Welcome to Headin' East! This is the journey of Dan and Darcy preparing to take on a self supported, 14 day, 1800km race through Kyrgyzstan for Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia. This trip is to raise awareness and money for the family support group for people affected by PCD.

The Chairwoman for the charity - Fiona Copeland, is a family friend of Dan's and has been an absolute rock to the family growing up. It's hard to explain how much of an inspiration Fiona is; having raised an awesome family with two boys diagnosed with PCD, running her own business with her husband, pushing boundaries while being chairwoman for the PCD family support group and a pillar to lean on in times of need. Fiona is one of the most selfless, caring people either Dan and Darcy have met. 

The PCD family support group was formed in 1991 and provides support to patients/carers and ensures access to diagnostic services. The group promotes research into cilia related illnesses and in 2010 formed an alliance with other groups who also have cilia related problems which is called - The Ciliopathy Alliance and helps push for funding into research for rare conditions like PCD. 

Stay up to date with what the charity is doing on their website:

http://pcdsupport.org.uk/about-us/

In addition to the families battle with PCD, Fiona has been recently diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. 

In true Fiona style, when we approached her asking how we can help, she said raising money for the PCD family support group is more important - which brings us to where we are now.

Dan and Darcy plan to ride the Silk Road Mountain Race in August which is the perfect challenge. Participants are given 14 days to finish a route which takes them through mountains, gravel tracks and old abandoned soviet roads with little tarmac. The route follows part of the historical silk road, which travels over 4000m+ passes, boarders China and finishes in the fishing town of Balykchy on the shores of lake Issyk-Kul. Riders have to face extreme weather conditions riding through rain storms, snow storms and sunny spells, while carrying all their possessions and food. 

This race is the least we can do and we aim to raise £1 for every 1km of the race route - if you have £1 spare, please help us reach our target! 

Training has begun and you can follow the progress on Dan and Darcy's Instagram page, where they plan to hold events in the lead up raising as much money and awareness as possible for the rare condition PCD. 

Headin' East Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/headin.east/?igshid=m4yapwibdkg0

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.