Epic biking holidays - of a lifetime?

I never had the rudimentary gap year traveling before university, seeing it as a bit of a cliché I set upon knuckling down with my studies and getting a degree. I never had that moment of discovery and finding out 'who I really am' and to some extent it's a regret.

But I'm feeling inspired and the inspiration comes from two adventures offered by Compass Expeditions. In particular are the Road of Bones ride from London to Magadan and the 360 degree tour of South America.

The Road of Bones covers a quarter of the world's surface across Switzerland, Hungary, Russia and Mongolia, tackling some of the dauntingly named routes such as the Road of Bones and the Road of Death. But it's the sights that are visited along the way that sell this journey. In Romania the convoy passes Dracula's castle, Turkey sees a glimpse in to the Ottoman Empire, venturing across Russia and moving on to the legendary land of Ghengis Khan in Central Asia. Taking place over 105 days from May to September in 2012, the trip journeys across blazing deserts, inland seas and mighty mountains.

If that doesn't tickle the fancy then there is the 125-day circumnavigation of South America. Taking place in 2013 with over 20,000 miles covered and approximately 83 days on a bike the journey will take in the entirety of South America, from the steamy jungles of Amazon to the frozen land in the far south area of Patagonia.

Compass Expeditions offer trips where 'you get what you pay for'. From the inclusion of the class-leading BMW GS's as rental bikes, to ensuring that the you are well catered for, organising all the accomodation to make sure the adventurers get the most out of their trips.

Sadly they are both out of my price range with the Road of Bones hitting the bank at $27,990 and the 125 day tour of South America costing $33, 990, excluding bike rental fees. The tours can be split in to sections and for full pricing and more details, head to compassexpeditions.com.

If you want to make your own way and adventure on two-wheels check out our top 10 inspirational books and the do's and don't's of traveling and how to do it on the cheap

By Robin Goodwin