#duchenneuk

So you may or may not be aware that myself and two other colleagues are cycling from London to Paris (300kms) in 24hours in early June this year. At first I thought it was just a joke when my boss came into the office 3 months ago explaining that he’d signed us up for the ride, but when the registration email found its way into my inbox I knew he wasn’t kidding. A 300km, 24hr cycle ride isn’t just something one ‘signs up for’ on whim. You see, for one I’m not quite the right ‘build’ to be a cyclist and two, I think the furtherest I have ever cycled in one hit was the 10km ride in the Weetbix Kids Triathlon when I was a wee tacker. But hey, I wasn’t going to back down from a challenge, especially when it is supporting a great cause I can really get behind. 

So what is this amazing cause you ask? Well, great question! The ride is itself is actually part of an event called the Duchenne Dash and is run by the Duchenne UK charity whom like many other charities around the world are trying to raise funds and awareness to help find a cure for the horrible degenerative disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). For those unaware, DMD is one of the most common fatal genetic diseases diagnosed in children and almost always affect boys, and they tend to be diagnosed before the age of 5. The disease itself is classified as a rare disease, it affects approximately 1 in every 3,500 boys that are born but only around 1 in 50 million girls. In the UK there are around 2,500 patients and an estimated 300,000 sufferers worldwide.

Essentially, the children born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy have a fault, known as a mutation, on their dystrophin gene, the longest gene in the body. The fault means that they cannot produce dystrophin, a protein that is vital for muscle strength and function. This lack of dystrophin results in a progressive deterioration of muscle strength between the ages of 6 and 11 and by 12 years many children are confined to a wheelchair. By their late teens most young people with Duchenne lose the ability to move their arms and experience more problems with breathing and with the heart. Heartbreakingly, those with Duchenne do have shortened lives, it is unusual for someone with Duchenne to live beyond their 30s. 

BUT, advances in the management of the condition are increasing life expectancy and enabling more young adults with Duchenne to lead independent lives, and researchers and medical professionals are confident they can find a cure within ten years! 

So it’s an absolute honour to ride for the Worlds Strongest Boys and help End Duchenne in Ten [years].

However, this isn’t just any old ride you can just go out and do. The last few weeks I have spent a good few hours sweating it out on the watt bikes at the gym, but it’s not the same as the real deal and I’ve know realised that people get really grumpy when you hog the bike for over an hour! So, the time has come and I have gone out and brought a bike (2017 Giant Contend), some sexy looking lycra (ladies settle down!) and all the other bits and pieces I should need to get some quality and much needed training in. Now all that I have to do is actually get on me bike, hit the tarmac and cloak up those kilometres. 

So, week one with the new bike has wrapped up. How have I feared? Well for one I am still breathing, which is a great start, because riding on London roads is a lot different to the rural roads of New Zealand, that’s for sure. But, before I hit the road I had to have a wee practice run in the lounge with the clip in pedals as I have never cycled with cleats before so was slightly nervous about being ‘locked’ onto a bike. But much to the amusement of my flat mate Adam, whom watched me struggle, whilst I practiced ‘clipping in’ and ‘clipping off’ I eventually felt confident enough to go out for the maiden voyage the following morning around the nearby Victoria park. 

However, the ‘big’ training ride kicked off on Saturday and as some of you may have seen on my Instagram, it wasn’t without it’s dramas. The day was a cracker, a nice [rare] blue sky spring day, a slight breeze and a barmy 12 degrees - ideal novice cycling conditions.

Things, started off well I found myself the east London ‘super cycle highway’ which sounds a lot more exciting than it actually is, and followed that out of the city for several miles. But, eventually I lost track of the signs and ended up on the A13 (a dual carriageway) which I thought was alright, the classic ‘she’ll be right kiwi attitude’ and to be fair I wasn’t too bothered by the cars buzzing past me. But when I got to the M25 junction (the large circular motorways that stretches the whole way round London) I found myself in the middle of the round-a-bout Googling “Can you cycle on ‘A’ roads?” I knew that motorways where a no go but I had an strong feeling ‘A’ roads were also a no go, bearing in mind I had already been cycling on the A13 for some 5 miles now. So I came to the conclusion, with the help of some off stares from drivers, that I shouldn’t be there and quickly weaved my way through the traffic off the nearest side road. lesson one learnt. 

So I kept going, on the roads I was allowed to cycle on, and went for about another hour, until I got hungry and decided to turn. Lesson two - takes some form of snack with me next time. However, to be fair by this time I had been riding for almost an hour and 45 minutes so it probably was a good time to head back. Everything was going smoothly, I didn’t get lost, I stayed away from the motorways had a relatively smooth cycle back into London, until I made it to the nearby suburbs to my house and managed to score myself a flat tyre. At which point I thought I would make an Instagram video explaining my bad luck on the first long distance ride. Now videoing yourself, you would think is a harmless task right? But, I suddenly found myself surrounded by 6 younger guys whom were trying to be intimidating asking “why the f**k I was videoing them” clearly they had something to hide. But I talked myself out of the potentially hostile situation and explained “No, I am simply videoing myself, it’s all good”....”I have better things to do than play Cops and Robbers and dob you guys in” (not that I actually said this) but you get the idea. So lesson three, don’t take selfies in the park when there are troublesome ‘youths’ in the vicinity.

So a potentially hostile situation resolved, I found a motorbike shop and asked if I could pump up my tyre. Only to realise that it wasn’t just a flat tyre but indeed a puncture, damnit! So I began the remaining 3 mile walk home in my socks as I didn’t want to ruin my knew cycling shoes. But lucky for me, my two Knights in shining armour (or lycra should I say) rode past and offered me a replacement tube and whether I needed any help, I said I wasn’t too far off home and I will be okay but they insisted and welcomed me into the ‘cycling community’ - that’s right, I am now a member of the prestigious ‘cycling community’ and we have each others backs! So lucky for me I got to finish the last leg of the cycle on my bike instead of walking my bike in central London in bare feet. So, lesson four, I need to invest in a puncture kit and pump to take with me on rides from now on. 

But, dramas aside, the 3.5 hour, 55km ‘adventure’ came to and end. I got home had some food and soaked in the bath to recover! A solid first up effort I think, and already I am looking forward to week two! But seriously, who knew cycling could be so fun and eventful? 

But, it’s not all about the fun! I do need to raise some decent money too! My colleagues and I have set a hefty goal of £12,000! So we (Team Oritain) would be very very grateful if you could spare any pound or dollar and support our amazing cause! I have already made a public pledge that for the first, single £1000 donation, in preparation for the ride, I will get an aerodynamic full body wax. I will also be coming up with other quirky ways to raise money so stay tuned, or if you have any suggestions on how I or Team Oritain can raise the much needed funds please do get in touch. 

Until then, here is the link to our Virgin Money Giving page - every little bit helps!  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=OritainUK&pageUrl=2