FOR many people, setting themselves a challenge means giving up chocolate for a week or vowing to hit the gym more often.

But when three New Forest men decided to do something a bit different, they really did mean business.

Ian Webb, Vaughan Pyne and Jonathan Coppack will leave their day jobs behind when they embark on the challenge of a lifetime on November 16.

They aim to cycle from the bottom of South America to the top - covering more than 5,000 miles in six months.

During the expedition they will pass through nine of the continent's 13 countries, carrying their own food, water and shelter in often blistering heat.

Much of the journey will be made on very poor roads, in some cases so poor that it will only be possible to cover a few miles a day.

Ian, a trained marine electrical engineer from Sowley, said: "This is not an average backpacking holiday. This is a very, very hard-going trip on a very tight schedule to cover the amount of miles and see all the things we want to see. It is not a trot across the continent."

Along with Vaughan and Jonathan, both from Hythe, he aims to raise more than £30,000 for charities including Plan International and Oxfam.

They also want to raise awareness of Fairtrade issues and businesses by visiting a number of the organisation's projects along the way.

Ian, 36, stopped sleeping in his bed a long time ago to get used to roughing it, but he isn't worried about missing his home comforts.

"The only thing I will miss is not being able to share all the exciting things we will be doing and seeing with all my friends. I'll just have to store it up for six months," he said.

While Vaughan, 27, will be able to return to his job as a high ropes instructor and Jonathan, 28, to his as a carpenter, Ian is thinking about getting into worm farming when he gets back.

The men will shoot a video diary of their adventure, which they hope to get on national TV when they return.

For more information on their trip, or to sponsor them, log on to the website www.southamerica5000.org

WITH £30,000 OXFAM COULD:

Buy 12,000 buckets used around the world to help people to keep water clean in emergency situations

Buy 9,000 textbooks for schoolchildren in Zambia

Feed 1,500 children in Malawi, who have lost their parents to AIDS, for three-and-a-half months

Pay the salaries of 600 trainee teachers in Kenya for five weeks

Pay for 2,100 water distribution pipes to help bring clean, safe water to people.