Listmembers may be interested in this story which appeared in today's
Halifax (Nova Scotia) Mail Star.  Some listmembers may remember that two
years ago Norm sat at the top of a fire truck extension ladder for almost a
week to raise awareness for Parkinson's.

This ride through Nova Scotia's beautiful Annapolis Valley, along the
"French" shore, around Yarmouth at the southwest tip of the province and up
along the historic south shore was a trial or "dry-run" for a much more
ambitious project next year.  Norm's orginal idea was to pedal from Windsor,
Newfoundland to Windsor Ontario. You have to remember that Norm is from
Winsdor Nova Scotia and thus the Windsor to Windsor ambition.  We convinced
him to scale it down to a dry-run and he succeeded amazingly. He was so fast
on the route that we couldn't keep the publicity campaign running fast enough!

Norm, as the story says, is not ready to sit idly by. His spirit will
inspire others. We will hear more from him.  I will certainly  pass on any
comments or reflections about his endeavour which listmembers might care to
post.

Regards to all
Peter
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 08/08/96         CYCLIST NOT TYPE TO WAIT FOR CURE FOR PARKINSON'S

   [Image]          By LOIS LEGGE Staff Reporter

 Norm Bennett doesn't want to just sit around and   wait for a cure for
Parkinson's disease.    Instead, the 48-year-old Windsor man has been
pedalling his bike since last Friday to raise  awareness of the neurological
condition he has had for more than 10 years, and to raise money to fight the
disorder.

The former volunteer firefighter has already pedalled his recumbent bicycle
- a long, low-riding vehicle with small tires - through the  Annapolis
Valley and along the Acadian and South  shores. He arrived in Tantallon on
Wednesday. He will be at the Sobeys parking lot in Lower Sackville today for
a barbecue in his honor, and
to raise funds.

``I don't want to sit back on my behind and do nothing,'' Mr. Bennett said
Wednesday, speaking on his cellular phone from just outside Hubbards. ``I
just can't do that. I want to go out, I want  to get the word out.''

Mr. Bennett has a third goal for his bike ride,  dubbed Pedalling for
Parkinson's - Racing Against  Time. He's trying to convince volunteer fire
departments throughout the province to hold events each year to raise funds
for Parkinson's research.

The retired installer with Maritime Tel & Tel has stopped at fire
departments along the way and says he has received a lot of support for the
idea. He has also had fire trucks as escorts, in addition to the support van
that travels behind  him.

Mr. Bennett compares the effects of Parkinson's to throwing water on a
computer - the keys seize up.

The brains of people with the disorder are operating at ``full capacity,''
he said. ``It's  just that your body won't do what you're trying  to tell it
to do.''

Mr. Bennett first noticed something wrong when he had repetitive stiffness
in his wrist, elbow and
shoulder on his left side.

``Then things became very, very slow for me to do, like to put a seatbelt on
took almost  forever. To put a
jacket on was forever.''

He's also having trouble walking as the disease  progresses, but says an
experimental drug he's
taking has helped his movement.

Other than sunburn on his legs, Mr. Bennett has been feeling ``pretty good''
during his ride,
although he has had difficulty keeping his balance on the bike.

``It's very comfortable, but very, very tricky to  ride. On real steep
hills, I have to put the bike
back in the van ... because I just don't have the strength in my legs.''

Mr. Bennett said most drivers have been patient  and considerate during his
trek, but he's still a
little shaken after being run off the road Wednesday near Hubbards.

Mr. Bennett hasn't set a monetary goal for the  trip, saying ``whatever we
get is more than we
had when we started.''

So far, he has raised more than $1,300 on the  road. And for the next two
months, branches of
the Royal Bank of Canada will be taking donations for the Parkinson's
Foundation of Canada, whose
Nova Scotia chapter helped organize the trip.

Mr. Bennett plans to return to Windsor on Friday,  making a few more stops
at fire departments along
the way.
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Peter J. Kidd
Learning Materials Consulting Services
62 Coronation Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3N 2M6, CANADA
Phone & Fax: (902) 443-4262
Email: [log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
http://www.ccn.cs.dal.ca/~aa163/peterkidd.html
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