Hi Nan, thanks for the detailed response and the words of encouragement. I'll try to respond to each of the issues and questions which you've raised.

"I'm impressed with your commitment to define and maintain such specific workout protocols."
I don't think that the changeover times have to be that precise. I haven't asked Stephen Boutcher about this yet, but I get the impression from the Catalyst video segment that they used pre-recorded music to distinguish the fast and the slow segments. In my first post I included the information about my own RPMs just to show that if you double the Boutcher session duration to 40 minutes, you pretty much satisfy the Alberts/Ridgel formula, plus you get some "variability" thrown in for free.

"Of course, riding on roads or trails restricts my ability to maintain such precise intervals. I do note, for what it's worth, that I feel stronger and more affected by my cycling when I ride outside."
This is where I think you and I differ significantly. Cycling is only a very small part of my life. I do it only because I believe that high-cadence cycling is a very effective way to lessen symptoms and to possibly slow the progression of PD. I do my 40 minute session (plus 5 minutes warm up plus 5 minutes cool down) first thing in the morning before breakfast, after I take my medication. That way it's done with and I'm free for the whole day.

"Jay has told me informally that it appears that a higher cadence (still maintaining the hr parameters), provides stronger results."
Informal is nice, but as you know, it carries no weight in the scientific community. Jay Alberts is one of the authors of the "variability in cadence" paper which I referred to in my first two posts. As I reported in my second post, one of the conclusions from this research is that "dynamic changes in cadence appear to be an important component of tandem cycling."

As I hinted at in my second post, it seems to me that Ridgel el al. plan to use their "tested and validated" motorized smart exercise bike [A] as a "research vehicle" to further investigate how "variability of cadence" (and other factors) impact motor symptom improvements. I would imagine that this could take a few years.

"I have also found for me that riding four or more days/week is better than three one hour slots."
I agree. I do my session 6 days a week (I have a day off on Sunday).

"I can't imagine restricting myself to a tandem. Just organizing the people to help would use up my resources. As long as I can ride on my own, inside or out, I am in charge of my program and that sense of self efficacy means a great deal to my continued success..."
I agree. I must also add though, that I can't see a strong connection to anything I said in my first three posts.

"which brings me to the point of emphasizing two other points: the power of the placebo effect"
post #81 by Nan Cyclist, 03-08-2011: After his talk I asked if he knew about Pedaling for Parkinson's and Jay Alberts' work. He was very familiar with that. I asked if the results were due to the placebo effect and he stated "absolutely not The changes due to cycling are real."
I'm confused. Perhaps I've misunderstood you.

"and the fact that movement is just one part of Parkinson's: emotion and cognition play equally important roles."
I'm not sure if I've heard this before, and I'm not sure that I'd put it that way. Do you have a reference which you could share with us?

"Could you tell us a bit more about yourself?"
Sure. I was born in 1956 and diagnosed with idiopathic PD in June 2015. Like you, I think I have "PD lite" as you once called it. My main symptom is tremor (on the right side). My ambition is to replicate your success at remaining at stage 1 for 10 years, and to share with others what I learn along the way.

I'm sorry if I've been a bit blunt in some of my replies. It's not the PD - it's the way I am (according to my wife).



[A] H. M. Abdar, A. L. Ridgel, F. M. Discenzo, R. S. Phillips, B. Walter, K. A. Loparo, "Test and Validation of a Smart Exercise Bike for Motor Rehabilitation in Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease", IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 2016. DOI:10.1109/TNSRE.2016.2549030