More women take up cycling challenge for Life Cycle

This year's Life Cycle group of 36 cyclists who will be pedalling their way a total of 1,700 kilometres over nine days from August 31 from Paris to Madrid include seven women, the biggest number of women taking part since the event started in 1999.

The most experienced of the team, not just of the girls, is 24-year-old Alexandra Bonnici of San Gwann, who will be taking the challenge for the fifth time.

A gym instructor, Ms Bonnici has only missed the first challenge and she has beautiful memories of her experiences.

"The Life Cycle challenge is not just to collect money, the trip is also a physical and mental challenge. There are also many individual challenges throughout the trip. I, for example, may challenge myself to go up a mountain in a certain time. This gives everyone motivation. 75 per cent of the trip is a mental challenge."

Ms Bonnici said the challenge was not just the trip but also the training. Fitting all the hours of training around work or study and the family, especially for participants with children, was another challenge.

"But knowing that you are taking part in something which will improve the quality of life of someone else and seeing the appreciation on the faces of the persons being assisted makes up for four months of hardship."

For the duties of Life Cycle participants are not just to train, they also have to attend meetings and visit patients.

Though Malta does not present the same conditions which participants face during their challenge abroad they make up by training hard for long hours.

"When the challenge gets to its toughest, it is the appreciation on the faces of patients which keeps us going."

Ms Bonnici said the best part of the challenge was seeing the satisfaction on the faces of cyclists as soon as they reached the finish line.

"During the challenge it is just you, your bike and a map and you have to cycle rain or shine up hills and mountains, taking some wrong turnings which would have to be rectified along the way. Reaching the finish line gives one a sense of satisfaction no amount of money can give."

Ms Bonnici is at present training 22 - 25 hours a week, soon to go up to 30 hours. As she generally starts work at 7 a.m., she is usually out to start her training by 4.30 a.m.

She says that every Life Cycle challenge had offered her a different experience. The first she had found the most difficult, she had been the first and only girl doing it, and she used to fall behind, one reason being that she had not yet mastered certain cycling techniques.

Although Ms Bonnici has always been into sports, she only started cycling four months before taking part in her first Life Cycle. Before getting into Life Cycle heart and soul she used to take part in the Kerygma Volleyball marathon but there was no comparison between the two challenges.

"Life Cycle is the biggest and most challenging sports event organised in Malta, presenting both a physical and mental challenge."

The newest girl on the team is 30-year-old Melanie Azzopardi of Mosta, a sales and marketing executive. Not only is she doing the challenge for the first time, she only learnt about it through a spin class at the sports complex of St Aloysius College just six weeks ago. She had gone to the class with a friend who introduced her to class instructor Alan Curry, the organiser of the challenge who encouraged her further.

"He showed so much confidence in me that I became more determined.

"The problem was that although I knew how to pedal a bike I never really cycled and did not even own a bike. I borrowed one for a couple of weeks, then bought my own. I can now say that I see an improvement on a daily basis - in technique, endurance, and the number of kilometres I cover."

Getting onto the team late in the day means that Ms Azzopardi has missed on six weeks of training and she has now to work extra hard to ensure that her fitness and endurance levels are up to standard.

At least, Ms Azzopardi was already fit, since she had been doing long distance swimming and three years ago took part in the Gozo Malta swim.

She said that she liked to take up any challenge but mainly she decided to take part in Life Cycle because of the noble aim behind it.

She is currently training 22 hours a week, trying to fit in all the hours around her work schedule. She feels that she still has a long way to go but believes that if she follows her programme as instructed she should be well prepared for the challenge.

Ms Azzopardi believes this will be a long lasting experience during which moments of hardship would be experienced but it would be overall a beautiful experience.

The oldest woman taking part is also a first timer. She is 40-year-old Tania Muscat of Birkirkara, an assistant university lecturer in the Faculty of Education. Although the oldest, Ms Muscat says that she is very young at heart and the age gap between her and the other participants seemed non-existent. "They tease me, it is the truth, but I am a clown more than any of them," she said.

