So spare a thought for husband-and-wife cyclists Tim and Naomi Steere, who will be undertaking a wholly different type of festive mission this December 25.

While the rest of us will be working hard scoffing delicious food, the brave Bramley couple will be traversing the length of South America on a tandem bike.

And while we watch the Christmas movie and take that well-earned nap, the Steeres are likely to spend Christmas Day cycling through the desert – and camping under the stars in Argentina's Lake District, near its border with Chile.

The fearless twosome are swapping turkey and trimmings for the toughest South American terrain, and it's all to raise money and awareness for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death.

The young pair's ultimate mission is to cycle 10,000 miles and raise £10,000 in the process.

They will ride tandem from the world's most southerly town, across the driest desert, climbing to the highest capital city, before descending through the Amazon basin to complete their self-imposed challenge on the Caribbean coast – all within six months.

They are jetting of this week to Argentina to begin their gruelling journey.

They will begin in the Ushuaia district of Argentina, riding through Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Peru, and ending in Caracas in Venezuela in six months if all goes to plan.

The only supplies they will have will be carried in four panniers, the maximum load they can carry on their bicycle made for two.

The couple decided to do the trek in aid of the Foundation for the Study of Infant deaths, after Naomi , 27, lost a brother to cot death.
They gave up their jobs to take on the mammoth mission. Tim was a data analyst with npower and Naomi a nurse at Leeds General Infirmary.

The couple have been saving money for several years to fund the costs themselves and have rented out their Bramley home.

Every penny they raise will go the charity.

Asked why they had decided to ride tandem rather than separate bikes,
Tim, 26, said: "For the novelty of it. Also, it would be really frustrating if we were on separate bikes, one of us would always be chasing the other.

The couple aim to ride 75 miles a day with a two-week break halfway through the journey.

Even the ever-tense political situation in some parts of the continent does not worry the fearless pair,

However their family and friends are not so sure.

"We are trying to convince our parents that we will be fine and we won't get kidnapped in Colombia," said Tim. "But they are not buying it yet."

* If you would like to sponsor Tim and Naomi's efforts, visit: www.justgiving.com/10000milesforFSID