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Crossing the Gobi desert is no easy feat, but two
men from Norfolk are planning to travel 625 miles of Mongolia's
harsh desert using wind-powered buggies.
Kieron Bradley and Peter Ash who are both from
Norwich, came up with the idea after watching a travel documentary
on the area of Gobi.
The kite buggies have a top speed of 90mph, but
the men will travel at about 30mph.
Kieron tests his buggy |
The expedition will take place in September when
temperatures are expected to reach 104 deg F during the day.
Kieron and Peter must wear helmets and body armour
in case they are thrown out onto the jagged terrain.
The trip will start in the Altay region of Mongolia
and finish in the Erdenaalai region.
They admit it will be hard work but said they aim
to have plenty of fun as well. 91Èȱ¬ Radio Norfolk's Chris Goreham
spoke to them about their planned adventure.
Why did you decide to take on this challenge?
Life's a challenge. You can sit around in your
comfort zone for the rest of your life or you can go out and actually
live it!
Where did the idea to cross the Gobi desert
on kite buggies come from?
When I was doing some buggy tests on a beach I
was thinking we need a bigger beach and Kieron suggested we should
do it in the desert. The Gobi desert came up in the conversation
and it all snowballed from there really.
Can you tell us more about the buggies?
Sunset in the Gobi desert |
We use the buggies in Norfolk - it's a very large
sport and they're also used internationally. It's an up and coming
sport.
They're three wheeled buggies with a kite and use
windpower. They're not as reliable as you'd always like them to
be.
I looked at the buggies and thought we could improve
them, so I basically adapted them. They're
right at the top end of quality standard wise.
Its not the easiest thing in the world to do. Don't
forget the duration we've got to do - it's a long eight hours in
a buggy. I think we'll have fun - it'll be rigorous though!
You only have to drop the kite and you'll rip it
to shreds, because it's not sand that we'll be on - it's jagged
rocks.
What do you think will be the most challenging
aspect of the expedition?
Everyone getting along! We've got language barriers
with some of the drivers and we have to do this as a team effort.
After a couple of weeks it'll be tiring and
you're going to make mistakes.
I think tempers will be frayed and I think that
the heat is also going to be a major thing and yearning to take
a drink all the time. We've got myself, Brian, two other people,
Brian Cunningham and his wife Christine. We've also got a driver,
a translator and a cook.
How much equipment will you be taking?
It's really down to the logistics of what we need.
We are governed by the support vehicle. We're looking at 4-5 cubic
metres in total.
Camels are the usual form of transport |
We won't take things because we think it would
be a fun idea to have on the trip - we'll only take things that
are really necessary.
Is it true that you'll be passing a dinosaur
graveyard on your journey?
Yes that's true - it should be quite good fun.
It's just as we hit the second leg of the tour. We're
going to stop there for a little while to see what's going on.
Apparently the fossils are on the surface because
of the wind, so it should be quite an eye-opener.
When are you planning to go?
We're hoping to leave on 28 August. September is
the only time we can do it in terms of the weather.
If we go the month before, it's too hot and after
September, it gets so cold it snows. In September it will still
be boiling hot, but it will be cold at night. It goes from 40 deg
C in the day to -5 deg C at night.
Peter and Kieron will be providing regular updates
on their training for their adventure and will be writing a diary
of their experiences for the 91Èȱ¬ Norfolk website.
Read the
latest diary entry from the lads on their expedition in Gobi
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