She was encouraged to take part by Mr Curry during circuit training. He had told her that she was very fit and asked her if she would consider taking part.

Ms Muscat said that she had been amazed at what Mr Curry said and started finding out more about the challenge. Last January she had done the half marathon and she loved sports.

Life Cycle was even better as behind it there was a philanthropic aim.

She said she was now training very hard and had committed herself exclusively to Life Cycle.

She was not going out at all and was unable to spend late nights out, cycling close to 400 kilometres a week. Ms Muscat said that this was a new experience for her and she was giving it her all. Besides physical training, she was also trying to prepare herself mentally for it and is praying for the strength and mental determination to carry it through.

The youngest participant is 23-year-old doctor Danica Spiteri of Ibrag.

Having already taken part in the Life Cycle challenge last year, this is her second challenge. It was her first major cycling event, distance wise, but not cycling wise, as she has taken part in the triathlon since she was 14.

She hopes to be able to finish the challenge this year - last year she could not see it through due to an injury and illness.

She remembers last year's challenge for the brilliant teamwork and the scenery. She can say she enjoyed her experience and was now training a minimum of two hours five to six days a week. She hopes she is well-prepared for the challenge.

Also doing the challenge for the second time is British nanny Michelle Galley, 28, who has been living in Malta for the past three years. She lives in Marsaxlokk.

"It is the toughest, hardest thing I've ever done. The challenge is not just the trip itself but also the training, meetings, raising the money. Helping other people out.

"You give up your entire summer but when you actually do the challenge, it's the most rewarding feeling ever. I never felt so good in my life.

"It is definitely worth it. It is a lot of hard work but I enjoy it, I make new friends and last year I made some of the best friends I've ever had," Ms Galley said.

She said that she found a lot of support from her partner, a cyclist himself. Together they do competitive cycling so they also train together.

Ms Galley believes she is well-prepared for the challenge, having trained year round. She does not think this year's challenge will be any easier than last year's but she feels more mentally prepared for it.

The challenge is also being taken up by a 37-year-old mother, Elaine Fenech of Marsascala.

A swimming instructor at the Park of Friendship, Ms Fenech is this year taking up the challenge for the second time. She used to take part in the triathlon but stopped about five years ago.

"It is surely an experience and a test of endurance. It is also a charitable deed and gives one a sense of personal achievement."

She is training 21.5 hours a week. She wakes up at 4 a.m. daily for training and sometimes trains in the evening.

Ms Fenech says her family is very supportive, she gets a lot of assistance from her husband, her nine-year-old son goes to summer school and when he does not he stays with her mother or aunts and uncles.

The Sunday meal is also being cooked by her mother. She said she was well prepared for the challenge. She already knew what it entailed endurance wise and now knew what to expect. Last year it had not crossed her mind that it was not enough to be physically fit, one also had to be mentally fit.

The other woman in this year's team is 25-year-old Karen Casa of Ta' Xbiex, who works in customer service.

She is doing the challenge for the first time and feels that the fact that all her work will be going towards a good cause makes the big challenge worth trying.

Ms Casa had heard of the challenge through friends who had done it before and she is now training two to three hours a day, sometimes taking a day of rest.

Although she found it difficult to fit all these hours of training around work, when she does not manage them, she makes up for the missed training at the gym.

Feeling well prepared for the challenge with all the training, like all the other girls, Ms Casa is confident that she will manage to finish the challenge.

Donations to Life Cycle can be made directly through their website or to the Renal Unit at St Luke's Hospital. Otherwise send an SMS on the following numbers: Go Mobile: 5622 for Lm2; 5633 for Lm3 5655 for Lm5; and Vodafone: 5061 7317 for Lm1; 5061 7900 for Lm2 and 5061 8816 for Lm3.

www.lifecyclechallenge.com