LifeCycle members leave for gruelling challenge

Most of the 58 cyclists taking part in this year's LifeCycle Challenge left for Oslo last night to prepare for a 2,018-kilometre ride from Honefoss, in Norway, to Rivaniemi, in Finland, over the next 10 days.

The challenge, as in previous years, is meant to raise funds for the renal unit at St Luke's Hospital.

The cyclists and their 26-strong support team are this morning due to assemble their bikes in preparation for the challenge starting tomorrow.

An advance team left on Thursday to prepare vans and other equipment.

The first day of the challenge is expected to be a relatively easy one, featuring a 128-kilometre ride from Honefoss to Fagerness.

The team plans to cycle an average of 200 kilometres a day with the most difficult day expected to be Saturday when the cyclists have to cover 270 kilometres, including about 60 kilometres offroad.

At the end of each day, the team members will sleep on inflatable mattresses in school gymnasia, waking up at 5 a.m. to start their trek and complete the day's mileage as early as possible.

All cyclists are timed to maintain an average speed of at least 20 kilometres per hour. There will be checkpoints every 50 kilometres where cyclists will stop for 20 minutes to rest, stretch, rehydrate, and get physiotherapy or assistance from their backup team.

The backup team includes physiotherapists, mechanics to maintain the bikes and cooks who will prepare foods high on carbohydrates and rich in energy. Fr Sebastian Caruana and Fr Bernard Mangion are spiritual directors.

The cyclists have been training for five months, most of them waking up at 4 a.m. to make most of their training before sunrise.

Donations to Travelex LifeCycle can be made online at www.lifecyclechallenge. com, by SMS on 5061 7356 for donation of Lm1, 5061 8921 for a Lm3 donation and 5061 9208 for a Lm5 donation, by cheque to LifeCycle Organisation, c/o Renal Unit, St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia, or in HSBC (Malta) account 061198792050 or Bank of Valletta account 1481421017.

Moments during last year's challenge from Budapest to Athens.