WHAT I’M CALLED: My name is Matthew Blake but I’m more often referred to as ‘the Bike Guy’.

MY AGE? 25.

WHAT I DO? Between April 2008 and this April, I spent four years cycling around the world, visiting 61 countries on five continents, clocking up 46,000 miles. Now that I’m back in the UK I’m visiting schools and groups giving presentations about my journey to raise money for the charity SOS Children’s Villages.

WHERE I LIVE? With my parents in Chacombe, just outside Banbury.

WHO I LOVE? Anyone who rides a bike.

HAPPIEST YEAR? 2009. It began with a bang in South East Asia and finished working on an avocado farm overlooking the Pacific in California.

DARKEST MOMENT? On the road, having my camera stolen in Peru and losing several hundred pictures.

PROUDEST BOAST? It’s going to be pretty hard to top saying that I’ve cycled 46,000 miles around the world. It’s also pretty great to know that my efforts have helped build a new home for 140 children in Zambia.

BIGGEST REGRET? None. You learn from your mistakes.

WORST WEAKNESS? A sweet tooth. Drinks, sweets, cakes – anything sugary, I can’t resist. My dentist is not going to be happy when I see him.

LESSON LEARNED? When I left home I could barely fix a puncture, but through my own desire to achieve my aim I managed to spend four of the most fulfilling years of my life on a bike. Listen to those who encourage, ignore those who tell you you can’t do something and just do what you enjoy.

DULLEST JOB? I worked in an office job to fund my trip. The people were kind but I couldn’t hack sitting for nine hours in front of a computer and spent most of my time wishing I was outside.

GREATEST SHAME? I managed to cycle around the world but on the first day of my ride from Banbury to Reading I got a flat tyre four miles from my cousin’s house where I was going to stay the night. It was tipping with rain but rather than fix it I phoned him and he picked me up in his truck.

LIFELONG HERO? Alastair Humphreys is a guy who spent four years cycling around the world between 2001 and 2005. Reading about his adventures – including crossing Siberia in the middle of winter – was inspirational and gave me the desire to go out and see what I could achieve.

OLDEST FRIEND? James Green, we went to school together. We barely spoke for the four years I was away but we always had an understanding, so when I came back we went straight back to being best friends.

WIDEST SMILE? The look of excitement on the faces of children around the world when I rolled into villages on my fully-loaded bicycle, the majority had never seen anything like it and they were really inquisitive.

FAVOURITE DREAM? I’ve spent the past four years living mine, so with the big one out the way I just look forward to quiet nights in and spending some time in one place again.