A man from Raynes Park is one year into a journey that has seen him cycle across the world on his own.

Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett, 23, from Dupont Road, Raynes Park, started his mammoth trip on January 16 last year and is now in Hong Kong as he waits for a new Chinese visa.

He has covered 18,000km and passed through 27 countries on his travels.

Wimbledon Times:

Mr Kambskarð-Bennett in Tibet

He started his journey in London and has now cycled through, Europe, the Middle East and China.

Mr Kambskarð-Bennett grew up on Aylward Road, Morden but was living with his father in Raynes Park before he left.

He studied at Rutlish School in Wimbledon and after completing his degree in music from Leeds University, he moved back to the area and started saving up for his trip.

Travelling the world on your own would be a daunting challenge for anyone but to do it by bike is a whole different experience.

He said: "I wanted to go travelling on a long trip. I wanted to be experiencing new things daily but still challenging myself mentally. So a bicycle seemed like the best way to travel."

He said although he left London without much of a plan the experience has been ‘amazing’.

He said: "I’ve made friends around the world, cycled across some incredible landscapes and become a more resourceful and open minded person than I was. The more I cycle, the more I want to see".

As most families were at home tucking into their turkey on Christmas Day, Jonathan woke up in a tent some 2,000m high on the Tibetan Plateau.

He said: "My morning was good, my water hadn’t frozen and there wasn’t too much ice to scrape off the tent. I stopped in a small village and had tofu and rice for lunch, not quite turkey- but good enough."

Mr Kambskarð-Bennett had no prior experience of cycle touring before and had done minimal training before he left, but he admitted he found learning on the job more enjoyable.

He said: "One thing that was really silly was not doing a proper ‘bike fit’. As a result I got patellar tendonitis almost immediately which left me in a world of pain."

Though he finds it hard to name his favourite country, Mr Kambskarð-Bennett explained that Iran was the most ‘rewarding’ place he had visited.

He said: "It taught me not to believe everything you read in the papers.

"The people were so hospitable I was left speechless at times and I’ve never been in a country where everyone is so welcoming".

Asked if he was missing home he said: "I am missing home, of course- but that’s a good thing. The day I stop missing home is the day I’ll go home. That might need explaining!"

Follow his adventures on jkbsbikeride.com