Nobleton father and son pedal for charity

July 2, 2013 · 0 Comments

Nat Bannister and his dad Doug are participating in “Pedaling for Parkinson’s.”
By Jeff Doner
It is a common sight to see in King during the summer, cyclists fighting their way up a hill and gliding back down, but this summer there are two Nobleton residents who have been gearing up for a big challenge.
From July 12 to 14, nine-year-old Nat and his dad Doug Bannister will be “Pedaling for Parkinson’s” in Parry Sound. Each day the father and son team will cycle for about 120 kilometres, for a weekend total of 370 kilometres.
The idea behind the event is that participants do a pedal stroke for every Canadian with Parkinson’s.
“One of the things I have noticed about Parkinson’s is that a lot of people know about the disease, but there are not a lot of activities for fundraising for the disease,” said Doug. “So that was one of the things that a few people have mentioned as well.”
The cause is specifically important to them as Nat’s grandpa was diagnosed with Parkinson’s last year. Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease that currently has no cure.
Nat spends a lot of time with his grandfather and was enthusiastic about participating and helping to find a cure for Parkinson’s and when Doug found out about the ride and put it to his son, Nat took no time to reply, “Is that even a question?”
“As an active cyclist, I had looked for Parkinson’s fundraising rides in the Toronto area but hadn’t found any,” said Doug. “About a month ago I discovered that Peter Istvan, a friend of my brother’s, along with David Newell had created a small, homegrown ride in his home town of Parry Sound called ‘Pedaling for Parkinson’s’ to raise money and create awareness.”
The ride, in its third year, will see cyclists come to the area from all over to participate.
Doug and Nat will be driving up to Parry Sound on the Thursday night, start riding at 7:30 Friday morning and will be at it all weekend.
It’s no small feat, but the two have been out training hard for the event and pushing themselves further each time.
“We live in Nobleton and the first time we biked to Subway in King City, then to Tim Hortons in Schomberg and then to visit one of my friends in Palgrave,” said Nat, adding that they bike all over the back roads in King Township.
“One of the things we are noticing is that Nat is as good as, and will soon be better than me at going up hills, but that’s because he’s lighter. The weight ratio is in his favour,” Doug laughed. “Each time we’re building the distance and working on harder and harder hills.”
Nat is confident that he is ready for his next big challenge considering he has quite a bit of cycling experience already.
“When I was three my dad tried to get me into it and the first time we went to Canadian Tire to look at a bike they only had tricycles that would fit me, so I found one somewhere else and I got a ‘Sparky the Fire Dog’ bike that came with training wheels. So I started with that and I learned how to bike at Nobleton Public School.”
The two would head there to practice in the parking lot and around the grounds. Nat even said the first time they went out, they ended up biking around for four hours.
“One night we decided to try taking off my training wheels, so we started going up and down my driveway and then we took off my right one, so I went down and back again and it worked, so we took off the second one and it worked.”
A multi-talented athlete, Nat also plays rep hockey for the NobleKing Knights and baseball with the King Cobras. He also admitted that he is excited about visiting one specific place in Parry Sound.
“I want to visit the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame. The moves that he had on defence – and he is one of the highest scoring defenceman in NHL history,” he said.
But it hasn’t just all been about getting physically ready for the event, Nat has also been raising funds at an incredible pace. So far he has raised over $8,000 of his $10,000 target and still has a few more weeks to go.
Each year the event has grown, with $18,000 raised in its first year, to 72 riders raising over $54,000 in the second year. This year Nat and Doug are helping them set the bar even higher, with a goal of $75,000.
All funds raised go toward funding a doctor or research scientist who is studying Parkinson’s.
Although raising awareness and funds for Parkinson’s is the biggest goal, the two were quick to admit that the experience has given them great bonding time together.
“When we go biking, it’s usually just Nat and I – it has pretty well just been the two of us since he started biking – it’s good dad and Nat time,” said Doug. “I also coach his hockey team, but the biking is just Nat and I, we go off and do our thing. On the long rides we’ll be gone for several hours and we’ll talk about all kinds of stuff, we’ll hang out and it’s just a great time to just be together.”
The fact that Nat and Doug used to cycle with grandpa is another thing that keeps the two motivated.
“We still go and visit him and have fun, but it’s unfortunate that he can’t bike anymore. So we’re going to go and do the biking for him. He is pretty amazed at what Nat’s doing,” said Doug.
“Nat is coming to understand the magnitude of what he is attempting but is determined to see it through.”
For more information or to donate to Nat, visit bit.ly/NatRides