A BLAENAU Ffestiniog man has completed the second leg on an epic journey which will see him cycle the full length of the Americas.

Ian Jones, 44, has tackled the arduous journey from Bolivia to Houston, Texas cycling more than 7,200 miles in only 90 cycling days.

That equates to 80 lung-busting miles a day over the Andes, the longest continental mountain range in the world.

Over three legs, Ian is riding from the top of North America to the bottom of Argentina — a trip of approximately 30,000 kilometres.

Last year, Ian cycled from the same point in Bolivia to Ushuaia, the southernmost point of the Americas.

This latest stage took the Blaenau Ffestiniog carpenter through 12 different countries some of which, such as Columbia and Mexico, suffer from bad reputations for foreigners.

However, Ian was “very pleased” with how he was treated.

“Honduras was a little bit daunting and I did feel quite uneasy there but the rest of the time was absolutely fine,” he said.

“Columbia was safe and Mexico was fine as long as I kept myself to myself and didn’t go out of my way to upset anyone.

“I was most taken aback by Ecuador - it was breathtaking in every sense!

“I didn’t expect it to be as beautiful as it was, it was brilliant.”

Despite only knowing basic Spanish — “I can count to ten and say hello and goodbye, that’s about it” — Ian has traversed a fair proportion of the Americas and has only English-speaking countries (USA and Canada) left to tackle.

“I fly out to Alaska at the end of May and I’ll be travelling back to Houston to complete my challenge,” the intrepid athlete explained.

“It’ll be tricky getting across the Rockies but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“I don’t really know what drives me, it’s just something I’ve always wanted to do, it’s a fantastic experience.

“I’m not Bear Grylls or anything like that, I’m a modest guy who just loves cycling, it really is all about the bike.”