THE MOST recent chapter of the 350South bicycle journey brings with it the most significant changes yet. After six months of journeying south through Alaska, Canada and the United States, myself and Lee have decided to separate for the remainder of the trip, as our goals and expectations diverge for the first and final time.

Just a day after the bells for New Year sounded, myself and Lee got together and talked earnestly about what we wanted for the voyage down to Argentina. It was clear that our ambitions and goals for the cycle were now divided, with Lee hoping to spend perhaps two years traversing Central and South America, but I wanted a quicker finish.

Initially we had set out with the idea that we would cycle the length of the Americas in 350 days, but as time moved on we realised that this was not the best option if we were to honestly enjoy the sights, environments and people of the remaining 12 countries.

After all, tying oneself to a specific day limit would always play on the mind when deciding to take a day off the bike or making a judgement of whether to visit a place or not. However, I still felt that I should aim for a September finish, which would allow me complete the voyage in a South American spring and relatively favourable weather conditions.

After the split, I moved to new territories of Mexico and took the ferry from the Baja California peninsula to the mainland. With that, a completely new landscape opened up.

Baja had been a desert defined by large cacti and a sparse population with towns and services only available every two or three days. However, the Mexican mainland marked a hotter climate with temperatures reaching 28C each day, more people and huge mountains to overcome. The latter was the most difficult part as I often needed to climb over 600m daily and faced episodes of heat exhaustion, dehydration and frustration with a terrain I hadn't experienced since Canada.

But for every day where heat and mountains attempted to slow progress, there was another where the kind-heartedness of local people was revealed. A few weeks back while heading into an agricultural valley, I was offered a police escort along a small and winding 14km road that led up to a mountain pass.

The first escort of the trip, it surely tested the patience of the stern faced police who chugged up 800m in altitude at a painfully slow pace behind me. Little did I know that another escort awaited from the next town over and the process repeated itself until I had a total of four patrols protect me from any dangerous drivers on the back roads of western Mexico.

Cycling in mainland Mexico also means that the days of isolation are well and truly over. With a population of 109 million, it's no wonder that I pass several Gorey-sized towns each day. On the plus side, though, I have been sleeping in a bed for over three weeks now because of the large number of hotels, motels and guesthouses in these towns. And for five euro a night, you get what you deserve! Hot water and some warmth aren't always included in the price but after sleeping in a tent for over 100 days thus far, these places are a dream come true.

Right now I'm nestled in the Valley of Mexico, a mere 40km from Mexico City, the fifth largest in the world.

After visiting a butterfly sanctuary, exploring ancient ruins and climbing atop 2,000-year-old pyramids for sunrise, I'm about to head for the metropolis that lies just an hour away by bus. I've decided to leave the bike with a hotel as I dare not navigate my way through the sprawl of this enormous city.

I've a few Irish people to meet there and look forward to filming them as part of the documentary which sees me track down far-flung Irish diaspora. Ten-minute episodes of these recordings are now airing on Setanta Sports Ireland and are being shown up to 20 times per week, which is a massive boost in sharing this journey with a wider audience.

I would also like to thank the people of the South East for their continued support and for helping me get closer to the €100,000 I hope to raise for The Carers Association of Ireland. In particular, I wish to thank Dunnes Stores and Tesco, Gorey, as well as Hickey's Pharmacy and Paddy Blues for running fundraisers and donating gifts for raffles.

If you would like to follow the 350South trip, visit www.350south.org. If you wish to donate, visit www.mycharity.ie/event/350south