Ben Cunninghamis one of four students who hope to make a mint for charity by cycling from Alaska to Argentina
EVERYONE AT COLLEGE is studying for exams at this time of year. For two of us at Trinity it's no different. Except that, after our exams, we'll fly with two friends to Alaska to embark on a nine-month, 25,000km cycle to Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of Argentina. We'll be following the Pan-American Highway, which is the world's longest road, spanning two-thirds of the earth's circumference.
The four of us have been training for more than a year.I was the final member of the group to sign up. Alan Gray is the one who got the idea for the expedition last year. He recruited Kevin Hillier and they were soon joined by Brian McDermott.
Our target is to raise €200,000 for Aidlink, a charity that helps street children in Kenya. Thanks to our sponsors, led by D4hotels.com, we're well on our way.
The logistics of planning the trip make cramming for exams almost enjoyable. Take the first leg, which will take us more than 1,500km from Prudhoe Bay, in Alaska, to Haines Junction, in Canada. We aim to complete it in 14 days - although we have been advised not to set out before taking a half-day course in bear safety.
Brown bears are a common hazard in Alaska, so we'll be carrying pepper spray, and our nightly camp will be ringed by electric fencing.
Brian's brother Niall, a chef, is driving our support jeep. He'll be carrying our tents, provisions, first aid and spares, ranging from brake pads to rims.
This is not the first time this journey has been completed by bicycle, but it is the first Irish team attempt. After Haines Junction, the expedition, which we have broken into 14 stages, takes us through Vancouver and onwards via San Francisco and Los Angeles to San Diego. We then cycle the length of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula into El Salvador and Honduras.
From the time we arrive in Mexico until we leave Equador, a team from FreightWatch Group, a logistics-security agency set up by a former Army officer, Kieran O'Connor, will be looking after us.
We will descend through Peru and Chile before entering Argentina for the final 4,000km. We hope to arrive in Ushuaia on February 24th next year.
We are offering friends and supporters the opportunity to do a "leg with the lads" by joining us for sections of the trip. Participants have to raise €2,000 of our fundraising goal and pay their own expenses. The response has been fantastic: 15 people have committed so far, and the number is growing. At this point it looks as if we will have guest bikers on all of our 14 stages.
We know we will encounter problems we have not thought of, but we have tried to anticipate as many of them as possible. So, for example, we have built extra days into our schedule, which we can put aside for recovery in the event of sickness or minor accidents.
We're set to go as soon as our finals are over. We leave Ireland on June 9th, to start the first leg on June 20th. You can follow us on the internet and in a monthly log in Go.