They chalked up eighth place in competition against 20 other teams from around the world and, said Lee Cairns, had a life-changing experience into the bargain.

Cairns (34) has been racing for 20 years but says he has never had a challenge like it - one that required extensive mental as well as physical preparation.

Riding through all the elements that nature could throw at them, Team Inspiration battled through cold at high altitude in Colarado, sweltering heat in Nevada and storms in Kansas.

Although many teams actually did not make the finishing line, Cairns said his team had hoped to finish in a better time than they did.

"We thought our support vehicle would have GPS facilities but it didn't, so we had to navigate from a guide issued by the race organisers.

"One night we went 17 miles out of our way after getting lost, which cost us valuable time," he said.

The plan had also been for two riders at any one time to ride for four hours while the other two rested in the support vehicle. Again, said Lee, this did not materialise.

"For instance, when we got to the mountains in Colorado, one rider decided he didn't like climbing, which left the rest of us to cover the 11,000 foot ascent, which was very tiring. One night, I also only got 30 minutes' rest."

Added to this, they only had seven support crew but in reality needed twice that number.

"We had a near accident with people nearly falling asleep behind the wheel," said Lee.

As the riders could burn anything up to 6,000 calories a day, keeping their bodies fed and hydrated was vital and, said Cairns, led to a lot of heartburn as they ate while riding. Personal hygiene was also an interesting challenge as they had to take a shower while on their bikes!

The team was raising money for the Bobby Moore Cancer Fund and a documentary DVD was made of their challenge which will be for sale shortly, part of the proceeds from which will go towards the Fund. More information can be fouind on www.teaminspiration.co.uk