The first ride with Matt 2 is a treat: great rider and good company.  The heat, on the other hand, is oppressive.

We met a fellow today named Jesse who got me thinking about the kind people that we meet along the way and their impact on us. Jesse is a business owner in the small town of Fritch, Texas.  He owns one – and at times more than one – pizza shops.  He approached us as we entered town, intrigued by our matching shirts, and invited us for lunch upon hearing about our journey.  He then called the local media, and a reporter came right over to interview the whole team.  It is people like Jesse who make this journey possible, in ways that I’ll explain.  It’s not just the free lunch, although that is certainly appreciated given the self-funded nature of our trip.

Our goal is to raise awareness of the disease within the general population and encourage those with PD to find their community.  It still surprises me how little attention this illness receives, given its frightening rate of growth, the cursory understanding of its causes, and the absence of therapies to stop – or even slow – its progression. No national sponsors, no task forces, no hew and cry, and great swaths of the North American population left undertreated by limited access to Movement Disorder Specialists. It’s going to take more than just polite nudging by the silent or reclusive among us to get the research funding we need.  It will take a ground swell, and that requires awareness.  That is a role that we can play.

So, back to Jesse, and the dozens of people who have shown support in so many ways, we want you to know that most days of this journey we spend 3-5 hours in the saddle crawling along the roadsides, and then about the same amount of time doing administrative things to keep this train on the tracks.  That is a long time on our own, seeing and talking to no one. It is easy to lose sight of whether any of this matters.  But your words and gestures of support are a reminder of why we must forge ahead.  And if any of our efforts do lead to greater awareness, and if that awareness leads to more research funding and new therapies, know that you played a part.