So, I have allowed my blog to fall way behind, and I am
currently updating my experience from Brandon MB.
Unfortunately I lost ton of
trip logs for a few days because I didn’t realize my watch only saves a few
days of training files and then automatically deletes them…the gps situation is
giving me nightmares and it is something I wish I was able to play with prior
to the ride, so I would have all the bugs out. I enjoy being able to share the
trip statistics with everyone, and I like the idea of being able to look back
on the files one day. I didn’t realize my watch was deleting files until we got
to Taber, so I apologize to those people that enjoy seeing how slow I am
cycling and how high my heart rate flies when I am exhausted!
Anyways, my legs were just screaming today and every pedal
stroke was a struggle. The sun decided to come out today and just drill me with
heat, but that was okay because I will take heat over headwinds anytime!
I made it to Calgary and met up with a buddy to check out
the Stampede. If you don’t know anything about the Calgary Stampede, Calgary
residents are CRAZY about their cowboys. It is the centennial year of the
Stampede and it is a pretty busy place….it was something to see the crazy
cowboys riding the bulls, but the coolest part of the rodeo was by far the
hula-hoop act. I am having trouble uploading the video but I will try to get it up for viewing ASAP.
After the stampede I met up with a huge gang from the
Parkinson’s Alberta Society at the Holiday Inn we stayed at in Calgary. It was
awesome to see everyone supporting Parkinson’s Cycle of Hope!
This link has a few pictures (Alberta style) compliments of Laurine Fillo's awesome photography skills!
We had tickets to see the Grandstand Show at the Stampede
that night, and Mr. & Mrs. Fillo invited Elyse and I to a neighbourhood BBQ
at David’s father’s house to fill up on a home cooked meal before we toured
down to that event.
Laurine is one of the youngest people I have met
with PD, but it was refreshing to hear her optimism and positive outlook. Today
we felt some negative vibes from people who said Parkinson’s Cycle of Hope isn’t
really that important, and I should have never came through Calgary during the
Stampede, but Laurine and David are super chill individuals and they shared
some words to inspire me to stay positive and know this bike ride is going to touch people in
ways I will probably never even realize. I can’t let the naysayers bring me
down and we quickly turned towards discussing the ways to improve living with
Parkinson’s.
Laurine doesn’t have any tremors, but her body
stiffens up on her quite a bit. One way Laurine manages her symptoms is working
with music therapy. She has always been an active women, who loved to run, so every
day she throws her iPod on and walks to
music that helps break the gait and allows her to walk more efficiently! I have
read a lot about how gait affects some people who have PD, but Laurine was the
first person to be living proof of the positive effects of using music therapy!
Maybe give it a try!!!!
We enjoyed our time spent with the Fillo’s that
Elyse and I decided to stick around a little later and just head back to the
hotel instead of going to see the Grandstand Show. A couple individuals at the
BBQ donated money towards our goal, and the Fillo family treated us like their
children. I feel like Elyse or I could call Laurine or David and they would do
anything they could to help us out. I don’t think they know how much we
appreciate what they have done for us!
I was excited to head to the hotel and have a
Epsom salt bath, because my legs were feeling pretty bad and my buddy told me
it helps him after rugby games. I gave it a try and it seemed to help….if not
actually, mentally!
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