Ryan O'Hare Doig - Project Discovery - Mt. Everest Challenge

Every year, the Neil Sachse Centre for Spinal Cord Research organise a 3-day bike ride through South Australia to raise money for Project Discovery. A project I have been apart of since 2017, a project that was extremely close to our lifelong friend Neil Sachse.

Neil Sachse passed away on the 25th of August, 2020 andf left behind shoes that I could never fill, but an even larger legacy that I hope I can help share. Since the beginning of the Project Discovery Classic, we have raised over $600,000 dollars through these events alone. These funds have allowed our research team to begin the worlds first human clinical trials to evaluate diagnostic tools and begin development of treatments for spinal cord injury.

In Australia, there are estimated to be 15,000 people living with a spinal cord injury as Neil did. For these individuals, there is no cure, no treatment, and limited resources. But Neil and his Centre are the difference in which is going to change all of that. Neil developed a Centre in which is changing the lives of individuals with spinal cord injury by bringing spinal cord research into the 21st Century.

Last year I promised Neil to take charge and take on the ride. And this year is no different, and I want to prove to everyone that no matter what happens, now matter how hard it might be, you can get through it, and get on with it. Echoing the words of our good friend Neil.

Now, there is where I hope you all can come in. With the ride occurring in November, I want to raise as much money as I can, and what better what to do this than to do a few cycling challenges along the way.

KOM Challenge - For every $1 donated, I will climb 1 vertical metre between now and Day 1 of the ride. Each week I will complete at a minimum the weekly donated total.

Now this doesn't sound like much, but to put it into perspective Mt. Everest is a 8,848m climb. *(See below for an extra challenge).

Grand Fondo Challenge - For every $10 donated, I will ride 1km between now and Day 1 of the ride. Each day, I will complete the daily donated total.

Mt. Everest Challenge - Once $8,848 has been donated (my first target), in addition to the 8,848 vertical metres already climbed, I will attempt to complete the Mt.Everest challenge, or 'everesting' as some of you may know it as.

The concept of Everesting is fiendishly simple: Pick any hill, anywhere in the world and complete repeats of it in a single activity until you climb 8,848m – the equivalent height of Mt Everest. Complete the challenge on a bike, on foot, or online, and you’ll find your name in the Hall of Fame, alongside the best climbers in the world.

Therefore, I will cycle the equivalent elevation of Mt. Everest on Zwift in one continuous ride, whereby I will do 8.5 laps (Lap Distance 24.4km; Lap Gain 1036) of Alpe Du Zwift (https://www.strava.com/segments/17267489). This is a huge challenge, and it will be approximately 12-15 hours of continuous riding, with 208.8km being covered. I might even do it at SAHMRI so you can all witness my pain and suffering.

Please consider sponsoring me, and dig deep. Every dollar counts, and every dollar makes a significant difference.

Below is my strava account for all my sponsors to keep track of my efforts.
https://www.strava.com/athletes/1535135