The human spirit is amazing and life allows us to do fantastic things and have wonderful experiences. Over the weekend of the 2/3 April 2016 our cycling group are visiting the fields of Flanders to participate in the Ronde sportive. Its a mere 134 kilometers, weaving our way over the infamous cobbles, climbing the freakish Flemish hills, celebrating with thousands of cycling fans joining in and going crazy along the route. It's both a physical test but also a celebration of  the 100th edition of this classic race - one of the "Monuments" - and another chance for me to get onto Belgian regional tv (1 min 24sec in)!

http://www.focus-wtv.be/video/zwevegem-dorp-van-de-ronde-0#

Why are we doing it? - Because we can!

But also because we are fundraising for Greg and others like him. Greg is the much adored 5 year old son of Gill and Martin (one of our group). Greg was given the tough news in the summer that he suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This a relatively rare genetic disorder that affects little boys from an early age. It's leads to the progressive decline of his muscles as they weaken and become replaced by fat. Increasingly his mobility and strength will be limited until he becomes bed bound and eventually, by his early twenties, it will involve his heart muscles. Average life expectancy is 28. There is no cure...There is nothing, currently, that can significantly influence the course of his disease.

Action Duchenne is the charity his parents have been embraced by and now support. It was set up in 2001 by parents of an affected child and was the first national organisation to focus on Duchenne (and the related Becker) muscular dystrophy. Whilst the ultimate aim of their funded research is to enable a cure for this disease, this outcome is a little way off. They also support research looking at treatments to delay disease progression and, in the immediacy of a diagnosis, they fund projects to help affected families, ensuring that they get the best care possible.

So, every little helps.