LONDON TO PARIS FOR CHILDREN WITH MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

On May 31 2013, I will be riding London to Paris with Channel 4 News presenters Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Jon Snow and a host of friends and colleagues.
Here's my donation page: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/fabrizioviani1
The start will be at the Channel 4 HQ in London and we'll be heading to Newhaven, then by ferry to Dieppe, then another leg to Paris.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G-zzBfGBts
The reason for this ride is to raise money and awareness for the Duchenne Children's Trust: http://www.dc-trust.org/about/about-us/

This type of muscular dystrophy affects children and is 100% fatal. With enough research, within 10 years it could be eradicated. Research costs money.

A former colleague, Emily, founded this Trust with her husband Nick, when their son was diagnosed with Duchenne. These are her words:

“When Eli was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy we were totally stunned – and devastated beyond words. The doctors gave us no hope. But we threw ourselves into the science of the disease, and discovered that in fact, many in the field of Duchenne believe that we are within reach of a substantial treatment and possible cure for this disease. In the months following his diagnosis we met the world’s leading scientists, academics and researchers in this field. And they are united in their belief that treatments and a cure are within arms reach. And then we realised that we couldn’t just be passive in this situation, just standing by waiting for the good news to trickle in. We want to be doing everything we can to support the research that is going on – and speed up the time it takes for what’s going on in the labs to translate into medicines for our children.Our mission quite simply is to raise money to give to the best global research effort – to fund a treatment or cure in time to save Eli’s life and the hundreds of thousands of other boys like him.”

While the challenge itself is not gruelling for seasoned cyclists, some of the riders coming along don't have a lot of experience in these sort of distances. In any case the challenge is in making people aware of this disease and being able to raise as much money as possible.
Please donate here:

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/fabrizioviani1

Comments

REACH OUT, TALK TO PEOPLE

I wanted to share what we did at the weekend in the hope to inspire other people to try what my partner and I ended up doing. A few days ago we were walking the dogs late in the afternoon and on the way back, in this big field, we noticed an elderly woman walking slowly leaning on her stick. We asked if she was ok as she seemed tentative and a little confused. The very first thing she said, almost without realising that's what she was going to say was: "You are the first people I've spoken to all day". Neither of us expected that so we stayed with her, chatting away for about 40 minutes. We ended up walking her back to her house, exchange numbers and invite her for a Sunday roast. She was going to be 89 a few days later and it seemed a nice thing to do. She was really touched as she didn't have it in her to cook a roast for herself (and she admitted she hated cooking).

LA CLASSICISSIMA, A PREVIEW

As classics go, Milano-Sanremo is the longest of them all (almost 300km) and one of the oldest (1907). Eddy Merckx has won it a record 7 times. It has been marred by late snow at times and its route has been modified here and there, but at its core is the length and flatness, so one for the sprinters traditionally but not so much of late. There are a few lumps, but although short and not very steep, they usually come at the end of a long day on the saddle and have been decisive in the outcome of the race. In recent times, the climbs of Cipressa (added in 1982) and Poggio (added in 1960) have been the theatres of all-out attacks. The breakneck and twisty descent from the Poggio especially, induced some of the most entertaining racing... and some awful crashes too. The finish in the town of Sanremo has moved posts a few times but whether it was in the false flat of Via Roma or on the pan flat promenade by the sea, many a time it has ended in a bunch sprint.

AN OLYMPIC EFFORT

When the Olympic cycling road race and TT race routes were announced I was extremely excited. I live bang in the middle of both. One of the most important races in cycling was going to be ridden near my house. Television screens would be filled with images of roads I'm familiar with, the pros will be riding my commute to work AND some of my cycling club runs' routes (Kingston Wheelers).

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