Team crosses desert by wind power

Kieron Bradley designed the three-wheeled kite buggies. Photograph: www.aeolian.co.uk

Three men have succeeded in their bid to cross 625 miles of desert using just wind power.

Kieron Bradley, 30, and Peter Ash, 34, both from Norwich, Norfolk, and Prof Brian Cunningham, 61, of Bolton, rode kite buggies across the Gobi Desert.

The £17,000 buggies faced rugged terrain and extreme temperatures during the 17-day expedition, which began in the Altai region of Mongolia.

The team returned to the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar on Friday.

Unforgiving landscape

Prof Cunningham, who led the expedition, said: "If we had known before we left how unforgiving the landscape really is, we might have questioned the feasibility of the expedition.

"One of the major problems we had not foreseen was the thick thorn bushes that cover most of the Gobi."

This was the toughest ordeal any kite-buggying rig has undergone, but it was worth every minute Peter Ash

Mr Bradley, an ex-Formula One engineer designed the three-wheel, aluminium-framed buggies, which had large tyres and roll bars to protect the pilot in the event of a crash.

He said: "I thought I'd over-designed these buggies, but when I see what they've been through I think I got it just about right."

Mr Ash said: "This was the toughest ordeal any kite-buggying rig has undergone, but it was worth every minute."

The team, which included Prof Cunningham's wife Christine in a back-up vehicle, flies back to the UK next week.