Maybe the last descent of the Yangtze? Lead by Travis Winn, the trip included researchers and conservationists from China and abroad, all trying to figure out a way to protect this threatened resource.

Their mission is to figure out the fastest way to bring as much attention to these rivers as possible. To get people to rethink their value, to get people to understand individually and personally come to the conclusion that they´re worth protecting.

“At least 20 (new) reservoirs will be put into operation by 2020,” vice minister Hu Siyi was quoted as saying in a report on the Chinese Ministry´s website.

During the descent, they were able to see the start of some of the projects, fated to create huge resevoirs and eliminate the possibility of ever rafting the world´s third longest river.

Government reports in recent years have warned that the dam’s huge reservoir had trapped massive amounts of pollution dumped into the river system and that the reservoir’s weight on surrounding terrain was triggering landslides.

Travis Winn is also heading the China Rivers Project, an organization dedicated to saving rivers in China.

Check out this National Geographic Mission Programs video documenting what may have been the last descent of the Yangtze River.

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And I thought I spent a lot of time on my bike! This video features Inspired Bicycles team rider Danny MacAskill that was filmed over the course of several months in the Edinburgh area by Dave Sowerby. There is some of the best riding I have ever seen. Check it out!

Check out this video to learn more.

Check out this video from the Riding the Spine crew as they navigate through the Northern part of Peru. Scenic vistas, 1000+ foot drops and knee deep mud are just the beginning. I hope that camera was helmet mounted!

Gone are those speed wobbles that have kept you from bombing down that nearby hill. Thanks to some innovative longboard designs by a dedicated group of boarders up in Vancouver, B.C. Landyachtz Longboards has helped revolutionize the sport, and have created a healthy community of riders and events along the.

Most notable are their curved decks that place the riding platform closer to the level of the weels effectively lowering the center of gravity, offering a more stable ride (no more wobbles). Other innovations they have on production are decks designed with drop-through trucks to give you stability and still allow for some epic carving.

Their team of riders have been dominating the longboard racing scene for years, winning the IGSA world championship in 2005 and 2006, and you´ll see a good amount of riders using their boards in any serious downhill competition.

They have a bunch of great looking boards on deck for 2009 and come stock with their own brand of trucks (Bear Grizzly & Smokey) that look a lot like Randals. Besides their downhill decks, they have boards designed for carving, travel, hybrid, freeride, and floating.

Three new boards have just been announced : DUALLY, SWTICH, and SPUD. If you order one of these new decks before May 1st, they´ll enter your name in a drawing to receive the first production model of each shape off the production line.

Check out their website often for longboarding events in the Pacific Northwest.

Check out Silverfish Longboarding for news, reviews, videos/photos, and info on longboarding events worldwide.

Pedro Olivia, a 26 year old from Brazil spent the last four years searching for the perfect location to attempt to break the world record (previously set at 108 feet) for waterfall descents. He dropped 127 feet off the Salto Belo Falls in central Brazil. He fell for almost 3 seconds before hitting the water below at approximately 70mph. It was several minutes before onlookers realized he had reappeared near the bottom of the falls with a new world record.

           Three world renowned base jumpers, Jeb Corliss (USA), Chris “Douggs” Mcdougall (Australia), Paul Fortun (Norway), traveled 10,000 miles across the globe seeking Tian Keng, or “The Heavenly Pit.” They document their trip in a cool film that was recently showcased at the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, and received rave reviews.
           ”Millions of years old, half a mile deep, waiting for eons to test the endurance, skill and courage of the men who dare to parachute into her heart.” The perfect place for these guys to showcase their talents.
           Visit their website to find out more.

National Geographic writer, filmmaker and adventure, Jon Bowermaster has spent the last twenty years exploring the end´s of the earth, documenting his experiences in an effort to raise awareness for global issue. He has just returned from another exploration documenting in Hi-Def, Antarctica, as he experiences it on foot, kayak and small plane. His film will be released later this spring, “Terra Antarctica, Re-Discovering the Seventh Continent.”

His website, Notes from Sea Level, has recently been revamped and showcases his many impressive adventures over the years with dispatches, videos, and photos - while he posts current news about important environmental issues. One of my favorite adventures of his, was kayaking in the Alitplano, involving an extensive hike-a-kayak across the world´s largest salt lake, once the ocean floor and later an inland lake. Seeking water high in the Bolivian Andes, one of the driest places in South America, helped bring to light the destructive forces of the nearby copper mines, sucking the water out of the country.

In a monumental effort to protect the oceans, he and his teams kayaked in every single one and a few more, “Our OCEANS 8 project took us around the world by sea kayak one continent at a time; its name derives from the seven continents plus Oceania where we mounted expeditions. There are not, of course, eight oceans. If you dig out your National Geographic Atlas you’ll find five: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern Oceans. But I subscribe to the One Ocean Theory. Spin a globe and notice that all of those five oceans are connected.”

His adventures won´t stop soon, he shares on his website, “We are still out there exploring that relationship between man and the sea and upcoming 2009 filming expeditions will take us to the Maldives, Seychelles, the Marquesas, Tokyo, Croatia and more. So … stay tuned!”

Pushing the limits of what is possible with downhill mountain biking. Just about everything is labelled as extreme these days, you could probably even go to the grocery store and get extreme cottage cheese, but I think these guys qualify as extreme downhillers. Epically steep drop at the end of the video, watch the bike continue falling off the cliff.

Something out of a science-fiction novel, Jean-Yves Blondeau,  now known as “Rollerman,”  invented the 31 wheel roller suit as his graduate project at a design school in Paris.  In something akin to a ”human rollerblade,”  the wheels are positioned along the major joints of the body allowing the  user to “roll” on thier back, side, all fours, etc.  capable of reaching speeds over 60 mph. 

You can visit his website to learn more, but you´ll be better off just searching for “rollerman” on YouTube.

Bungee – surfing or skating or snowboarding or skimboarding, etc.  Trying my best not to make fun of this. Not going to consider it a sport, but will recognize it as a good way to add a bit of adrenaline to your local swimming hole or skate park.  Just hook the bungee to a rock or tree on the creekside, stretch it, and as their advertising says, “rip it”.

Rafting in Tena, dragging their bikes across cow pastures through high valley, connecting roads that don´t exist on any maps, climbing 20,000 foot peaks, and competing in HuairaSinchi, Riding the Spine has been at it in high gear as they pedal their way through South America. Check out the Riding the Spine Website for more information about their bike journey that began in Alaska.