Summertime

"Summertime
And the living is easy............."
"Summertime" by George Gershwin

The words of that classic song came to mind last Monday whilst cycling past the newly designated Blue Flag beach in St. George’s Bay. Oh yes, the sweet smells of summer hit, or rather, slapped me in the face making me realise how little I was living easy when most of my free time has been spent on the bicycle saddle cycling through the same roads, avoiding the same pot holes and crazy drivers just to clock up the miles.

While all my friends were happily soaking up the sun, reading their favourite magazine on a comfortable sun bed or bickered as to what they were going to eat for lunch at our favourite beach, I was busy monitoring my speed, cadence and heart rate building up stamina and strength for the Betfair Lifecycle Challenge in August.

At the pre-visit presentation held last week by Gilbert, Mario and Soner the adventure started becoming more of a reality. Impressive scenery awaits us but so do hills with a 10% or even higher incline that will not be over in a few minutes just like the Mellieha by Pass or T’Alla W Ommu hill.

As the weeks roll by, the training schedule intensifies. By next week our rest days would have been gone completely. Our lives will revolve around work and training leaving little time for anything else – unless you are one of the lucky few that work half days or have a long summer vacation. Frustration at having to go through the same routine, day in day out, will build up.

Weekends will come and go in a flurry of training. Saturdays will see us cycle for 6 hours and Sundays will see us cycle for 9 hours – minimum. The same routine of waking up, bleary eyed at 330am to try to clock some mileage before the scorching sun hits us will continue although we might change that schedule to attempt getting used to the sweltering heat that will beat down upon us in Turkey and Syria.

The concern of possible injuries is on the back of our minds. We cannot afford to get injured now, after all this sacrifice, but the possibilities, unfortunately abound.

Apart from the training we must also work hard to raise funds, which in this year’s economic climate is no mean feat. We are lucky to have found some generous sponsors and benefactors but it is never enough. We must ensure that the money keeps coming in, whatever the amount, every penny counts.

So, while you are living the dolce vita, enjoying summer, please spare a thought for all those giving up their free time and more importantly some funds towards the Betfair Lifecycle Challenge.