We’ve all heard about the mid-life crisis but how many people know about the quarter-life crisis?

Well, that’s something that Mike Swinford is ‘suffering’ from – it’s something that is very similar to a mid-life crisis only for 20-somethings rather than people in their 40s.

But whereas those people in a mid-life crisis might suddenly find themselves going to see their favourite bands from the 70s and 80s on a reunion tour or looking up old boyfriends or girlfriends on social media, the course of action Swinford is taking to deal with his ‘crisis’ is much more drastic.

You see 26-year-old Swinford – he will be 27 on 21st August – has decided to deal with his ‘issue’ by cycling from his hometown Cheltenham all the way to Malta.

His epic adventure, which starts on Saturday 1st September, will take 28 days and involves 119,000 feet of climbing – mainly in the Alps – and 2,000 miles.

“Yes, I’m suffering from a quarter-life crisis,” laughed Swinford, who works as a mechanic at bicycle shop Leisure Lakes in Cheltenham.

“I’ve always been pretty sensible, never done anything silly. I’ve never really travelled, always done things on a budget, that sort of thing.”

And while that may be the case there is another huge motivation that is driving him forward.

“I am hoping to raise £10,000 for male suicide charity CALM,” said Swinford, who has been close to people who have taken their own lives.

“We lost local multiple world record-breaking cyclist and all-around nice guy Lee Fancourt in January,” said Swinford. “This along with the death of my uncle was the catalyst that jump-started this adventure.”

And it’s an adventure that you’d certainly back the one-time Prestbury St Mary’s and Bishop’s Cleeve Secondary School pupil to complete.

“I’ve been riding ever since I could get on a bike, from the age of four or five,” he said. “I was fixated on it from an early age.”

And he’s certainly come a long way since those early days riding a bicycle around his back garden.

These days he is a member of Cheltenham and County Cycling Club and has been a regular competitor over the years.

He is not competing at the moment but plans to return to competitive cycling next year after his Malta trip.

Not that his Malta trip is the only reason for him taking a break.

“I was involved in a road traffic accident,” he said. “I was taking part in a race the other side of Oxford and got hit by a car. The driver didn’t stop.

“I wasn’t too badly hurt – it was more my pride – but it was a bit of a shock to be hit and the driver not to stop.”

In the past few years Swinford has concentrated on time trials, anything from 10 to 100 miles.

And he’s pretty good too even though he’s never won an Open Time Trial.

“That’s my ambition,” he said, “I’d love to do that. The best I’ve ever come is fourth in a 50-mile Open Time Trial. I finished in one hour, 59 minutes, 21 seconds which means I was going just over 25mph.”

He won’t be doing those sort of speeds when he’s climbing in the Alps of course and he admits that he’s not really done too many long distance cycling trips. “I did a 200-mile ride in August 2016 with my friend Rich Evershed,” he said. “I got to the Severn Bridge but felt rinsed on the way back. I stopped on the A38 and just sat there wondering why I’d done it!”

Fortunately Swinford has planned his own route to Malta and the longest he will have to cycle on any given day is 116 miles.

He will leave the Pump Rooms at 8.30am on 1st September – he will be seen off by the Mayor of Cheltenham, Councillor Bernard Fisher, and Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk, who will ride out of town with him – before heading for Cirencester, Swindon and then Portsmouth.

From there he will catch the ferry over to Le Havre and head south across France until he hits the Alps.

Once there he will climb the iconic 21 bend climb Alpe d’Huez, the climb that often features in the Tour de France and will this year be the stage 12 finish.

He’ll also climb other mountains – Col du Galibier, Col du Télégraphe and then the Col du Mont Cenis – to finish his journey across the Alps before dropping down to Turin and heading towards Genoa.

He’ll then follow the west coast of Italy past Rome before catching a ferry across to Sicily where he says he plans to have a day off.

Mind you, it won’t be much of a day off because he plans to ride round Etna!

From there he will catch another ferry before arriving in Malta where he will be greeted by friends and family, including his girlfriend Eve Griffiths.

That route is enough to tire out a lot of people just thinking about it and it’s certainly something you can’t just rock up and do.

Fortunately Swinford’s training is going well and he’s out on his bike every other day.

“I’m trying to go out with the bike fully laden so I can get used to the weight,” he said. “Normally the bike weighs about nine kilos but with all the extra kit it will weigh 25-26 kilos.”

That kit includes a sleeping bag and tent – he plans to camp most nights although he will stay in a hostel every four nights or so – and the whole trip will cost him about £1,400 excluding ferry tickets and the flight home.

“I’m looking forward to reaching Malta,” he said. “I haven’t been there for over six years.

“I’m hoping to ride with some of the guys from the local cycling team and members of the Maltese Cycling Federation.

“When I was last in Malta I competed in one of their national road races and finished 13th.”

Malta has a special place in his heart because it was where his Nan Jean lived before she died.

“I want to go and pay my respects,” he said.

Jean would certainly have been proud of her grandson as he prepares for his four-week challenge.

“I know raising £10,000 is a lot of money and if I don’t reach my target I will keep going until I do,” Swinford said. “I’ll organise pub quizzes and bingo nights until I get there.”

The fundraising has already started and he has organised a quiz evening at Cheltenham Town Football Club on Monday 16th July.

He has also organised a charity summer stalls day at The Cheese Rollers pub in Shurdington on Saturday 18th August and a Motown and soul music evening on 25th August, also at the pub, which will double up as his going away party.

And while all three of those events will be fun, Swinford knows that the money being raised is for a very serious cause.

“Male suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK,” he said. “In 2015, 75 per cent of all suicides were male and between the ages of 15-45.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation in support of Mike Swinford should visit https://calmchallengeevents201718.everydayhero.com/uk/mike-s-cycle-cheltenham-to-malta