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Colin Hamilton, Englishman, age 48, the last nine years with Parkinson
disease and living on Ibiza (Balearic Islands), Spain is cycling
unaccompanied through Europe from May 1, 1994 till October 18, 1994.
His cycling tour started the first of May at the headquarters of the
Parkinsons Disease Society (PDS) in London, U.K. Via Oslo, Norway, Sweden,
Denmark and Germany, Colin arrived in the Netherlands by bike on sunday
June 12. He is cycling through our country for a fortnight and during this
weeks he is staying with members of the Dutch YOPPERS (=Young Onset
Parkinson).
Colin has attracted the attention from local newspapers and the regional
broadcasting stations. Using his cycling tour we have made a lot of free
publicity in the Netherlands for both Parkinson disease and the YOPPERS.
Friday June 24 there will be a special meeting of our PC=2 project
(PC=personal computer). Colin has been invited, for this special occasion,
to handover the first PC to a YOPPER. Besides to have an Englishman as our
guest at this meeting, we are very honoured to have guests from Belgium
(Geert Ariens), from Germany (Hermann Terweiden and others) and even from
the U.S.A. (Rita Weeks).
(Later on this week I will forward information about the YOPPERS PC=2
project to the PARKINSON DISEASE-Information Exchange Network)
Colin will continue his cycling tour through Europe on saterday June 25. He
will leave our country and is cycling on his way to his final destination,
total distance 3400 km, the Catalan capital Barcelona, Spain.
 
The objectives of Colin Hamilton for his PARKINSON's 1994 EUROPE BY BIKE
TOUR are:
* as 1994 will be the 25th anniversary of the Parkinsons Disease Society
(PDS), plus the year of greater cooperation between all the Parkinsons
Disease Societies (through EPDA = European Parkinson Disease Association)
spread across Europe, it has been considered opportune the idea of Colin
completing a sponsored pedal-cycling tour linking the European P.D.
Societies, in an effort to maintain public and governmental awareness of
the need for continuing research to find a cure for a dastardly disease
that strikes at the very essence of life, voluntary movement.
* it is also hoped to encourage those who have just recently being
diagnosed, by showing that after nine years grappling with the rigours of
Parkinson's, it is still possible to lead an active life.
* lasty, to push himself to the limits in order to gain better
understanding of the "condition"; the medication; and als to maintain his
own spirit and zest for life.
 
Gerard van Rossum    [log in to unmask]