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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 ------------------------------ 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. =========================================================== 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 ===========================================================