Mark Beaumont, the Scotsman who broke the world record for cycling the globe, is once again departing his homeland to take on a new, bigger challenge that will quite literally dwarf his previous feat.

The expeditionist extraordinaire’s next adventure will see him cycle the Americas from North Alaska to the Southern tip of the Andes in Argentina, unaided, in an odyssey that will take eight months to complete.

Furthermore Beaumont, 26, will also climb the two highest summits as he makes his way south through the Cordillera, a mountain range that spans the entire continent: Alaska’s Mount McKinley and Argentina’s Aconcagua.  Each peak soars higher than 20,000 feet.

On his journey he will pass through 15 different countries: Canada, the USA, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
 
Mark, born in Perthshire but living in Edinburgh, has been in training for his new adventure for several months, and will face many of the same tribulations as he did on his world cycle: fatigue, saddle sores and the need to consume more than double a normal man’s recommended daily calorie intake. 

And that’s not to mention the temperature fluctuations, varying from -30 °C in Arctic Alaska to the baking temperatures of Peru, which will reach +30 °C. 

But his experiences on the world cycle of 2007 / 2008 will stand him in good stead, when he dealt with crashes, muggings and near-starvation en-route to his historic time of 194 days 17 hours. 

Mark said: “I’m really looking forward to getting back in the saddle for another epic adventure.  There will be plenty of highs along the way – and no doubt a few lows when the going gets particularly tough."

Followers can keep up to date with Mark’s expedition in a variety of ways.  The BBC, who commissioned the idea, will be following his movements online, (www.bbc.co.uk/cyclingtheamericas) on Radio 1 and on BBC Breakfast.  Mark will also be updating Bebo, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter pages dedicated to his trip.

“I know I’ll draw strength from interaction with online followers who will be able to stay in touch all along the route,” he added.
 
He departs on May 27th.  www.inthewinningzone.com will also be keeping up with Mark, so watch this space for more details!