Right after the conclusion of ECT-III, I started training very hard with the intention of upping up my game whilst helping others. I signed up for a series of sportives (Gran Fondos) in Scotland that took place over the Summer 2014. Grand Fondos are 1 day events that are mainly organised for charitable purposes (the equivalent of marathons for cyclists) and in which cyclists are tested on their endurance and speed. I successfully completed the following Sportives: Bouchaille Mor, Cairn o' Mount, Lepra Edi-StA,Trossachs Ton, Bethany, Tour o' the Bordersand Etape Trossachs in 2014.

However, the hard training resulted in a bad injury. In February 2015, I started yet another tour, this time a medical Tour, visiting many Doctors in London (my new home town) to get to the source of the problem. Only recently, after ruling out all sorts of other major physical problems, I discovered that I have a syndrome called "cyclist syndrome" or in medical terms "pudendal neuralgia".  The syndrome is the result of bad positioning on the bike (poor bike fitting). The various people I consulted prescribed standing (instead of sitting) on the bike. This meant cycling all the way standing on the bike. My adrenaline was intact. I was committed to return (with love and effort) what has been given back to me three years ago: life and hope. Thus, I resolved that I should honour my promise. I am firm believer that when you give to others, you get so much from others that even healing is possible. However, due to the unexpected circumstances that affected me this year, I decided to change the entire route. 

The challenge consisted of cycling from Copenhagen to Fensburg and from Leer to Antwerp (originally we planned Brussels) passing by 4 different countries. I was very lucky to be accompanied by my wife, Sakina, this time. We cycled 800km in 8 days (the first and last day being only half days due to time constraints). This means that we had to cycle over 100km a day to meet to get to Brussels on time. The challenge was hard for Sakina since it was her first ever tour and was also very hard for myself due to my condition. The trouble is that, if you are carrying stuff in panniers (and you are standing), the bicycle rocks like crazy. We carried as little as possible and helped each other along the way. My lemma was and still is IMPOSSIBLE is NOTHING.  

Sakina, my wife is 25% Syrian from her dad's side. Most members of Sakina's direct family in Syria were able and lucky to emigrate to the US and Canada; they found help in other family members. However, millions of Syrians currently live in Syria in very precarious conditions. Due to the hardship that has been endured by the civil war, one in five Syrians doesn't have enough food to live on and half of the population is heavily reliant upon humanitarian aid. We both think we cannot just live our lives forgetting about the world around us. With the help of family and friends, Sakina and I managed to raise £1821 for a charity to helps Syrian people called Hand in Hand for Syria.

For more information about this cause, please click on the link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/SakinaAndFedericoCyclingForSyria

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