\I never wanted to run a marathon when I was younger.  I ran my five miles per day for most of my high school and college years, and also my years in the US Navy.  After that I still ran, but I gradually got into other activities.  I played sotball and indoor soccer, and I satisfied myself that both involved a fair amount of running.   I also got married and had kids, and looking back, I realize that I needed to be much more intentional about it in order to avoid slipping.  The same is true for bike riding and working out at the gym–anything physical, really.  Those skills are perishable; either use them or lose them.

When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in the Spring of 2016, I was 46 years old.  Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease (YOPD) meant a return to exercising. Why?  Because research shows that there is just one thing that we have found so far that can slow the progression of PD, only one thing that can prolong the good part of life and hodld off the inevitable decline, at least for a while.  That one thing is exercise.

For years I focused on running-relatede activities, like Spartan races.  I did the best I could–and yes, I did complete a marathon, barely–but now the disease has made runnng diffcult and swimming nearly impossible.  Bicycling is not easy, but I have been working to get stronger, and this ride from Chicago to Phoenix for the World Parkinson Congress (WPC) is the culimination of that effort.  More than that, it is my way of advocating on behalf of all of us ho are fighting every day to live–and live well!–with PD.  Please help spread the word, and please consider making a donation of any size.