Kidney patient gears up for 388-mile charity cycle ride to Paris before life-changing transplant

Dan Norcott and his two friends, Rich Moss and Andy Stafford, will be taking on their 388-mile cycle challenge from Wymeswold to Paris between May 4 and 15 to raise money for the Kidney Care Appeal, a joint venture between Leicester’s hospitals and the University of Leicester.

Dan (41) has polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetically transmitted illness where cysts develop in the kidneys and gradually increase in size, disrupting the function and almost inevitably leading to them failing.

Dan’s father, who died in 2004, also had the condition.

Dan said: “Since I was diagnosed at the age of 21, my kidney function has coasted gently downwards. I’ve just entered the last phase of the illness. My mum is going to give me a kidney and, sometime this summer, I’ll be ill enough to need it.

“In short, I’m very lucky. I’m ill but a treatment is available and I have someone willing to give me a gift that could extend my healthy life by a decade or more. Many people at this stage experience great pain, but I have very little, and my symptoms are mostly just a drowsiness and general lack of pep.

“I find it hurts to stand upright for more than a few minutes, but fortunately walking and cycling are largely free from pain, if a little slower than normal.”

Dan, who is married to 2012 Man Booker prize-shortlisted author Alison Moore, is planning to complete his epic bike ride in three sections over 10 days, covering about 45 miles a day. The first leg (132 miles) will take Dan and his friends from Wymeswold to London, the second leg onto Newhaven (107 miles) and the final leg from Dieppe to Paris (149 miles).

The trio set an initial target to raise £5,000 but hope to beat that. You can sponsor them by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/Pedalling-to-Paris-with-PKD/5

For more information about their challenge visit http://pedallingtoparis.com/