A 23-year-old man is set to take on an epic cycle ride from Bourne End to Sydney.

Pedr Charlesworth will cycle the marathon route over a year, which will take him on three of the highest accessible roads in the world, weaving through Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and eventually the north Indian Himalayas.

Mr Charlesworth, who has undertaken bike rides for charity in the past, said he was doing this journey “just for me”.

He said: “I thought ‘why not do this, why not see the world?’

“I wanted to have an adventure.”

Starting on January 20, Mr Charlesworth will cycle the 10,500-mile journey, taking to the roads for five days and then having two days off to recover.

He cycled 200 miles in a day to raise money for Endometriosis UK, after his girlfriend was diagnosed with the condition, and counted that in his preparation for his round-the-world journey.

Speaking about what he was looking most forward to, he said: “I’m quite looking forward to seeing different cultures and meeting new people.

“The daunting thing will be the mental aspect of it – the loneliness of cycling all alone.

“I’m planning on having people join me for sections of it, like my dad, cousins and friends, for a few weeks at a time.

“Because you are on your own you try to immerse yourself in different cultures and much as possible and talk to people as much as possible.”

He said he was most apprehensive about starting across Europe because of the weather, but felt “privileged” that he was able to take a year out to “do something [he has] always dreamed of doing”.

He added: “It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.”