Cyclists start 2,300km trip from Bucharest today

The HSBC LifeCycle Challenge Where Only Eagles Dare, taking 25 cyclists from Romania to Germany, starts from Bucharest this morning.

The cyclists, who left yesterday, will be cycling their first 185 of 2,345 kilometres from Bucharest to Brasov.

The aim of the challenge, the ninth, is to collect funds for the state hospital's Renal Unit.

A back-up team of 16 will be taking care of the logistics and preparing meals throughout the challenge, which will pass through Poland and Ukraine crossing the Carpathian and Tatra mountain ranges.

The team was yesterday met at Malta International Airport by Health Minister Louis Deguara and members of the HSBC Life Management team, the new sponsors.

Chairman Alan Curry said everything was set to make this year's challenge one of the best so far.

This year's challenge compared a lot to that of 2004 which took the team to the Balkans.

The infrastructure in Romania and Ukraine, he said, was still in its infancy but the people were very friendly.

The fact that this year's group was smaller - nine cyclists were out of the running in the past six weeks due to injuries and other commitments - it was easier to handle.

Sixteen of the cyclists have completed the challenge before. They keep doing it because it is a "fantastic experience".

And although it is not something they could actually enjoy, it gave them a thrill so they returned to it for the buzz it gives them, Mr Curry said.

One return cyclist is university student Alexandra Cremona, 19. She is doing the challenge for the third time. Also for the third time, she is the youngest cyclist.

The challenge was extremely satisfying because it was very hard, she said yesterday.

The oldest cyclist is warden William Saliba, 55, who hails from Floriana but lives in Bingemma.

Mr Saliba, a first timer, said yesterday he had been wanting to take the challenge for the past five years but couldn't because of work commitments.

He trained for the challenge, waking up at 3 a.m. on certain days and going to bed at 1 a.m. on others.

He gave training top priority and fit his working hours around his training schedule.

A runner, Mr Saliba hoped the challenge would be successful and said he would go back to running on his return.

The team members have been training for 17 weeks to reach suitable levels of fitness.

The level of training was reduced in the past two weeks to give the cyclists a cooling-off ensuring they would start the challenge in the best physical and mental condition possible. For the committee and backup crew, this period was a surge of activity as final preparations were consolidated.

The team arrived in Bucharest at around 5.30 p.m. and spent the night at the American International School of Bucharest.

Karen Zammit, a member of the logistics team said LifeCycle tried to find accommodation in schools and gymnasia to enable the team to reside as one group.

On arrival at the school, the team unpacked and prepared their bikes and gear for this morning's 8 a.m. departure.

In the first four days, the team will traverse Romania before crossing over to Ukraine on day five, heading to Poland a week into the challenge and then on to Germany on day 12.

The cyclists will be covering an average of 180 kilometres daily, irrespective of weather conditions.

The final stop will be Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on day 13 in the presence of the Maltese ambassador, the mayor of Berlin and other dignitaries.

The bulk of the food to be served during the challenge has been donated and shipped from Malta.

Head cook Vince Attard said the daily meals and snacks needed to live up to the demands of the challenge with the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats to facilitate the cyclists' well-being and recovery.

Throughout the challenge, the team will be going through 120 kilos of pasta, 40 kilos of rice, 110 kilos of cereals, 720 litres of skimmed milk, 50 kilos of meat and sausages and large quantities of dried and fresh fruit and isotonic drink.

Press officer Louise Bugeja said the organisation's fund raising initiative was continuing while the team was away.

Donations can be made in the LifeCycle accounts at HSBC - 0611 987 920 50 or at Bank of Valletta - 148 1452 1017, or by sending an SMS to 5061 7356 for a Lm1 donation, 5061 8921 for Lm3 or 5061 9218 for Lm5.

Donations to the LifeCycle Organisation can also be sent c/o Renal Unit, St Luke's Hospital, G'Mangia.

HP is supporting LifeCycle for the second consecutive year.

This year, the firm is donating HP products to make smoother the administrative work of LifeCycle and to ease organ-transplant coordination.

These products include a digital camera and a compact photo printer together with photo packs with print cartridges, an all-in-one fax/printer/scanner and a Notebook PC.

In addition, the company is donating a handheld PDA with GPS/maps to aid LifeCycle during this year's cycling challenge abroad.

www.lifecyclechallenge.com