Team Preparation Update

To all those involved and getting involved… It was really great to see so many old faces returning to the event at Sunday morning’s meeting and to meet the newcomers who will be experiencing this challenge for the first time. It’s very easy to pack this event into life’s archives and move on but when Tony was explaining the costs of the renal unit and the number of patients requiring life saving equipment then you realise our work as an NGO is ongoing and can’t stop. As those of you present at the meeting could see, we have once again taken on a more professional approach and it would be hard not to be impressed by the incredible work done behind the scenes in having all your sponsorship packs ready for you including shirts and tins at the moment the cyclists and support team signed up. The route itself has been formulated with a considerable amount of background work. Meetings have been ongoing since September and part of that involved meeting the diplomatic people concerned with these countries. These are ongoing and as always it will come together in time for when we take off on 6th August 2009. The first official ride will start at 0900 hrs on Sunday 19th April 2009, at the main entrance to Mater Dei with the Sports Minister Clyde Puli getting things started. The training will be progressive and will consist of 17 gruelling weeks in which we hope to mould you all into tough endurance cyclists. The adventure starts here but never forget those images you saw this morning of those patients. When all the dust settles in August they are the ones that count. Alan