Sheffield graduate embarks on colossal expedition
Imagine cycling 25,000 miles through 10 countries in a year with no company, little local knowledge and no idea of the stresses and dangers you will face. This is what ex-Sheffield student Keith Ruffles faces as he plans to cycle right round the coast of South America next year.
Keith, from Armley in Leeds, is 29 and has a big dose of itchy feet. “I’ve got a really mundane office job which has nothing to do with what I’ve done at university” he said. “I thought, if I’m not careful and I don’t do something about it, this is going to be what it’s like for the rest of my life.”
Since December Keith has applied for 120 jobs and got only three interviews. Now he’s decided to take action: “I decided one day, no I’m not going to let this happen, I’m going to do something about it.”
His journey will begin in the South Eastern city of Buenos Aires in Argentina and he will cycle clockwise round the coast of the fourth biggest continent in the world. Along the way he will cross the arid Atacama desert on the West coast and traverse the mighty Andes. He will smell the sea salt of three different oceans, see forests, swamps, grasslands and wetlands as he ploughs on in all sorts of weather. He will also face severe dangers.
Wild animals such as the jaguar and the maned wolf could attack him while he sleeps. Travelling alone, he will be a prize target for thieves and robbers as he passes through hundreds of towns and villages. Not to mention haphazard traffic, exhaustion, dehydration and infection or the risks that come with experiencing searing heat and freezing temperatures.
Far from being terrified, Keith actually draws inspiration from these challenges. “Travel is still a romantic notion” he said. “Reading the books of travellers Mark Beaumont and Riaan Manser made me think ‘I can do this too’. They were able to do this sort of thing just because they believed they could. I found that really inspirational.”
Keith starts his journey in December next year and is now planning the logistics. He recognises that he needs to learn some Spanish and Portuguese as well as arrange visas. He must also get the right equipment but crucially get fit enough to cycle for eight hours, six days a week.
He hopes his journey will inspire others like him. “I want to do it for those people who are stuck in these boring jobs where they are fed up with the way things have turned out. I want to be able to say: ‘A bit of hard work, a bit of effort and you can go and do something amazing as well – and have the adventure of a lifetime’.”
“I come from a background where I don’t have connections. But I want to be able to say to people who don’t have these connections: we can do it as well.”
“I want to have the opportunity to experience something like this before it’s too late. And if I find myself on the way, then even better.
Keith is still keen for more sponsorship. If you want to follow his progress visit: http://cyclingsouthamerica.wordpress.com/.