After graduating from Lady Margaret Boat Club College, Cambridge and a brief internship at Oxfam I cycled from London to Beijing; a 10,000 mile epic with George Wallis and Chris Taylor along the ancient silk roads. As well as having an incredible time we also managed to raise over £26,000 for Medecins Sans Frontieres and The Oxford Children's Hospital Campaign.

Returning in late September, the plan was to get a job, start my meteoric rise to the top, retire at 35 and spend the rest of my days sipping gin and tonic on a 70ft yacht crewed by busty beauties. 'Unfortunately' the job (Finance at GlaxoSmithKline) doesn't start until September 2007 so I have an 'inconvenient' 7 months to fill and what better way to do that than seeing South America creep past at 10mph and trying to pick up some Spanish at the same time? Obviously this will mean that I won't be able to retire until I'm 36 but in life everybody must make sacrifices!

As well as the China trip I have done two other cycle tours; the first was just after leaving school when I was 18. My mate Ed and I cycled from Oxford to the Mediterranean via Normandy, the Loire, the Dordogne and the Canal du Midi. Good roads, cheap wine and incredible campsites make France the ideal place for cycle touring and I was hooked. The second trip, was Land's End to John O'Groats (ie the length of the UK) with the 'loungy yet debonair' Rich Tamblyn. Highlights of the trip included witnessing the string vest clad Rich fail to disengage his clipless pedals whilst asking a little old lady for directions and collapse into a heap beside her, and a 2 hour argument with an Aussie in a Scottish pub about how many dingoes it would take to bring down an elephant (4 apparently).

I truly believe that the bicycle is the best form of transport, it is quick enough to get you somewhere whilst slow enough to see everything on the way. It allows much more interaction with locals; people are always interested in where you are going why you are travelling by bike. The rare occasions when it is tough are more than made up for by all the little things you see when on the road. Plus when you do venture into a Backpacker hostel you can sit in the corner with a beer, look smug and await the hero worship.

I graduated from St. John's College, Cambridge in June 2006 having studied Economics for three years and Management for one year. I then spent 3 months in Thailand and China during which I seized the chance to practice my recently acquired ability to "manage stuff" by acting as "Chief Coordinator of Celebrations" for Dave, George and Chris' arrival in Beijing. Hearing just some of the tales from their trip gave me the urge to do something similar and this opportunity to pedal across South America is perfect.

The previous plan for my gap year was to study Spanish. It's needless to say the possibility to see the majority of South America, while still being able to practice mi Espanol, was far more appealing! Cycling so many miles, combined with the obvious added opportunities to meet both locals and fellow travelers, makes this, in my opinion, the best way to immerse myself in the culture.

With a distinct lack of cycling experience - the furthest I've ever cycled being to my local squash club and back - it's fair to say I feel a tad apprehensive about attacking this route; the tough climbs, tricky descents (notably down officially "the most dangerous road in the world"), ferocious winds, and, of course, the possible reemergence of "Freddie the Fungus" are all definite causes for concern. However, I'm hoping the fitness I gained from running the New York Marathon in 2006 will stand me in reasonable stead for the first three factors. And hopefully, my cycle buddy will prevent the last factor becoming a problem by keeping Freddie under control. Fingers crossed 'ey!