Currently...

The six of us have quit our jobs to cycle 12,000 miles from London to Cape Town in South Africa. We'll bike through 30 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to raise a chunk of money for the street children projects that we'll visit along the way.

Before I escaped...

The team are quitting or taking long sabbaticals from their current day jobs to take on this epic adventure:

• Craig heads up the fundraising and alumni relations at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies - part of the University of London)
• Loretta is a paediatric clinical psychologist in Oxford's John Radcliffe Children's Hospital
• Gareth is a primary school teacher in London
• Scott is a senior manager in a major insurance firm in the City
• Jodi is a speech and language therapist in Burnley
• Martyn is a website content editor in Manchester
  

The bottom line is that we're all ordinary people doing something out of the ordinary. We're not particularly good at cycling or hardcore outdoor enthusiasts but we're going to give it a go.

My moment of truth...

The first moment was coming down Snowdon at the end of a very long, wet and windy three peak challenge when a friend asked "What next?" - that was seven years ago.

We've had a number of false starts but it's all come together over the last year and we've built up some real momentum.

We all have different reasons for doing this. For me (Craig) work is just that; I've got a great job that's well paid but it's something that I have to do in order to do the things I actually want to.

It may seem irresponsible but I can't wait to reach the start line on 7th August and have no other responsibility than cycling each day and waking up in a new place.

Planning for it...

The logistics for this sort of journey could easily get out of hand. We're striking a balance between the two extremes of no planning and having a detailed daily plan.

The fun part has been poring over the maps and Lonely Planet guides to see what fun stuff we can do along the way and the places we're going to wake up in.

The whole idea is to gain a sense of freedom from the constraints of life here in the UK so we've got a vague route and timescale but we're going to take each day as it comes and not put ourselves under any pressure to be at a certain point by a certain time.

If we want to push it for a few days then fine, but if we find somewhere nice we want to stay for a few days then that's also fine.

The worst and best bits...

The best thing is seeing something that you've dreamt about for seven years becoming reality and sharing that with a great team. When others get it and share your vision - that makes the whole thing worthwhile and when they follow it up with action - like our charity partners and sponsors - then that is an amazing buzz.

Realising that this crazy adventure could make a real and lasting impact in the lives of Africa's street children has been a revelation and very inspiring, there is a lot of amazing work going on that we're looking forward to raising awareness and funds for.

The flip side has been the early-morning-waking to see if sponsorship deals would come through or if we'll get enough people joining us for our first day on the London to Brighton.

But to be honest all the stressful stuff is self-inflicted as we chose to do it this way and the benefits far outweigh the cost!

Best advice...

It may be a cliché but Mark Twain's quote sums it up for us - from the start that's really encapsulated the spirit of the thing for the team and why we're doing it.

We don't want to wake up when we're sixty and realise that life has passed us by.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Useful resources and information...

There are too many to mention at various points but to name a few... Reise maps have been brilliant, countless books, the Royal Geographical Society have been a brilliant source of advice and contacts.

Talking to others who have trodden similar paths before has been excellent, particularly Al Humphreys.