Photo by Marathon-Photos.Com

In 2022, Shake It Up fundraiser Sarah Buckpitt and her cycling friends put together the Pedal for Parkinson’s Tasmania tour. Riding 500km across 5 days, the team raised over $19,000 for Shake It Up and sparked a passion for fundraising. Last year, Pedal for Parkinson’s was bigger than ever, raising over $21,000 for Parkinson’s research and growing even further in profile!

Now in it’s third year, a group of over 30 participants are preparing to take part in Pedal for Parkinson’s 2024, an epic Tasmanian adventure. We spoke to Craig Gillespie, who has already raised over $5,000 for Shake It Up and Parkinson’s research, about his participation, training and inspiration.

Hi Craig! Why did you decide to get involved in Pedal for Parkinson’s 2024?

I was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s at age 50, just over three years ago. I was told early after my diagnosis that daily physical exercise was the only thing for which there was strong evidence that could slow the progression of the disease. I had always enjoyed cycling but until then had only historically been a commuting and occasional recreational cyclist. But I started cycling daily straight after diagnosis and immediately noticed significant benefits through the relief of my symptoms, improvement in general health, fitness and outlook on life. Pretty soon, I progressed to a carbon fibre road bike, a Strava account and became a card carrying MAMIL. I rode 5000 km in my first 12 months post diagnosis.

About a year ago, I was looking around for a cycling fundraiser for Parkinson’s, as I was starting to do some longer rides and had done a couple of cycling fundraisers for cancer charities when I found Pedal for Parkinson’s Tasmania on Facebook. I was really impressed by the great photos from last year’s event and the obvious camaraderie amongst the participants and commitment to the cause. When this year’s tour was announced, I was excited and keen but also apprehensive of the scale of the challenge. After a bit of reflection and discussing it with my family, I decided to run it by my cousin Damian who is also a keen but much more experienced cyclist. Damian’s father also had Parkinson’s and he has been a great support to me since I was diagnosed. His response was “Mate, I’m in if you are”… and so the decision was made.

How have you found the training for the tour?

In the past couple of years I’ve committed to a couple of fundraisers involving cycling to a nominated kilometre goal over a period of time. Then, I trained more seriously for my first big challenge which was the Tour Down Under Community Challenge in 2023. This was just over 120 km with 2,500 m elevation gain in a day. That was my longest ever ride at the time. Damian came over from Melbourne to the Adelaide Hills to ride the event with me and another cousin Nathan and a couple of mates, Max and Paul from Adelaide. That ride was really hard but it was such a fantastic feeling to complete it with those guys. We did it as a team and there was a real sense of mutual achievement. It was something I’ll never forget.

Training for PfP2024, I’ve just been trying to get as much time and kilometres covered on the bike as I can. I also do regular sessions with my physio to help with my Parkinson’s related posture problems and I have a tailored exercise program of stretching, core strength and weights designed by my Exercise Physiologists to address my symptoms and help me reach my goals. Unfortunately, the weather has been pretty wild this winter and I’ve also had a bad chest cold recently. Both of these things have caused interruptions to my training and I don’t feel as well prepared as I’d like. But I just finished my first week back on the bike after recovering from the cold with a 150 km ride yesterday with Bicycle SA. The body feels pretty good and my confidence has improved but I’m very conscious of the fact that PfP will require me to back that sort of thing up five days in a row!

What are you most looking forward to about the 2024 event?

There are so many things, it’s hard to pick one. The beauty of the Tasmanian landscapes will be just breathtaking I’m sure. I think the physical challenge and working together to attain it with my cousin Damian, his partner Linda and my great friends Max and Sandi has to be what I have envisioned the most. But I’m also looking forward to meeting and cycling with new, like-minded people all committed to the Parkinson’s cause.

Can you share with us what drives your commitment to fundraise for Parkinson’s research?

I struggled for years with the early effects of Parkinson’s. It undermined my general health, my confidence, my relationships, my livelihood and my self-esteem. Indirectly, it severely affected my loved ones. One of my very close friends that I grew up with has also gone through this experience and was diagnosed just a year before I was, and I’ve met many other people who have gone through this and who are now living with Parkinson’s. Thankfully I have adapted well to life with Parkinson’s so far and while it is a daily challenge, I am living reasonably well. It breaks my heart to think of other people enduring what I have been through so far although I know the worst is yet to come. There are several really promising avenues of research into better treatments for Parkinson’s and even a cure.

I’ve committed early on to be “out-and-proud” with my Parkinson’s and to use my story to raise awareness of the condition and to raise funds for research so that others might hopefully be spared the agony, frustration and humiliation that it can cause.

I want to do things like PfP as a way to show everyone that People with Parkinson’s can and should do amazing things that enrich their lives.

What is your advice for anyone else wanting to make a difference for the Parkinson’s community?

A cure seems tantalisingly close. By all means, when somebody asks you for a donation to help fund Parkinson’s research, please give what you can with confidence that you will be helping many people find relief.

But above all, remember that Parkinson’s directly effects more than 200,000 Australians and up to 20 per cent are diagnosed well within working age, so it is common. Most people know somebody who is affected either directly or indirectly through a family member. There is sadly still a stigma attached to this condition and many who live with it are not so comfortable sharing their experience but are none-the-less entitled to live a fulfilling life as part of the community. People with Parkinson’s need understanding and acceptance.

Please do what you can to learn about Parkinson’s, how it affects people, what people with Parkinson’s CAN do and how they can do it.

Find out more about Pedal for Parkinson’s here, or support Craig in his fundraising here.