Les 7 Majeurs for Eddie
Fundraising for Tree of Hope
Fundraising for Tree of Hope
Myself and my friend Wilson are attempting to take on Les 7 Majeurs on the weekend of the 26th September 2024. Translated as ‘The 7 Major Climbs’, this little known challenge is one of the toughest out there.
Consisting of cycling 360km with 12,000 vertical metres of climbing, we will cycle continuously starting at 4am and finishing well into the next night.
Each of the 7 mountains are over 2,000 metres high, which is double Snowdon! (And one climb which is almost 3,000m)! We will do this 7 times going straight up and down with no nice flat to recover on, so we have nicknamed this challenge ‘The Toblerone’.
As most of you will know, I am a keen cyclist, but the furthest I’ve previously cycled in one go is 250km, with half the amount of vertical ascent. So I’ve definitely had a couple of sleepless nights about this challenge.
Wilson is an ex-pro-jockey and keen cyclist, but until agreeing to do this challenge a few months ago, had not ridden in around 4 years!
We’ve been training since the spring for this challenge, and the nerves are really starting to kick in now with what we’ve taken on.
During the challenge we’ll have the brilliant Joss and Gwilym supporting us. They’ll drive the whole route with us, also staying up for over 24hrs, making sure we’re safe and have food and water when needed. This challenge really wouldn’t be possible without them.
To help us get through the dark and cold climbs, when everything is hurting, we have decided to fundraise. Eddie is the son of one of my oldest friends from school, Alex, and is a bright, beautiful and often wild little boy.
Now 9, Eddie has a rare genetic mutation (COL4a2) which resulted in him suffering a stroke in utero, he subsequently has some areas of damage on his brain which have had far reaching consequences for him.
As well as living with complex epilepsy, and a profound learning disability Eddie has cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs so he is not independently mobile and increasingly he needs a hoist to help him safely access the things he loves to do. He is a very active boy, full of energy and his favourite activities include swimming, bouncing and going on the swing! So much so that he has both a swing and a trampoline in his garden, but both of which his family are starting to struggle to get him into/on.
I’m hoping to raise funds for them to put towards an outdoor hoist and other equipment enabling him to spend more time outdoors, giving the family and Eddie more freedom. Eddie is happiest when he is outside and experiencing Zero Gravity – as a thrill seeker and skydiver myself, we have this in common!
Any donation big or small would be greatly appreciated.
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