Next year, Pete Dudfield will be cycling across Azerbaijan and Australia.

Peter Dudfield, former Vice-President of the Graduate Parlour and in his second year of a PhD studying Earth Sciences, is taking next year off to cycle 30,000 kilometres raising money for the Red Cross. He's already made a naked cycling calendar, t-shirts and mugs, along with running a cycle fixing workshop.

We caught up with him to ask more about his plans to cycle around the world. 

When did you first come up with this idea?

I cycled from Cambridge to Athens two and a half years ago, and that inspired me to do something bigger. I thought about it for a while, and then made the decision to go around the world last September.

Why did you choose the Red Cross in particular? Is there a personal link motivating any of this?

There's nothing really personal. With the Red Cross all the money goes to the International Disaster Fund, which is important, especially with everything going on in Syria at the moment. It's hard to put yourself there mentally while sitting in cosy England, but I think when I'm actually cycling around the world it'll seem really valuable.

How have you been preparing for the trip?

I ran a marathon on Sunday. I've been running more than cycling; I'm glad to finish running. I'm just about to start cycling; I'll probably ride every weekend, doing a hundred kilometers in a day. I bought my first maps the other day, and I'm going to book my first flight tonight, so that's exciting.

Which flight are you booking?

I'm booking the one from London to Athens, where I'll start.

When are you leaving to cycle around the world? And where will you go?

On the first of September I'm flying to Athens, then cycling into Turkey, through Georgia and Azerbaijan. I'm flying to Beijing, then cycling south to Singapore, then flying to Perth and cycling across the south of Australia. I might have to get lifts some days, like if the day is two hundred kilometers across the Nullarbor Plain, but it'll be a good challenge anyway.

I'm flying from Sydney to Christchurch, then cycling to Auckland, flying from Auckland to LA, then cycling across to the East Coast, flying to Portugal and cycling back to the UK from there, probably via a cross-channel ferry.

What are you most worried about with regard to the trip?

Animals, camping... the idea of waking up with a snake beside me. But nothing else. The cycling doesn't really scare me – it's always exciting, with new places to see and new people to meet.

One reader describes your PhD work as “going to save the world through rocks”. What does this mean? Do you see any connection between your PhD and Peter Pedals?

Haha, well, my PhD is to do with heat storage and energy security, making the world more efficient. I see the two activities as quite separate, really different. But yeah, I'm always trying to do something good and to give something back. I've been pretty lucky and privileged and there's always more to do. But they're quite separate.

Do you have any funny stories from your fundraising and promotional work so far?

The nude calendar was fun to make. One morning we were taking a photo in Pembroke from D Staircase and someone came up behind me, saw that I was naked and ran away. We don't know who it was.

How has the reception of the calendar been?

Some people were shocked, but most people just found it funny. Some people don't want to actually buy it, so they can buy something else instead. It's given me a good bit of press exposure; I've been in some of the Cambridge newspapers.

[Editor's note: you can find one such article -with photo- here.]

One of our readers has enquired as to whether there will be a second edition of the naked calendar?

We'll see. We've talked about doing another one when I return. I'm thinking of taking photos around the world, like if people dare me to do things. But I might get arrested if I'm naked publically in some countries.

Your next fundraising event is a bike ride from London to Cambridge. What should people expect from this?

It should be a really good day. There are a few prizes, and it's a really nice ride, coming out of London along a canal. There are loads of pubs along the way. There will be prizes for fastest male, fastest female, best fancy dress, best effort and best photo enroute. There are kegs of beer from Adnams, a box of fudge from the fudge kitchen, a hamper from Limoncello and a brewery tour from Adnams. We'll finish in a pub.

Everyone should bring their friends; cyclists are really friendly. There'll be cars picking people up along the way, but it should be a good achievement, and a lot of fun.

You can visit Pete's website here. There are also mugs and t-shirts for sale in the GP. He's been doing a fantastic job raising money for the Red Cross so far. If a hundred people join in Pete's ride from London to Cambridge on May 11^th and pay the suggested donation of £10, he'll be over halfway to his target of £10,000 before term finishes!