Louise ready to tackle Amazon

9:57am Friday 9th February 2007

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YOU can do anything if you really want, says a cyclist from Bradford on Avon who is aiming to tackle 750km around South America despite declaring herself to be not really a sporty person who is scared of spiders'.

Louise Mumford, 33, is training daily for the 12-day cycle through the Amazon rainforest and up high altitude mountains to raise cash for Bristol-based charity CLIC Sargent.

She aims to raise £2,000 to help them with their work for children with cancer and leukaemia and their families, and is over halfway towards her target.

Her 12-day trek, which begins on April 4, starts at Machu Picchu, an ancient city high in the Andes Mountains in Peru.

She will have to cycle roughly 63km a day at 3,000ft, camping rough in small villages, and eventually reaching deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle.

Miss Mumford said: "I am not very fond of spiders, and I am not a natural athlete either. I liked cycling at school, and when I got a bike I got the idea to do this."

The TV commercial producer, who works in London and divides her time between her home there and her mum's home in Ashley Road, has been training hard for the trip, which is organised by a charity challenge organisation.

She said: "I have been cycling about 20 miles every day. It's always been my ambition to go to Peru, and with some of my friends having gone through cancer, I decided I wanted to do something for charity.

"I'm going on my own, but I have been emailing other people who are also going, which has made me a little bit more at ease. I'm trying to convince my flatmate to come and he is thinking about it."

Miss Mumford wants to get the message across that anyone can take part in physically demanding charity events.

She said: "I'm no athlete and I'm not really a sporty person. I have never done anything like this before.

"I just want to convince others that you can do it if you really want to.

"Nothing is impossible if you set your heart on it."

If you can support or donate towards Louise's cause, email her on louisemis@gmail.com