Hello again,　

So we are pleased to report that Team Blackbird managed to conquer the Everest of mountain biking and drag itself around the 7 Stages of La Leyenda to arrive at the finish line in Manizales safe and sound. It was a fantastic experience in a great country with some of the most hospitable people we have ever met.  We can truly recommend taking part or paying a visit. 　

The race itself went off with surprisingly little incident (no "technicals" to speak of) save for a few hairy moments on the single track downhill sections and some comedy uphill falls when the terrain got tough. There were many highlights, but if we had to choose one it would be completing the Queen stage after 11.30hrs in the saddle and diving into the volcanic thermal pools to recover. Riding up the main street of Manizales lined with supporters to the finish would also be right up there.

Which just leaves us to say a massive thank you to everyone for your support and all the donations received. Team Blackbird set out with a target to raise GBP2,000 for Pseudomyxoma Survivor and we currently have over GBP5,500 in the pot (and still growing), which, of course, is down to the generosity of our friends and family - so thank you very much. It means a great deal to us and I am sure the money will be put to good use.　

A special thank you to Elodie and Jess for their support during the training schedule and for drumming up interest on social media.

If you are interested in getting a flavour of the event, we have attached a youtube link below for Stage 1. 　

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oxbmrrGWY4Y

Thanks again and hope to see you all soon.　

Tom & Rich

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

On 30 July 2017, Team Blackbird (Tom Palmer and Richard Williams) will roll across the start line in Manizales, Colombia as they begin the epic challenge of La Leyenda del Dorado – The Everest of mountain biking.

https://en.la-leyenda.com/

The 7 stage mountain bike race will cover 500kms and over 16,000 meters of vertical ascent at high altitude in the Colombian Andes.   Stages 2, 4 & 5 alone take in almost 10,000m of climbing and culminate in the cresting of the Nevado del Ruíz Volcano at 4000m.    The race has received UCI professional accreditation and as a result we will be testing our mettle against some of the best cross country mountain bikers around.   The event will also be televised on ESPN, if you want to tune in to see us struggling up the climbs.

We will be doing the event for the charity, Pseudomyxoma Survivor http://www.pseudomyxomasurvivor.org which supports people with, or affected by, pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). PMP is a very rare form of cancer which originates in the appendix and affects only about 2 in a million people per year. As such, there is still a lot which is not known about it or its treatment. 

Tom’s father, John, died of PMP last year after discovering he had the disease in 2014.  John was a sport fanatic, able to live and breath the competitive spirit watching a game of garden swingball, so he would have loved this event.  Stopping him from being on the finish line would have been nigh on impossible.   　

Although PMP is a rare form of cancer, we are lucky in the UK to have two centres of excellence which treat the disease in Manchester and Basingstoke. John was treated in Basingstoke, as was the founder of Pseudomyxoma Survivor.  We have chosen to ride for this charity in memory of John and due to the charity's strong links to Basingstoke and the vital role both play in providing support to PMP patients and their families and friends.

Thank you for your support.