Story

<p class="iphone-update" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 19px; color: gray; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> First of all thank you so much for your donation to my cycle ride for SMA.  I know it can be a chore to be inundated with charity requests and I really appreciate that you took the time and effort to make a contribution to my effort.   I'm just back having completed the 350KMs from Vienna to Budapest.  It was an amazing experience.   Day 1 we went from Vienna to Bratislava in Slovakia and finished up in the Hungarian spa town of Moson Magyarovar(famous for having thermal spas and 300 dentists...this is where Europeans including Brits go to get cheap dental implants). The weather was lovely and we cruised the 91 miles starting at 8.30am and arriving in Moson at around 5pm.  We cycled on a mix of paved towpath, road and a little bit of rough terrain.   Day 2 was really tough.  We cycled from Moson to Esztergom through cold and wet conditions.  In the group of 11 cyclists we had a couple of crashes, a little bit of numbness in extremities and we got lost in industrial city of Gyor, a place that should be renamed Gore.  In total we cycled around 95 miles and survived on gallows humour and much sugar.  For much of this leg we were riding on country roads and cycle lanes through poor country towns.  We started out at 8.30am and arrived into Esztergom at around 7pm.    Day 3 took us to Budapest.  We crossed the Danube a couple of times on ferries and the weather was much nicer.  In fact we cruised the final 50 miles, taking long breaks along the way for coffees and local delicacies(and more sugar!).  This leg was the most picturesque and included the spectacular Danube bend. We set out at 9am and arrived into Budapest around 4pm.   All in all it was a great experience and all the more satisfying that the money that we are raising is going to a good cause.  All the costs of the trip were paid individually by the participants so all your donation is going into the research to finding a breakthrough into SMA.  In speaking with those who are closely involved in this it appears that a breakthrough will occur in the near future.   Once again thank you.   ORIGINAL POST BELOW <p class="iphone-update" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 19px; color: gray; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">A good friend of mine's son, Ben, is affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a currently untreatable degenarative muscle condition. In the ten years since Ben was diagnosed, there have been significant developments in efforts to find a cure, and we believe we are now close. <p class="iphone-update" style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 19px; color: gray; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Ben - and a number of other kids with SMA - have formed fundraising teams that they captain, by challenging others to do something to match challenges they themselves are taking on (check out www.madchallenge.org). Ben is doing a marathon in his wheelchair..... <p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 19px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">and I have now taken on my challenge...I will be cycling 250KM's from Vienna to Budapest from 9th - 11th September. <p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 19px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">  <p style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 19px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">C'mon, you all know how I've grown a veranda around my tummy in the last few years.  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make me pay for all those pints of Guinness by putting my love handles on tour in Europe. Laugh at me while I gain blisters and dodge tractors driven by heavily-moustached surly farmers on the roads of Europe.     Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. So please dig deep and donate now.. ADDENDUM: I've just discovered that the route is actually 350KM, not 250KM, that much of it is on gravel and that it involves some climbs......eek, I have new found concerns for the long-term health of my bottom!!!!

Len Dunne's MAD challenge

Len Dunne's MAD challenge

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