After more than five years on the road, a Manx cyclist has finished his 40,971 kilometre (25,458 mile) trek which took him all the way from Canada to the southern tip of South America.
Colin Bankes-Jones, from Foxdale, set off from Montreal, Canada in March 2019 after graduating with a physics degree from Aberdeen University.
By the trip's end he was averaging around 100 to 150 km (62-93 miles) per day depending on terrain, and either staying with hosts he met online or sleeping in his hammock in the wild.
Asked how he felt when he got to Ushuaia, Argentina - the 'southernmost city in the world' - he replied: 'I'm not quite sure, really.
'It was sort of a "Oh wow, how did I get here?" moment.
He added: 'The actual effect of the trip hasn't hit home yet, I think it will on the flight home from Buenos Aires'.
The 28-year-old explained how he felt particularly 'euphoric' because he reached Ushuaia by cycling through the 'absolutely beautiful' Garibaldi mountain pass.
As for what he is most looking forward to about getting back to the island this summer, Colin said: 'Having some Manx food again, I've yet to find a decent fish and chips anywhere - and pasties.
‘It'll definitely be nice to have a rest from all the things that come with traveling, being able to relax and not worry about where your wallet or bags are,' he added.
Colin lived off savings and from busking, carrying a folding travel guitar.
'Back home I plan on re-recording the songs I published while traveling, and releasing more written about my memories of the trip,' he said.
The former bicycle mechanic praised the dependability of his Genesis Tour De Fer touring bike, which he adapted to his liking and loaded down with pannier bags.
Among the hardest parts was a month cycling a 1,240km (770 mile) route in Chile, the Carretera Austral, which he described as 'about 60% dirt road, with some stunning but horrible hills' through harsh winter.
Colin said he anticipates how difficult it will be to readjust to life off the road.
'The big question is as soon as I get back in the island, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to stay put or not,' he explained.
'Because on this trip after just a week in one place, I had the urge to get back on the bike and keep riding.
'From what I've heard from other travellers who've done long touring stints touring, they tend to fall into a depression after, which I will be trying to avoid as much as I can - so I don't think I'll be staying put for too long.
'To me that is the scariest part of the trip, coming home,' he added.
The daily exercise itself had powerful mental benefits, he pointed out: 'Cycling is literally an addiction at this point, it generates a very high levels of dopamine - so when I stop I don't get that "hit" any more.'
Colin said that he had been 'incredibly lucky' in avoiding injuries over such long distances, having only 'done a bit of damage to one or few tendons', mainly his Achilles tendon.
Should he feel the need for any future adventures, he aid he would quite like to cycle through Scandinavia next, particularly Norway.
I asked Colin what the most memorable moments were from the whole journey.
He listed among them: The Winnepeg Folk Festival in Canada, camping on the banks of Lake Titicaca 'in complete isolation', and the scenes he witnessed during the protests in Juliaca, Peru.
There was also riding with the 'Ruta Chicimecas' in Mexico, a pilgrimage of cyclists who ride the length of the country in their hundreds.
Reflecting on what the trip gave him as a whole, Colin told me: 'I developed more confidence, a better physical condition, learned Spanish and maybe a little bit more patience - understanding how things can be perceived when a visitor speaks the native language.
'The way I'm looking at it is that I did four years at university, so this is five years at the university of life'.
