Expedition 720 Degrees: Circumnavigating the Globe East to West, and Pole to Pole

An ambitious new expedition is about to get underway in the next few weeks that if successful, will set a new standard for human powered journeys around our planet. Adventurer Angelo Wilkie-Page is  about to attempt a double-circumnavigation of the globe, first going east to west, and then north to south. He has dubbed this amazing endeavor Expedition 720 Degrees, as he'll not only pass through all lines of longitude in his travels, but latitude as well.

The 29-year old South African will start his journey in Los Angeles in just a couple of weeks, and he'll first head north by bike across the U.S. and Canada, before arriving in Anchorage, Alaska. From there. From there, he'll travel by sea kayak across the Bering Strait, then ride his bike once again across Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Monaco, France, and Spain, before eventually arriving in Lisbon, Portugal. On the third leg of the journey, Angelo will row across the Atlantic Ocean from Portugal to Brazil, where he'll then ride out of Rio toward the southernmost tip of South America, before turning back north toward his starting point in L.A. When he reaches that point, he'll then be halfway finished with the expedition.

The next phase of the journey will start in New York City, with Angelo traveling north into Canada, and eventually on to the North Pole, before turning back south and arriving in Norway. This stage will be completed by bike, rowboat, and on foot, as the South African attempts to complete the very difficult task of reaching 90ºN under his own power. Once he has reached Norway, he will then cycle across Europe and Asia, turning south into Thailand, where he'll once again start rowing through Malaysia, past Australia, and eventually ending in New Zealand. From there, he intends to hop across the Southern Ocean, and begin a traverse of the Antarctic via the South Pole. When he has completed that arduous leg, he'll cross over into Ushuaia, Argentina, and ride his bike back to New York City, completing the final leg of his journey.

Angelo estimates that he'll cross through 48 countries on this expedition, covering a total distance of 115,000 km (71,457 miles) along the way. He'll row or paddle across four oceans, and nine seas, while also crossing six deserts, including the five largest in the world. Along the way, he hopes to set a new record for east-west circumnavigation, and become the first person to complete a Pole to Pole circumnav that crosses four antipodal points and four Equator crossings. He also is looking to become the fist to complete both circumnavigation attempts under his own power, and set a record for the most distance covered along the way too.

At the moment, Wilkie-Page is getting ready to launch the expedition, and will be in the U.S. soon to start his amazing journey. While he is of course looking forward to the adventure, he is also making this attempt for a cause as well. Angelo hopes to raise $1 million for Heifer International, a nonprofit looking to stamp out poverty and hunger in developing nations around the world.

You can follow Angelo's progress on his website and Facebook page. This will certainly be one incredibly undertaking. Good luck!

The Volvo Ocean Race is Underway!

This past weekend marked the start of the 2014 Volvo Ocean Race, an epic round-the-world competition that pits some of the best sailing crews in the world against one another on a nine-month long odyssey that includes 11 ports of calls in 11 different countries across the globe, covering more than 38,740 nautical miles in the process.

On Saturday, seven ships set sail from Alicante, Spain on the first leg of the race, which will run from that city to the first stop in Cape Town, South Africa. From there, it is on to Abu Dhabi, followed by Sanya in China, and Auckland, New Zealand. After that, they'll race across the Pacific Ocean, and round Cape Horn, to Itajaí, Brazil, before proceeding north to Newport, Connecticut. A quick jaunt will take them across the Atlantic to Lisbon, then north to Lorient, France, and finally the finish line in Gothenburg, Sweden. The crew with the fastest cumulative time between each of those cities will claim victory in the race.

The captains of the ship are all very experienced sailors, as are their crews. But for the first time in the history of the race, there is an all-femail team taking part. Each of the teams is made up of eight sailors, of which two of them must be under the age of 30. The boats also have a "multimedia reporter" onboard who is tracking their progress and sending dispatches about their performance. In the case of an all-women's team, they are allowed 11 crew members to helm their ship. To qualify for the race, the crews had to sail for 2000 miles (3700 km) non-stop to prove they are capable of handling themselves on the open ocean.

The ships have been out on the water for three days now, which is just a fraction of time in this nine-month long event. The crews have not really started to separate themselves from the pack just yet, but in the days and weeks to come, the best team, and the fastest ships will emerge from the pack.

You can follow all of the action, and keep track of the progress of each ship, at VolvoOceanRace.com.

Video: Pedal the World Documentary Teaser

Last June, German adventurer Felix Starck set out to ride his bike around the world. He spent the next 365 days covering more than 18,000 km (11,185 miles), crossing through 22 countries in the process. Now, he is preparing to release a documentary entitled Pedal the World that will share that experience. The video below is a teaser for the full-length film, which will be available soon. The two-minute clip gives us a sense of what to expect from the full movie, which follows Felix's globe-spanning adventure from start to finish.

London2London Update: Sarah Begins Cycling Stage Across North America

It has been quite some time since we last checked in on Sarah Outen and her London2London Via the World Expedition. You may recall, Sarah set out from London, England back  April of 2011 on her attempt to circumnavigate the planet completely under her own power. She started by rowing down the River Thames, then crossing the English Channel by kayak, before riding her bike across Europe and Asia. Upon reaching Japan, she then attempted to row across the Pacific Ocean in the summer of 2012, only to be caught in a tropical storm that damaged her boat, and left her stranded on the water. She returned to the Pacific last summer, finishing the row by reaching Alaska's Aleutian Islands just as the fall weather was about to make things very difficult for her.

In May of this year, Sarah resumed her journey exactly where she left off, and she has been making steady progress ever since. She, along with companion Justine Curgenven, first completed a massive kayaking stage along the Aleutian Islands that covered more than 1355 miles (2180 km) over 101 days. That consumed almost the entire summer for Sarah, who made landfall in Homer, Alaska back on August 15.

Of course, that impressive kayaking journey was just to get her back on dry land so she could start riding her bike again. Sarah has now returned to her two-wheeled mode of transportation, and launched her ride across Alaska last Saturday. She has already ridden all the way to Anchorage, and of course that is just the start of her big ride. She'll now travel by bike across the U.S. and Canada, making her way towards New York City. Once there, she'll return to the water once again and begin a row across the North Atlantic, which will eventually take her home. She now expects to wrap up the London2London journey in September of 2015. That's a bit off her original schedule, but it will still be a great achievement on her part.

Sarah is an inspiration for would-be adventurers for a number of reasons. First, her determination and will to complete this journey, no matter what hurdles get put in her way, is admirable. She has faced adversity numerous times, and experienced things that would put an end to many expeditions, and yet she picks herself up, dusts herself off, and just keeps moving ahead. But on top of that, you have to love her adventurous spirit. After rowing across the Indian Ocean back in 2009, she wanted to find other adventures to keep her occupied. She came up with this idea of circumnavigating the globe under her own power, and she set off to do it. It is easy to plan for an adventure, but it is hard to actually go out and execute it. She is doing just that.

The ride across North America should be a relatively easy one for Sarah. The roads are good, towns are plentiful, and she'll probably get good support from the locals wherever she goes. There are still a lot of miles to cover however, and I'm sure there will be times when it'll be a challenge. But ahead lies the Atlantic Ocean, and another difficult water crossing. I'm sure she isn't anxious to get back on the water again anytime soon.