Hi, I’m Dan and not so long ago I was a sedentary, overweight, chain smoking 38 year old and not thinking a thing about it.  Then it hit…  I say hit, it was more like a tight squeezing around the chest, the pain radiated out and down my left arm, sweat started to build up to the point where it was just pouring down my face, it was as if someone had thrown a bucket of water over me.  I was having a Myocardial Infarction (MI). 

This is generally referred to as a heart attack and occurred when the blood flow to my heart was blocked for long enough, that part of my heart muscle was damaged and died (the human heart is incapable of repairing itself).

In the four and half years that have past since my MI, I've taken up cycling to get fit, with  2016 being the 5th anniversary of my heart attack, I want to really challenge myself.  So on the 30th April 2016 I will be cycling to Paris from London (190 miles) in less than 24 hours - most riders doing London to Paris choose to take 2 and 3 days to cover the distance. 

2nd Challenge - I've also decided to run at least 1 mile everyday 

3rd Challenge - The Taunton Flyer, a 111 miles cycle ride on the 14th May 2016 (yes, just a fortnight after my London to Paris ride!)

4th Challenge - Riding up Alpe D'Huez with the Pumping Marvellous cycling team on the 10th September 

I'm raising funds for the Pumping Marvellous Foundation and unlike some other charity rides I am completely self funding this ride. So all of your donations and money raised will go to them and not on supporting me in this challenge.  Thank you visiting my page and reading my story, it would be great if you donate, any amount however small is greatly appreciated. 

More information: - 

On the rides - http://www.londontoparissportive.com/ and http://www.active.com/taunton-somerset/cycling/races/taunton-flyer-sportive-2016 

On the charity -  http://pumpingmarvellous.org

On me - http://coeurcycliste.com/

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.