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My name is John Taylor I was diagnosed with an MPD(myeloproliferative disorders) a form of blood cancer called Polycythaemia Vera (PV) 4 years ago. I have been a keen cyclist all my life and was determined not to let this disease stop me riding. The positive affect of continual cycling has helped me deal with the disease in a more positive way so that  that I now feel confident to do something to help, so have decided to organise a fund raising ride in the French Alps.

The team consists of myself & 5 friends (average age 59 years)luckily for them non have an MPD but apart from 1 young 26 year old are all older than me and as such have their own health issues.On 10/11 September 2010 we will attempt to ride up as many of the famous high Alpine passes as we can. This is no easy challenge especially with PV, but if we can do it then it also proves anything is possible even with diseases and age against us.

The TEAM is L to R Derrick Woodings(70),Bill Cotton(65),Brian Newton(65),Alan Hitchcock(66),John Taylor(61) & not shown Andy Swinburne(26)

Our COL CONQUERING CHALLENGE is to attempt to ride up as many of the high alpine passes as seen on the Tour de France (or Cols as the French call them)as we can in 2 days. This will be a really difficult challenge with some of these Cols climbing to 6000ft and more, so we wil be riding constantly uphill 8 to 20 or more kms with average gradients of 10% (1in 10)on each Col. For myself with PVconquering just one of these monsters will be a success.To the best of my knowledge I dont think anyone else with PV or any other MPD has attempted anything like this before

Who is MPD-SUPPORT ? they are a UK  charity registered under the auspices of the Guys and St Thomas Charity.MPD-SUPPORT are actively involved in the support of patients and the funding of research / trial of new drugs, also in trying to find a cure for these rare and complicated cancers.

What are MPD's?  Polycythaemia Vera (PV) ,Myelofibrosis(MF),Essential Thrombocythaemia(ET),they are rare and incureable blood cancers that affect people of all ages , from children to people in the prime of life . These disorders cause debilitating fatigue,blood clots,heart attacks,strokes,and sometimes can mutate into Leukaemia.

PLEASE HELP US BY SPONSORING OUR RIDE AND IN DOING SO YOU WILL ASSIST IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THESE CANCERS & COULD IMPROVE OR EVEN SAVE A PATIENTS LIFE.

THE TEAM ARE ALL DOING THIS AT THIER OWN EXPENSE , SO ALL MONEY DONATED WILL GO TO THE CHARITY.

An example of how your money could be used :-

Fly a nurse/consultant to a medical conference             £400

Fund a junior scientist 1 day/week to research new drugs   £700

Hire a nurse 1 day/week to support clinical trials of new drugs    £10000.

 

25 Aug 2010 we are now just a few weeks away from our ride so far the weather has been good to us allowing us all to get pretty fit. We will now move into our final preparation to include as many hard Peak District climbs as we can find , they still don't come close to the Alpine climbs though. All the team are excited about the challenge whilst maintaining a healthy respect for it.

On a personal note its not been plain sailing for myself, a few weeks back my blood started to become unstable again,with a large rise in my platelets ( the blood clotting element). The Drs at the hospital are trying their best to get me back on track , so far I still have the thumbs up, so fingers crossed.

Thanks to all those that have donated so far. Please keep checking here for the latest progress .

Its now 12 Aug & getting really close to the off, bloods getting better , fitness also, so we are looking good. We have a list of the climbs we can pick from to try & climb which are, Alpe D'huez, Col Du Lautaret, Coldu Galibier, Col De La Croix De Fer, Col du Glandon, Col d'Ornon, Col Du Mollard, to name a few of the major ones , if you want to see more on the climbs , views , profiles etc go to www.climbbybike.com