Follow Mike through the Andes and raise money for disaster victims

As seasoned Fearne Cotton-watchers already know, the cycling-as-fundraising thing has really taken off and here at road.cc we're happy to cover the two-wheeled antics of the famous or otherwise as they puff and pant their way to a few quid for charity.

However, if we covered them all we'd have no room for anything else, which is why we're just a little bit picky about the ones we do choose to include.

Which is why we're very happy to feature the efforts of Mike Hayes, a road.cc'er from Camborne, Cornwall, currently cycling the Andes from Patagonia to Peru. Mike, a seasoned rider, is doing the 8,000km trip for Shelterbox (www.shelterbox.org), a disaster relief charity that are usually first on the scene these days with immediate aid in the form of a 'shelterbox' containing everything needed for people who have lost everything to live while rebuilding their lives (shelter, a means to cook and purify water, tools and warmth). They've been there for the Boxing Day Tsunami and the Haiti earthquake, to name just two disasters.

Ironically, Mike was in a small pueblo called Rodeo, around500-600km northwest as the crow flies from Concepcion when the Chilean quake hit a couple of weeks ago. “It was sufficient to wake me up and set all the trees, buildings and so on swaying. There was no damage that far away beyond a blackout.. the single storey, thick-walled adobe buildings that characterise this part of the world are pretty tough.”

Mike set off on his trip in January and returns in May. He's currently in northern Argentina, having cycled 3500km along dirt roads through the mountains in the last two months. From there he will head up onto the Bolivian Altiplano and on to Cusco in Peru from where, he says, “I will sling my bike on a plane and return to Cornwall. I won't pretend that my journey is unique, many cyclists make similar treks every year but even so it may still be interesting to the folks back home.”

Well, it's certainly that, especially when you look at his blog. He doesn't write reams, but what he does post is lively and informative, and his posts are punctuated by some fantastic photos. He also has a Just Giving page, and any donations would, of course, be very welcome.

“I won't pretend that cycling some 8000km through the Andes represents any kind of hardship for me,” he said at the start of his journey. “I love riding my bike in wild places... so, no hardship but it will be hard..... you know, dirt roads, bad weather, lack of oxygen on roads that go up to 5000m or more... and I imagine some days will be truly hideous, I usually have one or two on any bike journey when I'm cold, wet, exhausted, feeling sick, got a 100km headwind and have run out of energy food... all at the same time! But I'll still love every minute.”