RAGBRAI stands for “Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa” will be held from July 19th to July 25th. It is the longest, largest and oldest touring ride in the world. Its route rides across the state of Iowa from west to east somewhere in the vicinity of 460 miles, averaging about 60-65 a day.

John Carlin, who has the symptoms of Parkinson’s, will ride in the Great BicyleRide Across Iowa this year to raise funds for Parkinson’s. John talks about the ride during my interview with him. There are essentially two modes of donating: one to the David Phinney Foundation (DPF) and the other is to Pedaling for Parkinsons. When you contribute to the David PhinneyFoundation (DPF) via the website that was created in John’s name, the DPF will direct that money. They are interested in funding exercise type projects which is aligned with the  mission (the PFP).

Donations directly to Pedaling for Parkinsons (PFP) will, for the most part, be used to support respite programs and one family in Iowa. Each year at least $1000.00 is given to a family in Iowa who has real financial needs associated with their PD. The remainder of the funds are distributed to the respite programs of the APDA or other PD organizations. PFP tries to distribute the funds based on the locales of the riders. Last year PFP had a number of riders from Minnesota so they gave a bit more to Minnesota respite programs.

You can make a donation to support John’s ride across Iowa by visiting the Davis Phinney Foundation website  or Pedaling for Parkinsons. 

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com