In the early hours of the morning on the 18th of February I lost my grandad and best friend to a long battle with cancer amongst other complications. My grandad was a massive carer through most of his life volunteering for many charities like the Red Cross helping refugees arriving from their perilous journeys from Africa to Spain. He also cared for his family and many friends. Harvey Lingwood was the nicest, friendliest and funniest person I ever had the pleasure of knowing and I'm sure others thought the same. 

In the final three nights of Harvey's life he was looked after by two different incredible nurses from the Marie Curie Charity that would stay by his side making him as comfortable as possible. This is why I have decided that all donations toward this challenge will go directly to their charity. 

All proceeds to this amazing charity are very much appreciated and information on the Challenge I will be attempting is below along with information on the smart trainer I will be using. 

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The Challenge : In the virtual cycling game Zwift I will cycle up a 1000 meter climb 11 times and every descent will count toward the total elevation of the Mariana Trench, which is -10,994 m. Each 1000 meter ascent will take me 70 - 80 minutes or more and the descent takes 10 minutes. I will be on the bike for each ascent however I am allowed to get off the bike for 10 minutes whilst I am descending back down.

The Bike & Trainer : I have an indoor smart trainer that fits onto the back of my road bike where the rear tyre would normally be. The smart trainer automatically adjusts the difficulty of pedalling as I go up a hill and makes it easier as I'm going down the hill. It is very similar to cycling a hill outside but.. inside. 

Here is a link to the smart trainer I'll be using if you want to know a little more about how it all works : https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-trainers/kickr-core-indoor-smart-trainer

Time to complete : Recently I completed the Everest challenge inside which is a couple of thousand meters less and that took me 12 hrs 20 minutes with over 8000 calories burned throughout. This challenge will likely take me 14 - 17 hours depending on how I feel and how good my nutrition is on the bike. 

Livestream : I will livestream this event at twitch.tv/ewan_mackie on the 27th of February probably starting in the early hours of the morning and finishing late evening. You'll be able to see me cycling through my webcam, the mountain in the game that I'll be cycling up and down along with my constant heart rate and power output through the pedals. 

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Finally, myself and the family just want to thank the nurses from Marie Curie for the excellent care they gave grandpa in his final few days. The work you do is amazing and I hope my challenge will help the charity to continue with it's amazing care and support for those with terminal illnesses and their families!