Local 10-year-old rides for Parkinson’s cure

July 23, 2014 · 0 Comments

For the second year in a row, King’s Nat Bannister participated in the 370-kilometre “Pedaling for Parkinson’s” ride in Parry Sound.
The purpose of the ride is to raise awareness and funds for research into the disease which affects more than 100,000 Canadians.
This year Nat raised $10,000 towards finding a cure. Over the past two years he has raised more than $23,000. Nat’s fundraising doesn’t end when the ride is finished though.
“Last year I saw Jim (a family friend) at the grocery store after the ride and he said he would have sponsored me. I told him he could still give me money and he handed me $100 to add to my total.”
Nat raised the money by reaching out to family, friends, and people in the community.
“At my birthday party in May I asked people to sponsor me on the ride rather than bring presents” Nat says. That one event raised over $1,000. “It was a hard ride but I really want to thank everyone who supported me and for all the money they gave.”
Nat was inspired to get involved after his grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s three years ago. He has watched his grandfather struggle with the disease as many families do. Nat often rode with his grandparents when visiting them in Toronto.
Since the disease hit, Nat’s grandfather has had to give up riding along with other aspects of his life. When he first heard about the ride and was asked if he’d like to participate, Nat answered “Is that even a question?”
Why 370 kilometres? That is the distance calculated by doing a pedal stroke for every Canadian suffering from Parkinson’s.
Due to the tremendous help of an army of volunteers, the ride is able to ensure that every dollar raised goes directly to sponsoring Canadian scientists leading the international effort toward finding a cure. Last year’s recipient was Dr. Ali Salaphour of the University of Toronto, who is investigating mechanisms of dopamine transmission. Each year the organizers receive submissions from researchers in the field and select one to receive all the proceeds from the ride to further their efforts. Although the total raised for this year is still being calculated the ride is expected to bring in over $140,000 which will be awarded in a few months.
The ride started in Parry Sound and passed through some great cottage country scenery. More than 110 riders formed the largest peloton ever to take to the streets of Parry Sound. Going north through towns such as McKellar, Dunchurch, and Maple Island, and south past Gordon Bay to Foot’s Bay on Lake Joseph the ride enjoyed tremendous local support.
What was the hardest part of the three-day ride? Nat is torn between the over 5,000 feet of hill climbing or the 133 kilometres ridden on Saturday, the second day of riding. He laughs: “Some of the hills on the first day were really hard but I beat my dad up those so they were harder on him.”
Nat rode with his father who had attached a speaker to the front of his bike to play motivational music at appropriate times. According to his father the theme to Rocky was particularly effective on the weekend and fired Nat up at several points when the heat and exhaustion were taking a toll.
An avid hockey player, Nat appreciates the improvement to his skating that his riding effort provides.
“When you see NHL players warming up for a game they don’t run, they ride bikes,” Nat has noticed. The music on the ride came from the collection Nat plays in the dressing room for his team before a game.
If you would like to donate to Nat’s efforts you can visit his page at http://bit.ly/natrides2014.