Dan and Michael Smith - Charity bike ride/Sunday Express

It's 5.30am on a bitterly cold Friday morning. On the Millennium Bridge just near St Paul's Cathedral seven men and one girl are preparing to set off on a bike ride to Amsterdam in aid of the charity Blind in Business. The driving force behind the venture are 20 year old twins Dan and Michael Smith, who have themselves recently lost their sight because of a rare genetic condition. 'It's a 350 mile trip,' says Dan, who is the older twin by one minute, 'and though normally it takes six days our schedule is three and a half because we wanted it to be as physically challenging as possible.' This approach epitomises the attitude of the boys, who are determined not to let their disability hold them back in life. After being filmed for Dutch TV and posing for photographs they and their friends, who are a mix of medical and dental students get ready to set off. Dan and Michael will each be on racing tandems, with sighted cyclists at the front. 'Riding a tandem is very different from a regular bike in the sense that you have to keep communicating with each other all the time so the person on the back knows that a corner or a hill is coming up and is prepared for it,' explains Dan. 'And although it can move quicker on the flat as you've got extra pedal-power, it's much tougher going uphill, because there's double the weight.' And since there are plenty of hills between here and Dover, which is the initial destination, it's important to be punctual in order to catch the ferry. As the St Paul's Cathedral clock chimes six, the group sets off on their sleek racing bikes. They cycle through the early morning London streets, past London bridge, where early morning workers are mixing with late returning clubbers and then towards Blackheath, where the grass is crisp with frost. There are two support vehicles accompanying the ride. Steve Smith and his wife Su-Jan are in one driving a hired van bringing food, luggage, spare bikes – and of course lots of moral support for the gruelling journey ahead. Steve 63, a Chartered Engineer and Su-Jan, 55, an ex-nurse originally from Taiwan are saddened by the challenges they've seen their sons face but also tremendously proud of their achievements. Both boys went to the academically high-flying City of London Boys' School. Then Michael went to study medicine at Bart's whilst Daniel embarked on a degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Bristol University. 'They were such bright, active children and so easy to bring up,' says Su-Jan. 'When they went to University we felt delighted that they'd embarked on careers they loved and looked forward to seeing them enjoy life.' But then during his first term studying medicine Michael realised he was having trouble reading his notes. Soon afterwards his sight deteriorated so much he was forced to give up his course and finally in Feb 2010 DNA tests revealed that he was suffering from a rare genetic condition called Leber's Optic Neuropathy, which only affects 250 people in the UK. The main symptom is a sudden loss of vision which is caused by the death of cells in the optic nerve. Because the boys are twins there was a 60-70% chance that Daniel would develop the same condition as indeed he did in late 2011. The twins now have only 7% vision and have needed to re-learn everyday tasks such as cooking or doing laundry. Michael was forced to give up medicine and is now in his second year at King's College London studying Geography whilst Daniel is doing his final year in Aeronautical Engineering but studies part-time in order to allow him space to adjust. Soon it's time for the first break in the historic town of Rochester. The weather has warmed up, and the group has been joined by Jamie Murison, a colleague of Steve's and five members of a local cycling group he belongs to nicknamed The Fat Boys. 'Though all this exercise is slimming us down now,' admits Jamie. The group will be joining the charity cyclists for a section of the journey to offer companionship and support. Until leaving home for University the twins were inseparable and still speak on the phone every day. They're lively, positive guys but very much acknowledge the tough times they have faced. 'I'd wanted to do medicine for a very long time and it was devastating to realise I'd have to give it up,' says Michael. 'I felt as though my future was falling apart. And after my diagnosis the one thing I wanted was for my brother not to have to go through this as well, but sadly that wish wasn't granted.' Dan recalls what a difficult time that was, ''When I learned that I might go blind as well, it was effectively like sitting on a time bomb that might go off at any moment. At least now I feel relieved because I know where I stand and can move on. I've had to work really hard and show such dogged determination just to live a normal life, but I really do believe that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' Both boys have experienced changes in their social lives. 'I've made some fantastic new friends but I've lost friends as well,' says Dan. 'Some people can't handle the change and drift off but your real friends stick by you.' 'It can be hard for young, high-achieving people to understand disability,' Michael adds, 'and we don't expect anyone to fully understand. But although we have suffered and in many ways are still suffering, overall we want to tackle what life has dealt us with confidence and humour.' Soon it's back in the saddle for another challenging session. By 12.00 the group have covered 55 miles and stop for lunch in a field outside Faversham. Already everyone is feeling very grateful for the lycra in their cycling shorts 'I'm aching in places I didn't know existed,' admits medical student Joe Masters, 18, who is on the front of Dan's tandem. The entire group has been training hard for this challenge. Joe, Ollie Sohan, 21 and Christopher Millward,26 who are piloting the tandems have also practised both riding on the front and and riding on the back when blindfolded to give them a sense of how Dan and Michael experience the ride and what guidance they might need from their pilot. Dave Brooke, 23 is the navigator for today and is liaising about the route with Steve in the support vehicle. Jonathan Hatton, 23 is checking over his bike and bantering with the others. The challenge was originally named sevenmenfivebikes but medical student Catharine Denning, 25, was a later and very welcome volunteer to the group. Despite not being as experienced a cyclist as some of the guys, she's enjoying the ride. Meeting the twins, together with a placement at Moorfield Eye Hospital has been inspirational for Catharine and she's planning on specialising in treating eye and sight problems. Her boyfriend, Fred , another medical student is driving the other support vehicle. Dan is called up by Radio Bristol and steps aside to do an interview with them on his mobile. Good-looking, intelligent, witty, the twins have generated a lot of media attention including an appearance on BBC breakfast news and although it can be time-consuming, they've been willing to make the effort in order to raise charity funds and help change misconceptions about visually impaired people. Then it's off for the next section of the journey – the scenery is becoming more rural as the cyclists travel over the Kent Downs, past hop fields and oast houses and through pretty villages. The terrain is rather less idyllic if you're on a bike however as there's hill after hill, some of them punishingly steep. But the gang is in good spirits and there's a tremendous sense of bonding and camaraderie. They arrive in Dover two hours early, to whoops of triumph. Two and a half days and 250 miles later the group finally arrive in Amsterdam to photographers, a television crew and a rapturous champagne welcome. But getting there was a gruelling slog. The first section had been by far the easiest and once on the continent that they were battling against bitterly cold weather, rain, muscle strain, injuries, punctures and roadworks adding lengthy detours to an already demanding schedule. Daniel suffered from dehydration and hypothermia whilst Michael had to take heavy-duty painkillers to overcome knee pain. But their efforts have already raised over £16,000 for Blind in Business, a charity which is close to their hearts. Set up 18 years ago by three blind graduates it helps other partially sighted and blind graduates to compete equally with sighted candidates for good jobs. Both Dan and Michael are full of drive and ambition to make successful careers for themselves. Dan is going into engineering or finance, whilst Michael plans to study law and already has an internship lined up with leading international law firm Ashurst. 'There are hurtful stereotypes out there of disabled people and Dan and I have a huge drive to break them down,' says Michael. 'Whether it's our careers, sporting activities, relationships or social lives we are determined to prove that we can be every bit as productive as able-bodied people and just as capable of living our lives to the full.' To support Dan and Michael Smith, please go to www.justgiving.com/sevenmenfivebikes