Pedaling for Parkinson’s
Join the many Canadians who are going the distance for Parkinson’s by contributing to a collective cycling goal of 100,000 kms across Canada. Ride on your own, or as part of Pedaling for Parkinson’s Ride Day in communities across Canada on August 29th.
Contribute to the 100,000 km cycling goal from now until October 31st
Join today at www.gothedistance.ca
The Pedaling for Parkinson’s event has been fragmented due to the realities of COVID-19 but the spirit remains.
This summer, cyclists from Toronto to Trinidad are logging their kilometres in support of a bigger goal. Pedaling for Parkinson’s has traditionally been an in person, three day event focused on community, mutual support and collective impact.
Individual riders and groups are planning to come together and ride in small satellite groups while the ride officially focuses on virtual connections. Hosts Jim Redmond and Krista Simonett will still kick off from the Mount Tabor Fairgrounds in Milford, Ontario, intended as the gathering site for a 300-person ride on August 29. The Rigid Riders, a self-termed team of reluctant cyclists (most with Parkinson’s) will gather as a team in Toronto.
What’s different this year is that they’ll be joined in spirit by riders across the country and internationally who are taking part in a collective goal: riding a combined 100,000 kilometres in acknowledgement of the 100,000 Canadians living with Parkinson’s.
What hasn’t changed about the event is that no matter where someone is riding from, they all bring a personal motivation. Everyone has a Reason to Ride.
Annesa Rahim of Trinidad found Pedaling for Parkinson’s: Go the Distance when first adjusting to the realities of COVID-19 in her country. She has two uncles who were diagnosed with Parkinson’s, including one here in Canada who recently passed away.
She shares: “It’s very hard to be this far away from family. When my Canadian uncle died, it was the first time I had experienced a virtual funeral and it gave a greater meaning to a hug, as I wish I could have given my aunt and cousins a grand hug after my uncles’ passing. Instead, I experienced that virtually. Now, I’m riding in memory of two great men who had Parkinson’s. If I can surpass my mileage, it would be like sending a virtual hug back to my family.”
Lorraine Hutt and Katie Arnold are members of the Huron County TriHard triathlon club, but in this time of social distancing they both came by Go the Distance on their own. Lorraine rides for her mother and Katie has set a symbolic 536 KM goal as she rides for her father who lives 536 KM away outside of Ottawa.
For the Rigid Riders, connected to the intended Pedaling for Parkinson’s event in Milford, their motivation is personal. This self-termed team of reluctant cyclists is primarily composed of people with Parkinson’s with different levels of cycling ability and comfort. They all share the motivation to live well with Parkinson’s, and have no intention of giving up. They support each other with a clear message, “We have strength to spare – strength in numbers, strength in our convictions, and strength in the knowledge that good people love us and want to help.”
Bound together by their collective reasons to ride, a community of cyclists supports each other in living well, and is riding on the path to a world without Parkinson’s.
Anyone looking to contribute to the 100,000 KM cross-Canada cycling goal can do so at www.gothedistance.ca. Look for Ian Robertson’s story of fundraising in Iceland, in a future issue of ParkinsonPost — visit his FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/ian.robertson.5
Ride on your own, or as part of the Pedaling for Parkinson’s Ride Day in communities across Canada on August 29th.
For updates on this ride and a live opening ceremony on August 29th, visit Pedaling for Parkinson’s in PEC on Facebook.
Parkinson Canada SuperWalk
FIND A WALK
Join our movement of more than 80 communities and 10,000 participants across Canada. Parkinson Canada SuperWalk takes place each September. Across the country, walkers, donors and volunteers band together to show one another they are not alone in standing up to Parkinson’s. Since 1990, walkers like you have raised more than $41 million (including $2.5 million in 2019) to support a better life today for Canadians living with Parkinson’s, a world without Parkinson’s tomorrow.
Hear from our participants on their SuperWalk experience and what drives them.
Parkinson Canada Superwalk 2020 issued a press release on August 18, 2020 announcing Ralph Richardson as the National Hero.