When Mount Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary was asked why he did it, his response was: "Because it's there".

A similar philosophy has motivated explorers and adventurers down through the ages, all of whom have set themselves seemingly impossible goals, and subsequently succeeded in pushing boundaries, opening up new frontiers, and educating countless people in the process.

Now it is the turn of Mr. Gray Robinson to set off on his own odyssey of daring and courage, in part with colleague Alex Karpinsky, and hopefully achieve some sort of mark on history. Specifically, the intrepid Bermudian plans to set off in 2005 on a carefully planned, four-year circumnavigation of the globe using various forms of transportation, none of which will have a combustible engine. These will include pedal cycling; kayaking; and kite sailing.

"There has never been an expedition or project quite along this theme ? i.e. without the combustion engine," Mr. Robinson says. "My route will start in Cape Town, South Africa; go through 48 countries, and cover 73,000 miles. There is nothing easy about what I am trying to do."

From Cape Town, his planned route will cover South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, then continue into Egypt, on to Jordan and Syria, towards Turkey, and then along the coasts of such European countries as Italy, Spain and France.

To reach England and Ireland, Mr. Robinson plans to cross the English Channel and the North Irish sea by kite sail ? a sport he teaches. He will bicycle through the United Kingdom before heading back to the European countries, up through Russia, down into China and Nepal towards Thailand. To reach Malaysia and Indonesia, he aims to kayak over the Gulf of Thailand.

"It will take me one and one half years to make it to Indonesia before I make the voyage by sail with a trained captain from Indonesia to Australia, and then, following circumnavigating that country by bicycle, sailing on to South America," Mr. Robinson says. "Starting in Africa will get the major trials and tribulations out of the way as start."

The expedition is not some pipe dreamed up by a starry-eyed adventurer with an incurable love of the open road. On the contrary, in addition to doing something he believe is physically unique, Mr. Robinson is also incorporating an educational component not dissimilar to that used by Alan Paris during his single-handed voyage around the world.

"Through my on-line interactive youth programme, entitled 'Synergy 'n' Motion', I will be bringing an educational format to classrooms in the Government schools, and I am also working on a programme with Saltus Grammar School.

The package will be updated every two weeks, and will have a full portfolio of photographs and literature on the educational aspects of my journey," Mr. Robinson says. "There will also be interaction with the students from Bermuda and other first and third world countries. In this way I will become a link between the project and the students, and all of the components that go with it: the culture, history and language. It will be a way of exposing Bermuda students to other cultures."

The link between Mr. Robinson and the schools throughout his journey will be via the Synergy 'n' Motion.bm. website, which is currently being set up, and Webquest, an avenue in which some of Bermuda's students are actively involved, which incorporates many different educational aspects: science, history, geography and more.

Mr. Robinson, who was born in Bermuda but raised in Canada from the age of 12, holds a doctorate in traditional Chinese medicine from the International School of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Victoria, British Columbia. He is no stranger to physical challenges, having already completed two major bicycling expeditions in coastal Australia. "I know the trials and hardships, the pains and struggles, where to find water, and more," he says.

Having already spent two and one half years meticulously researching and planning the 2005 expedition, some aspects of which are still incomplete, the adventurous active sports instructor is already working on his physical training, but will leave the Island next October to begin a five-month cycling training programme.

"I need mountainous areas for my riding and good, 10,000-feet mountain bikes to get my body ready for the kind of stress level I will encounter because, in addition to myself, I will be pulling an extra 130 pounds in an especially-designed trailer which will hold my camping equipment and other gear, including a roll-out solar panel to power my laptop, medicines, water-purifying equipment, bicycle repair items, a small stove, and more," he says.

Mr. Robinson will be riding a special, 21-gear bicycle, and expects to wear out four of them by expedition's end. As an amateur writer, he also plans to publish material about his experiences as his odyssey progresses.

He is delighted with the support he has received from schools regarding the educational components of his expedition, and also the enthusiastic response of corporate sponsors to date, to whom he has been introducing the project through PowerPoint presentations.

Even so, Mr. Robinson is still looking for corporate sponsorship, and anyone wishing to contact him may do so through the website synergynmotionhotmail.com. While under no illusions about the challenges he has set himself, the ambitious entrepreneur and adventure sports instructor sums up his decision to embark upon this innovative expedition as wanting "to see if it can be done".

"Not every man or woman every day does ground-breaking feats that expose a new vision of what we can do to test the boundaries of our physical and mental strengths," he says.

"My personal goal is to achieve a pinnacle in global expeditions and to relay this back to Bermuda through the educational framework. I have a big vision of where I want to go with this project. I am confident, and I have an excellent support team."