Twenty-three cyclists returned to Malta yesterday after a gruelling 10-day fundraising bike ride across Japan in what was described as one of the “hardest” and “toughest” challenges to date.
The cyclists, together with a group of 13 backup crewmen, covered more than 2,000 kilometres, from Fukuoka in south Japan to Tokyo in the 16th edition of the Lifecycle Challenge, which raises money for the hospital’s renal unit.
Exhausted and red-eyed after long hours of travelling, the group looked happy to arrive home yesterday afternoon amid commotion at the airport’s arrival lounge as they were welcomed by family and friends.
Cyclist Robert Zammit, 39, had a rough start to his trip after he fell off the bike on the second day. His fall led to a hospital visit, a cut over his right eye and a CT scan. However, he still described the experience as positive.
“I wanted to continue the journey so I started from where I fell, which was 120km or three hours of cycling by myself,” Mr Zammit said.
The heavy traffic on the busy highways, together with sets of traffic lights every 100 metres, were among the challenges the cyclists and the backup team had to face.
Around 250-300 signs are usually put up every day of the challenge to guide cyclists through the trickiest junctions, which are then removed by the last car of the backup team. However, this was not possible in Japan, which often led to a number of cyclists getting lost.
Overall it was a very positive experience and we are glad nobody got seriously injured
Arriving from his third Lifecycle Challenge, 38-year-old Malcolm Bondin was hugged tightly by his young son as soon as he spotted his father pushing a trolley piled high with luggage.
“The route was varied and it was very challenging – in two consecutive days we had to criss-cross cities, traffic lights and heavy traffic. We even had steep mountains to deal with. Overall it was a very positive experience and we are glad nobody got seriously injured. We are all safe and sound.”
He had nothing but words of praise for Japanese people, describing it as a positive culture shock.
“Schoolchildren waited for three hours for us to arrive and gave us small gifts and food”.
However, Mr Bondin is still not yet sure whether he would go for a fourth Lifecycle Challenge.