'Nothing prepares you for the challenge'

Cycling uphill in steady rain on the way to Dombas, Norway, Chris Mangion felt his ankle give way, but he persevered for another eight kilometres before slipping off his bicycle, dealing the final blow to his leg.

"I was devastated. I just sat in the back-up van and was plagued by the feeling that I had failed in what I had come up to accomplish. All I could think of was buying an airline ticket and flying back home the next day," he said.

"But then you realise there's another facet to LifeCycle, that of psyching up the cyclists to keep their spirits up. You see grown men and women breaking down and crying. The challenge becomes a fight for survival.

"I returned very satisfied, but it's not what I envisaged it would be. We had trained for 17 weeks and it prepares you physically, but nothing prepares you for the psychological challenge you are about to encounter."

Mr Mangion, 30, a police officer, was the first of the 59 cyclists to drop out on the second day of the 10-day Travelex LifeCycle challenge across the Arctic Circle.

Recounting his experience before limping back to his office yesterday, Mr Mangion, who returned with the team on Saturday, is not disheartened by his experience and is keen to take on the LifeCycle challenge another year.

A total of 49 cyclists completed the 2,018-kilometre ride from Oslo, Norway, through Kiruna in Sweden up to Rovaniemi in Finland. They returned to Malta thrilled that they had managed to raise money in aid of the hospital's renal unit. The total amount will be announced at the end of this month.

Mr Mangion said the team spirit among the cyclists was something he would never forget and the satisfaction of helping them complete the challenge was very rewarding.

"One of the cyclists developed knee problems but he kept cycling and we stayed in the back-up van driving alongside at 17 kilometres encouraging him to go on. It felt good when he told us he would have stopped without us," he said.

"At one point the team was cycling in temperatures of -5 degrees Celsius and rain, and we were taking their wet clothes in exchange for dry ones, drying them and rotating the different clothes.

"During particularly pressing and demanding moments what kept me going was the persistence of two good friends of mine who called every day to psyche me up and cheer me on."

The team used to cycle an average of 200 kilometres a day, starting off at 8 a.m. and dropping off to sleep at about 3 a.m., before rising at 6 a.m. the next day to face another gruelling test.

The cyclists, who used to crash out in school halls and gyms at night, were provided with a breakfast of fruit and fibre and handed a banana and sandwich with jam or Nutella every 50 kilometres.

"After a while we were just drooling for a burger or pizza at the pit stop," Mr Mangion said laughing.

On the last day the back-up team got the cyclists' spirits running high with music by J.Joy blaring from the van as they reached the finish line.

Alan Curry, one of the founding members of LifeCycle, wrote on his online blog on LifeCycle's website that if this wasn't the hardest challenge ever, then it came extremely close.

"Nature's elements did us no favours and the rate of drop outs reflects this. However, as an event this has to be the most successful yet, simply because of the number of persons involved - we had 85 people to cater for, 85 people all with different needs and personalities," he said.

"The majority seemed to agree that although extremely tough, the satisfaction was that much greater once completed, and that is the basis of what this event aims for.

"Having done the challenge myself this year, I have nothing but total admiration for everyone who gave this a shot. This was an extreme event and the feelings of desperation and solitude during those long days are moments that will stay with you for a very long while," he said.

"We now sit down, debrief and plan 2007. Where to this time? Who knows? But as I have always maintained LifeCycle is here to stay. We can only get better."

Donations to Travelex LifeCycle can be made online at www.lifecyclechallenge.com, by SMS on 5061 7356 for a Lm1 donation, 5061 8921 for Lm3 and 5061 9208 for Lm5, 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.