By Jim Cavan and Marissa Lucas

The summer has always been the perfect time of year for road trips. But while most teens and twenty-somethings look to cover a few hundred miles of North America – or perhaps if they’re really adventurous, going coast to coast – Dover resident Nick Supple plans to take the whole concept just a little further.

How much further? How about London to Ulan Bator, Mongolia?

If that sounds incredibly far, that’s because it is – 10,000 miles to be exact. To put it in perspective, that’s like driving from Boston to Los Angeles and back again. And even then you’d have to drive to Portland, Oregon to officially match the feat.

On July 24th Supple and two friends, Jenna Delp and Nick Dale, will join hundreds of others from all over the globe for the Mongol Rally, a grueling annual charity event that typically sees fewer than half the entrants actually finish. No wonder the event touts itself as “the greatest adventure on earth”.

But what’s perhaps even more incredible than driving across two continents over four consecutive weeks, is how Supple plans to get there: in a car run entirely on waste vegetable oil.

All participating vehicles must have engines no larger than 1.2 liters. However, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, Supple and his team – who call themselves the Non-Toxic Avengers – will be the only one driving a vehicle run entirely on veggie waste oil.

To say that Supple and company are excited would be a dramatic understatement. “The trip itself is going to be incredible,” exclaims Supple. “We’re all excited to see new places, meet new people, and see new cultures. I love to experience new things and just the fact that I'm a part of this great adventure, all for two causes, the environment and in memory of someone who I am lucky to call a friend, that hits home for me and there aren't even words to describe what I feel.”

The team must raise at least 1,700 dollars to participate. Funds raised will go to Mercy Corps Mongolia, which works with communities in that country to help make them economically viable while teaching citizens how to properly utilize their resources.

In addition to helping support Mercury Corpse, Supple and his crew will be donating all extra proceeds to the Brad Delp Foundation, which raises money for music grants, scholarships and funding programs for schools.

One of the three crew members, Jenna Delp is the daughter of Brad Delp, who died in 2007 and was best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the monumental 70s rock band Boston.

“The overall goal is to raise awareness for environmental issues and money for charity,” Supple explains. “Aside from that my personal goals are to complete this challenge and show people that veggie oil is a viable source of fuel. People have options.”

The adventure started a little over a year ago, when Supple and Delp first started seriously entertaining the idea. As Supple recalls, “we were hanging out and she looked at me and said 'so, want to go on an adventure?' Of course I was hooked with that one question,”

They immediately began the planning and fundraising. After much scouring, the crew eventually found their car: a 2001 Saxo Desire – christened “Baldrick”, a British television character made famous by comedian Tony Robinson – that they purchased on EBay and which will be waiting for them when they arrive in England in July.

Because at the end of the trip the car is donated to the Mongolian government to help raise money for Mercury Corps, any vehicle that participates has to be less than ten years old. A British bio-fuel company, Oilybits.com, will be donating the converted diesel engine.

The journey begins on July 24, and typically takes three to four weeks to complete. Beyond trying to raise money and awareness about energy alternatives, the crew is also considering turning the trip into a full-fledged documentary.

While the crew will certainly have their work cut out for them, that doesn’t mean a little sightseeing isn’t on the agenda “We have a few places mapped out, like the Haunted Forrest and Dracula's Castle,” says Supple.” Me and Jenna are really into the horror genre and would love to see these places. Other than that we need to focus on our schedule and make sure we get to Ulaan Baatar on time with the rest of the rally teams”.

Indeed, keeping on schedule and keeping up with the rest of the crews will be critically important: the Mongol Rally teams are making this trek through some of the most remote areas on the planet, and doing it without backup or support. Most will be depending on maps and a compass rather than GPS technology.

For Supple, all of it – the fun, the responsibility, the challenge, and the raising of awareness – makes this the true adventure of a lifetime.

“It's really going to be an experience that I'll reflect on for the rest of my life,” says Supple. “How many people will be able to say they did this? Kind of blows the whole back packing through Europe theory out of the water”.