Fifty people met at the Malta International Airport yesterday to embark on a strenuous journey that will touch people’s lives and make a difference to the patients in the Renal Unit – the Life Cycle Challenge 2005.

This is the seventh year that the challenge is being held and it involves 37 cyclists, accompanied by a medical team of two physiotherapists and a doctor, two cooks and even translators, making a journey of 1,850 kilometres over 10 days and crossing over the borders of four countries.

The team left yesterday afternoon for Vienna, where they were due to be met by five members of the backup team who left Malta last Thursday.

These five people had the job of meeting the trailer that left Malta on 18 August, and transport the bikes and foodstuffs to Budapest. Life Cycle chairman – and also one of the cooks on the trip – Anna Miggiani explained that 100 kilogrammes of pasta have been shipped, along with around 200 sandwiches.

Asked whether she had been given any special requests when it came to food, Ms Miggiani said that this year three people with particular dietary needs are taking part. “One is a coeliac and therefore we had to cater for a gluten-free diet, another is lactose intolerant while another cannot eat beans in any form,” she said adding that this was a bit of a problem, since beans are often a staple of the diet over the course of the challenge.

Ms Miggiani also explained that the diet the cyclists will be put on is tailored to their physical needs. “We aim to provide what their body needs to keep energy levels up, since they will be under such strain,” she said. The cyclists will be given cereals and raisins in the morning for slow-releasing energy, bread and bananas during the day and a meal that is high in carbohydrates in the evening. They will also be eating as

little fat as possible, since this is difficult to digest and will hinder their stamina.

The team will be cycling from Budapest in Hungary to Belgrade in Serbia and Montenegro, on to Tirana in Albania, then down to Delfi in Greece, with a triumphant finish near the Acropolis.

The Life Cycle challenge, which has been running for the last seven years, is an ultra endurance feat where the cyclists have to cycle nearly 200 kilometres each day, usually across rough terrain, through mountains and valleys, for 10 days.

The event requires great commitment from all involved and intense physical and mental stamina from the cyclists to complete the challenge. Since May, the cyclists have been put through an intense training programme to build up the strength and stamina needed for the challenge.

First-timer Joseph Tanti explained that the training helps him look forward to the challenge. “I would wake up early in the morning to get my training in before work,” he said showing his excitement to face this challenge head-on.

Part of the cyclists’ training involves

visiting the Renal Unit and getting to know more about chronic renal failure, a deadly disease that affects people of all ages and from all walks of life. This helps the cyclists get to know the patients and become actively involved in the organ donation campaign.

Mr Tanti said how this had helped him be in touch with who he was actually going into the challenge for. “I always followed the media coverage of the Life Cycle challenge and my friends have done it before. This is why I joined. Meeting the patients whose lives we can affect makes a very big difference and will give me more initiative during the actual challenge,” he said

In a recent survey carried out among the cyclists they commented that they were most struck by the sense of loneliness among the patients, the change of lifestyle brought on by their disease, them feeling incapacitated and also, in some, the feeling of failure.

For the 55 members of the team the days will start early and most times will end late in the evening. They will cycle until supper-time and then be off to sleep in a sleeping bag, side by side in a town hall or even a wayside church. The next day, the cyclists are woken up as early as 6am, breakfast and out on another gruelling ride, ably supported all the way by the back up team.

John Buhagiar, the doctor on the back up team, explained that several injuries are apt to come about during the trip. “Since most of the cyclists are amateurs, they are likely to suffer from injuries due to strain and over-use of the muscles,” he said. Dr Buhagiar will be helped in treating the team members by two physiotherapists.

Apart from the medical staff and the cooks, the back up team also includes people to attend to bike breakdowns and to ensure the smooth running of the event – including logistics, route arrangements and the like. Some team members will also be actively performing public relations there and in Malta, keeping relatives and the Maltese public informed by communicating with the media through daily updates. These updates can also be viewed on the website www.lifecyclechallenge.com. People can also post comments on the guestbook which can help raise flailing spirits and boost the cyclists’ morale.

Donations can be made online or by making a deposit in the Life Cycle Accounts at HSBC or BOV.

Those interested can also send a cheque to the Life Cycle Organisation c/o the Renal Unit or a text message to these numbers: 5061-7351: Lm 1, 5061-8928: Lm3 and 5061-0208: Lm5.