My cycling story started three years ago when I was living and working in Prince Edward County.
In April 2021, I learned through local news that in August Parkinson Canada would hold a cycling event “Pedaling for Parkinson’s.” I had never participated in any events associated with Parkinson’s before, and I had never known anyone with the disease before. I looked at the participants’ board: a team called Rigid Riders was the top fundraising team. That was the first time I learned about this cycling club, an encounter that was going to change my life.
I emailed the contact person of the event, Jim Redmond, briefly introduced myself and mentioned that I might be interested in participating in the shortest ride on the event day, 40km. I received a warm welcome email from Jim and learned that he was riding the 100km route. Jim must be an elite athlete, I thought.
I was going through the darkest period of my life at that time. By then, I’ve been living with Parkinson’s for a decade, and I started to experience fast progression of symptoms. I was a newcomer in a small town of 500 people when social distancing was in practice. For reasons related to parkinson’s, I checked myself in the emergency room twice in a month. When I caught myself watching YouTube videos on suicide survival, I called Ontario mental support helpline. I started to write gratitude journals every day, and I decided to move back to Toronto.
I didn’t end up riding at the cycling event because with my poor physical condition at the time, I didn’t think I could ride 40km. But I did reach out to Rigid Riders and introduced myself.
The first group ride with Rigid Riders, I didn’t have any balance on the bike, and I fell on a downhill. I was embarrassed, but I soon learned that I’m not alone falling off the bike. I rode with these riders every Sunday since then. I gained confidence, strength, and friendship. At that time, my longest cycling distance was perhaps 30km.
In 2022, four Rigid Riders, Jim, Steve, Mike and Darline, decided to do a spinning wheels tour to cycle across Canada from May to September. Following their updates every day, I would hop on my bike and ride till exhaustion. In September 2022, I finished my first 100km ride in Orangeville, Ontario. I was amazed that I could do it, challenging but achievable.
The Spinning Wheels tour opened my eyes. They showed the possibility of doing hard things even with parkinson’s. They showed the potential of human body and mind. And they planted hope in my heart.
Now, I have become a cyclist, too. This year, I rode 8000 km across the US and five provinces of Canada.
My cycling story started three years ago. If I can do it, I believe anyone can do it.
