Epic cycle ride for old school friends

Joshua Fuller, 19, and Toby Hanson, 18, former pupils at Belmont Grosvenor school, Birstwith, near Harrogate, are starting the cycle trip from Buenos Aires in Argentina to Cusco in Peru on March 23.

Their epic journey will see the pair ride through Chile and Bolivia, climbing a 19-mile glacier and traversing the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca, which is 3,811m above sea level.

At the end of their trip, which they expect will take about four months, the duo hope to have raised thousands of pounds for their two chosen charities, Ouch UK and Spinal Research.

“We are feeling really excited about the trip and we are getting in as much training as we possibly can at the moment, ” said Joshua, who lives in Killinghall, near Harrogate.

“We are both in our gap years after leaving school and wanted to do something different, and raise money for a good cause as well. We are funding the trip to South America ourselves, so every pound we raise will go to our chosen charities.”