Parkinson Canada Cycling challenge passing through Calgary
Parkinson Canada will be hosting a peloton across Canada with their Spinning Wheels Tour, which plans to roll by Calgary on Aug. 13.
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The two-month cycling journey will host around 250 cyclists over three teams that will travel across Canada. The goal is to raise awareness and $200,000 for Canadians with Parkinson's disease.
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In Canada, there are more than 110,000 individuals who live with Parkinson's.
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Senior director of events, stewardship and partnerships for Parkinson Canada,, said that this will their third year bringing this event across the nation.
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'This all started with three gentlemen with Parkinson's who decided to cycle across Canada to raise awareness about Parkinson's and build community across the country,' McMillan said.
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The original concept aimed to reach major urban cities, rural areas, and northern communities to connect with as many people as possible.
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'In the tours, they cycle around the province and connect with us at Parkinson Canada, local Parkinson's organizations and provincial ones, just to promote what they are doing as much as possible, to raise awareness and build those connections,' he said.
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An added benefit of the tour demonstrates the benefit of cycling for symptom alleviation for people who live with Parkinson's.
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'You don't need to ride 100 km every day, but just getting out there and riding five, 10, or even 15 km a day or whatever you can manage really does help with the symptoms of Parkinson's,' he said.
The tour also raises money for local and provincial Parkinson's organizations, alongside Parkinson Canada.
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'Any money that is raised through that goes directly back into the community, to support the people and programs for people living with Parkinson's,' McMillan said.
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Rider and co-chair for the Spinning Wheels Tour, Lloyd Taylor, was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 53.
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Five years later, cycling came to his rescue after being introduced to it through a local cycling group.
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'I thought that it's not possible since I have a tremor, so I'd be like an egg on a spoon and I'd just fall off,' Taylor said. 'I did have some falls, but I was amazed at the impact of cycling on the symptoms, and it's something that I've heard over and over.
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'The tremor that I have constantly spilling soup and knocking over coffee cups is soothed on the bike, it almost disappears. It's so freeing to be on the bike.'
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At the time of his interview with Postmedia, Taylor and his fellow riders were sheltering from the rain in Vancouver. Their goal is to ride to Calgary through Lundbrek, cycle to Edmonton, then make their way to Saskatchewan.
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'I'm really excited to head into Calgary,' Taylor said. 'I'm told the ride into Calgary is gorgeous, and there's a Parkinson's group in Alberta that is going to host us upon our arrival and throw a meet-and-greet, so I'm really looking forward to meeting them and seeing Calgary.'
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