I am now on a cycle touring adventure from our hometown of Cheltenham, England, to South Africa. I will be travelling through Europe, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, and finally Southern Africa - taking in around 37 countries en route. I have backpacked before, volunteered, and worked in travel, so have experience in all kinds of travel around the world. My love is Africa though and seeing it from such a close perspective will be the most incredible thing I've done in my life.

Check out my website at www.themeanderercycles.co.uk

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am really keen to meet new people, experience the countries I visit from a new and genuine aspect. There are a lot of cases where speaking to locals is difficult due to the language barriers, and arranging to meet people on will allow me to learn a lot more about the places I find myself.

Interests

Travel has always been a deep passion of mine, and I have been lucky enough to travel all over the world. In the last 6 years I also took up karate, my other biggest passion - this has also allowed me to travel all over Europe, and create a second family within my karate community. I never expected this when I started it so it was a wonderful thing to get from an unexpected source.

• cycling
• karate

Music, Movies, and Books

My favourite books include man fantasy novels, like The Lord of the Rings, David Gemmell, George R R Martin, and my all time favourite is Sir Terry Pratchett.

My top 5 favourite films, in order, are: 1. Oldboy 2. In Bruge 3. Interstellar 4. Pan's Labyrinth 5. The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I have an eclectic taste in music, and don't really find much that I don't like. The exceptions to this are jazz (because in the majority of cases I just don't get it), and modern pop music (which is baffling to me).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My most amazing experience to date is to trek to visit the mountain gorillas in Uganda. The magical hour I spent with them will live with me forever, and considering that they are slowly becoming more and more endangered, I may have only just done it in time.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share fun, laughter, good stories, and some excellent cooking. I love food from all around the world, but my favourite has to be Middle Eastern food. So varied, and utterly delicious.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, England, France, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Rwanda, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, Uruguay, Wales, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

Kenya