It's getting closer to July and that means that the Pedaling For Parkinson's team will be riding across Iowa again in RAGBRAI. I thought I had ridden my last RAGBRAI, but here I am training again. Today I rode 51.05 miles (I'm sure the .05 is important) in a little over four hours. Since it was essentially a trail along a river, the ride was much flatter than it will be in Iowa. None-the-less, 51 miles at age 70 with PD took a lot of effort. I felt fine while riding, even near the end when it is all up hill. But afterwards it didn't take long for my muscles to tighten and I was too tired to even nap. This should make it interesting in Iowa.

Riding is obviously an outward, physical manifestation of how I cope with PD and many people say they are inspired by my efforts, which affirmations pump up my dopamine production. Perhaps the most important thing I do, however, is participate in clinical trials. This week I travel to Portland for the second of my three visits for researchers to take samples from my various body parts to analyze them for progression of alpha synuclein. This week is a spinal tap among other events. Some day this disease will be beaten and I'm convinced that research holds the best chance of finding answers. Then so many of my friends would not be faced with the choice of DBS or No DBS. Go well.