Check out this interview with the guys from A Mad Way South (Kite Buggy Race Across the Sahara)! We first ran the story by Stefan Simanowitz on July 28 about the adventure. The below video shows the guys talking about their journey that lies before them in the Sahara.

Branndon Bargo is a contributing editor to Adventure World. We like that his great adventure will climb the 3 highest mountains on the Africa continent while biking (and paddling) the distances between them while helping to raise awareness about the continuing dangers of malaria with hopes for its ultimate eradication. The expedition will last for more than 6 weeks. The group has already reached the summit of Kilimanjaro and will be heading towards Nairobi this week. This is a great cause and something that we in the United States (and many other industrialized countries throughout the world) have not had to worry about for many generations.

Texas brothers Branndon and Greg Bargo are setting out on a multi-sport self supported expedition to Africa to raise money and awareness for malaria. The brothers will climb the three highest mountains in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mt. Kenya in Kenya, and Mt. Stanley in Uganda.

They will first start out by climbing the Umbwe route of 19,340 foot Kilimanjaro, then biking to the base of Mt Kenya to climb the technical and seldom reached North Standard route to the summit of Mt. Batian. They will then bike with all their gear to the second largest lake in the world, and largest in Africa, Lake Victoria where they will unpack their foldable canoe, and begin crossing the crocodile infested waters. Upon reaching the opposite shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda they will unpack their bikes from their canoe and head to the Ugandan/Congolese border to climb Mt. Stanley, Africa’s largest mountain range, and third tallest mountain.

“When I first found out about the issue of malaria, and that the U.S. was once infected by the disease I wanted everyone to know about it, and that something needed to be done”, Branndon Bargo said. He started a non-profit called the One Blood Initiative. The goal for the organization is to meet and establish relationships with community leaders, and other organizations such as Food for the hungry, World Vision, Soft Power Health, and Africa Fighting Malaria with the big vision to one day eradicate malaria from Africa and eventually the world. The brothers have many planned stops to meet and speak with community leaders during their 6 week expedition.

To learn more or to donate, visit One Blood Initiative.

In a little over a week, Primal Quest Badlands will start in South Dakota. There are approximately 35 teams participating in what has been dubbed “The World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition. As of the end of last week, that number has been reduced by one more as Team Nike has withdrawn after Mike Kloser was injured in an serious accident last week while mountain biking. He was taken to the hospital with a broken collarbone, a collapsed lung and 5 broken ribs. The team made the decision to withdraw from this year’s event and will not be back to defend their title (5 and holding).

Team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure (2nd place PQ Montana-2008) will have a replacement for the team’s captain this year. Denise McHale (on Team Peak Adventure last year in Montana) will take Robyn’s place on this year’s team as she has gone under the knife again to have her other hip resurfaced (one was done in 2007).

There are a lot of other experienced teams out there this year that will be focusing on that top spot while competing in an an epic location. Some of the teams to watch are Team Bones, nuun-FeedTheMachine, and Salomon/Crested Butte. However, do not count Merrell/Zanfel Adventure out of the equation just yet.

For those not familiar with Primal Quest (or checking out adventure racing for the first time):

Primal Quest Badlands is an expedition-level adventure race in which endurance athletes from around the world will compete with one another and against a 600-mile wilderness course. The 600-mile course through the Black Hills and Badlands will encompass various disciplines including:

Trekking/Off-road running
Mountain biking
Caving
Flat-water swimming
Kayaking
Fixed-line ropes course
Teams must pass through a series of mandatory check points along the course, the details of which will be disclosed during the pre-race brief when competing teams are provided maps and course passports. Racers change from one mode of transportation to another at designated transition areas. Transition areas and check points are staffed with race officials and medical personnel, as well as more than 75 volunteers from around the world.

Teams travel non-stop, day and night and the winning team will finish the race in approximately six days. Other teams will take as many as ten days to complete the course, and others will complete shortened courses as deemed necessary to reach the finish line.

We wish both Mike and Robyn a speedy recovery.

One more day left in the 15th Annual X-Games, a multi sport competition that brings some heavy talent and this years competition has lived up to all the expectations I had.

Here are some of the final standings:

Kevin Robinson wins BMX big air event with a final no-hands stunt giving him just enough to outscore five others.
Danny Way wins skateboard event after an ankle injury in the big-air rail jam at Staples Center.
Garrett Reynolds wins freestyle street competition for second consecutive year.
Jake Brown becomes the first skateboarder to free-fall from 46 feet — and live to tell about it winning the big air competition over two-time gold medalist Bob Burnquist.
Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins wins women’s skateboard vert after landing a kickflip indy and attempting two McTwists.
Marisa Dal Santo grabs gold in the women’s skateboard street final while Alexis Sablone takes the silver, Elissa Steamer the bronze.
Looking forward to seeing the Skateboard Park event tomorrow.

Also in this post a video to show you how EXTREME it gets in the X-Games this year: Big Air Rail Jam footage:
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