From Britain to Gambia in a beat-up Ford Bronco

"Just make sure your life insurance policy is up to date," was the reaction Jeff Domzalski got when he told his wife he was planning to drive an aging jeep from the south coast of England across the Sahara Desert to the west coast of Africa.

Not unreasonable when you consider that his nearly 3,000-mile trek, to a continent he'd never stepped foot on before, would be over potholed roads and through sand dunes in a beat-up car. "I have an elevated sense of adventure," jokes the white-bearded accountant from Cleveland.

While competitors in the famous Paris-Dakar Rally (an annual off-road race from France to Senegal, which this year actually started in Lisbon and ends this weekend) can have scores of support trucks, planes, and helicopters screeching to their aid, Mr. Domzalski and his fellow drivers in the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge had to rely on their wits.

Although the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge follows a very similar route through Europe and Africa, it is less about who can clock the fastest time and more about camraderie, resourcefulness, and cultural exchanges. Participants must use old cars that cost less than £100 (about US$200).

The rally's founder, Julian Nowill, a Briton who describes his day job as "frustrated stockbroker," points out that once the rally is under way, no outside support, mechanics, or backup trucks are allowed. The drivers are on their own. "I set up this rally in 2003 to take the mickey out of the 'Big One'... to prove you can do it in a [junky] car with no experience or special skills," he explained.

Rookies are welcome but only those with stamina, deep reserves of resourcefulness, and nerves of steel need apply to complete the journey down through Europe, across the Strait of Gibraltar, into northern and western Africa.

Surprisingly, it was not crossing the Sahara Desert nor picking his way through a minefield that proved toughest for Domzalski. No, his worst moment came in Spain, driving his old Ford Bronco through the snowy mountains after dark.

"Suddenly, BOOM! The left rear tire blew. Fortunately I was able to control it without flipping or going off the road," the father of two recalled. "We ended up driving over 200 miles in the dark on a spare tire that had a leak, and with an overfuelling problem until 5 a.m. when the spare was flat, the trucked stalled, and we were stuck. It was one of the most stressful nights of my life."

Once repaired, though, the Bronco came into its own in the desert, its four-wheel drive helping to rescue tiny MINI Coopers and Ford Escorts from the dunes. The sands did claim one car, however, that was swiftly stripped of useful parts and then abandoned. Fortunately its crew were spared that fate and managed to hitch rides in rival cars.

For most drivers, the trek is all about camraderie. "We did fight, we did argue... but in the end we always stuck together," Domzalski says.

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