through 26 countries. They estimate the trip will take 3 years.

Gary and Monika will travel in a specially built, expedition equipped Ford F-550 (their fifth expedition truck). As they say in their blog, “every component had to be checked and if possible, replaced with something better than factory.” That list included:

• Gates heavy-duty FleetRunner  serpentine belt
• Gates automatic belt tensioner
• Gates Green Stripe  upper and lower coolant hoses
•  Gates water pump and heavy-duty thermostat

You can read about and follow the adventures of Gary and Monika at www.turtleexpedition.com.