From The Chairman – Lifecycle Foundation

Please welcome LifeCycle (Malta) Foundation

Julian — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:51:51 +0000

Today, Thursday 21st April 2011, the LifeCycle Organisation finally became a Foundation.

Alan Curry signs the Foundation deed

The ex-LifeCycle Organisation committee members – myself, Tony Bugeja, Shirley Cefai, Gilbert Vassallo, Soner Gurelli and Jennifer Chetcuti met in the offices of International Management Services Ltd and signed the Foundation deed in the presence of lawyer Dr Kathleen Zarb Adami, notary Elisa Falzon and company director Gordon Mifsud. An historic and somewhat emotional moment saw 13 years of work culminate in LifeCycle becoming a legal entity with its aims set in stone. Myself and Tony Bugeja form the supervisory council of the Foundation, along with Tim Peco, who kept in touch with the meeting by phone from his current home in Sweden. This is the start of a fresh chapter for LifeCycle. There are so many memories to carry into the new era, but the team will remember today’s milestone for a long time.

Team members at the deed signing

On behalf of the Foundation members and our beneficiaries the renal patients, I would like to thank everyone that helped us make this happen, in particular International Management Services, all of whose professionals gave their services free of charge. Alan R Curry

Brief update on registration

Julian — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:35:06 +0000

A quick update: Applications are coming in thick and fast and the HumanLab testing is now in its 3rd week as cyclists are preparing earlier than ever to prepare for this unique challenge. Quite a few of the cyclists who have applied so far have done the challenge before, but there are an equal number of newcomers and the atmosphere is already building with classic stories from past trips being re-told. With numbers again limited due to accommodation and flights we would urge anyone thinking of participating, to submit their applications as soon as possible. See you in Sarajevo! Alan Curry Chairman

Click here to download the application forms

2011 Challenge Launch Details

Julian — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:56:55 +0000

The LifeCycle Organisation will launch its 13th Challenge on Thursday 10th March in the prestigious surroundings of the Hilton Malta Hotel, at 6.30pm.

Click for location details

Applications for this year’s challenge are already being accepted and fitness testing is under way at the Chic Physique studios. We are again expecting to have a large team this year, and as always the location of the 2011 Betfair LifeCycle Challenge is both glamorous and challenging. The first team meeting will be held on Thursday 14th April with the first training ride 3 days later on Sunday 17th April.

“Remember there are no shortcuts to any place worth going”

2011 Challenge Pre-registration

Julian — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:00:40 +0000

We can’t tell you about where the 2011 Betfair LifeCycle Challenge will be based yet – that has to wait until Launch Day, which is 10th March 2011 (World Kidney Day). On that day everything will be revealed and the website will be fully updated. However, as always, some of you will be keen to join this year’s challenge no matter where it is, and we have now made the application forms available. Just click the link below to find out more and download the PDF forms.

Join the 2011 Betfair LifeCycle Challenge!

Season’s Greetings

Julian — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 07:58:17 +0000

The LifeCycle team would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and happy new year! News of the 2011 LifeCycle Challenge will be revealed early in the new year, so stay tuned. Actually, can anyone email us the GPS coordinates for Machu Picchu?

Donor register target met

Julian — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 13:32:04 +0000

LifeCycle has announced that its aim of getting 1000 new donors signed up onto Malta’s organ donor register during 2010 has been exceeded, with that figure being reached last weekend during an event they held in conjunction with the Raw Bikers. “This is great news and thanks to a combined effort between ourselves and the Transplant Support Group we have achieved something that was a very ambitious target back at the start of the campaign” said Chairperson Alan Curry. The other goal was to collect €200,000 and with money still coming in the figure may yet be reached. “The money is still pouring in and we will definitely be close. We will announce the total at the end of the month before giving everything to the accountant so we can see what is left after expenses,” Alan said. “One thing is for sure – with the backing of Betfair this has proved to be one of the most, if not the most successful LifeCycle events yet.” Donations can still be made, either online or using a telephone or mobile.

Memories of a President

Julian — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:52:49 +0000

I was going to meet the President of Malta in 1999. Tony Bugeja informed me that President Guido de Marco was to visit the Renal unit and to meet the four of us who had decided to ride from Malta to England. Quite daunting to say the least but with the press turning out in full force, it was just the sort of publicity we needed. I can still remember standing in those depressing corridors of the Renal unit waiting for his arrival and then Tony giving us the signal he had arrived. Small in stature but larger than life as he looked me straight in the eyes and held my hand with that trademark double handshake, and thanked me for what I was about to do. As Tony then took charge and took both the President and his entourage into the Ward I followed and watched in admiration as this man went about the business of meeting the public, in this case patients suffering from renal failure. The press of course hung on his every word and when he met the right person they enthusiastically clicked their cameras for the photo that would capture the moment . In this case it was a middle aged woman whom my wife later told me had been in the Ward with her. This poor woman had had her legs removed along with the odd fingers owing to diabetes. She was on dialysis and had gotten herself into a real state when she saw the President approach her bed. Tears flowed from this desperate soul as the President hung on her every word and held her hand while the cameras had a field day ready for tomorrow’s newspapers. Was this a PR opportunity which like all good politicians he was going to milk? It certainly looked that way however a few minutes later my cynicism was turned on it’s head when we left the unit and the press rushed off having got their article for tomorrow’s papers. Captain David Mifsud his Senior Aide de camp was trying to hurry the President up as he had a busy schedule however the President insisted on going back into the ward to speak to that same lady. He went back in and sat on her bed for a good 10 minutes trying to bring some sense to this woman’s life which had been turned upside down while the rest of us awaited his return and Captain David frantically kept looking at his watch.It was clear that this man cared and wanted to understand the problems faced by our patients and immediately he had left an impression with me. The next year we naively asked if the President could become an honourary member however being so involved in other charities we were politely informed that the President could not be “attached to one particular charity”. It’s now so ironic that this great man was for the past few years “attached” to our charity by means of the dialysis machines which we have supplied to the renal unit. I know from personal conversations with him that he was so grateful for the work Life Cycle has done on behalf of it’s patients and being the man he was it will not have gone un noticed that with his support we have made such strides in improving the quality of life for persons such as that lady who he had comforted and ultimately his own. Alan Curry LifeCycle Chairperson

One Year On

Julian — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:58:35 +0000

One year ago to the day, Maltese cycling lost Cliff Micallef when he was killed in a hit-and-run incident whilst training for LifeCycle. Not only did he leave behind a wife, 3 boys and a grieving family but countless people who admired him as a humble, kind man known for his sincerity and honesty. This Sunday (1st August) at 09:30 cyclists will leave the ex parade square (Luxol car park) on bikes and ride a route in his honour. If you’re a cyclist, we would love to see you there.

Team Preparation Update

Julian — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:23:47 +0000

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