This year, Lloyd will be joining thousands of bike riders on Sunday, October 13 to cycle over the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the 2019 Spring Cycle.
“I was born with a congenital heart defect called aortic stenosis. When I was younger it didn’t greatly hinder me physically. However, as I went through my teens and early 20’s and my valve condition deteriorated. Ultimately, I knew that eventually I’d have to undergo major surgery to replace the valve,” Lloyd explained.
Aortic stenosis is the narrowing of the aortic valve opening. Resulting in restricting blood flow from the left ventricle into the aorta which can limit the levels of physical activity a person can do.
Lloyd finally had surgery on his heart last December and spent 3 months doing little to no exercise to let his body recover.
Back on the bike
“I got back on the bike primarily to build back my fitness after the surgery. Firstly, I started out on my old mountain bike. However since then, I have upgraded to a road bike. Trying to ride about 200km a week, I have become a pretty avid road cyclist,” commented Lloyd.
“Spring Cycle will be the first big group ride I’ve done. The longest ride I have done so far is 94km. So the 105km ‘Challenge Ride’ will be a nice event on which to finally ride a century. I also haven’t ridden much in Sydney’s West, so I’m excited to explore some new routes.”
“Cycling has quickly become a favourite hobby of mine. I would encourage anyone to give it a go, especially those recovering from surgery or illness.”
If you would like to join Lloyd for Spring Cycle this year, you can register here. There are 4 ride options available - 10 km, 20 km, 50 km and 105 km.
