It seems to me that the goal of such news snippets is to heighten awareness and lead those who care about the story to do some research on their own if they choose. Each time such a story comes on TV or in the papers, I have all sorts of requests and responses to it. I'm sure others do too. I think that's good. Who knows how many pwps are encouraged to try exercise, biking, dancing or whatever, after seeing such a clip?

Mike, just to clarify a few things about the forced pace cycling. 1. It does not need to be done on a tandem. Jay Alberts is now using stationary bikes with motors in lieu of tandems. They are still working out some bugs according to the manufacturer, but are getting closer to replicating the tandem experience on solo bikes. However, in the program we're starting in Seattle, we are using tandems. 2. You do not have to be on a stationary bike at all. I force myself to ride at 80-90 rpm, although prior to PD my usual pace was in the 50-60 range. Sometimes I'm inside on a bike trainer and, weather permitting, I'm outside, but always for at least 5 days/week and with a minimum of an hour at 80-90 rpm. 3. In the test setting, the people have 10 min of warmup, 40 min at the forced pace, and 10 min of cool down. This is done 3/week for 8 weeks.

I think a valid question, and one we're grappling with as we set up a program in Seattle, is "What about after the trial period? Does everyone get a bike?" Can the patients return to the test site and use the bikes off hours? We're working on that one. We're also modestly hopeful that a mechanism can/will be developed that can be added to a normal road bike to make it an electric bike that can be modulated to fit the needs of pwp. The modulating part is the tough one. Our goal is to have such a thing available for $200-$300. Don't hold your breath. It's a ways off!