Heart Valve Voice Cycle Team 2018.jpg

Heart Valve Voice Cycle Team 2018

Monday 21st May 2018

We’ve made it through the first day of our 2018 cycle ride from London to Paris and everyone has put in an amazing effort!

Today we completed 82 miles and did it all with smiles on our faces - the team spirit was definitely in full swing. It certainly helps that we are all connected by our passion for raising awareness of heart valve disease and ensuring that the general public are aware of the symptoms so that they are diagnosed and treated in a timely way.

We made a great start this morning setting off from the Park Plaza Waterloo in London (who are also sponsoring the cycle ride) and we have to give the staff there a big thank you for being so accommodating to the whole team. The team, including patient ambassador Gerry Kijack, took some time out to tell our videographer how they were feeling about the ride and why they were participating and posed for some photos with our photographer. Then we were off!

Patient ambassador Marina McGrath was a champion and stayed with the pack as we wound our way though the streets of London. Eventually those city streets turned into lovely country laneways and the scenery was outstanding! Thankfully we have Bicycle Buddy with us to make sure we don’t get lost and everything runs smoothly!

Our team is bigger this year and we were able to cycle in two teams, a competitive team that was led by team member Alwyn McMath who is a former World Cup gold medalist and a more leisurely team that was led by yours truly. While there are two separate groups we all function as team and there have been many moments where we have been riding together and making memories.

We’ve finished the day in New Haven and will be heading out on the ferry to Dieppe first thing tomorrow and continue our journey to Paris. It’s been such a fantastic day and we couldn’t have asked for a better team…and better weather. On to day two!

Check out our video for Day One: