by Al Campbell
 |
| Cyclists prepare to depart for Just Giver for Parkinson's event in Vancouver's Stanley Park, Canada, on July 24, 2010. The annual fundraising initiative is organized by Parkinson Society British Columbia and this year sees 12 cyclists involved, who will ride 1,300 km around the British Columbia Province in ten days. Since its inception, the event has raised about 200,000 Canadian dollars for Parkinson's research and support services. (Xinhua/Ma Dan) |
VANCOUVER, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A group of British Columbia-based cyclists embarked Saturday from Vancouver on the first leg of a 10-day journey aimed at raising awareness and funding to battle Parkinson's disease.
In sort of a mini Tour de France with a course that covers 10 stages and 1,300 kilometers around the western province, the 12 riders, each clad in the "Just Giver for Parkinson's 2010" team kit, are undertaking the first stage, a 135-kilometer ride to Whistler.
In the severely mountainous province bordered by the Pacific Coast range in the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east, Kelly Jablonski, the event's co-founder, likened the tour's difficulty to riding through Europe's famed Alps on a daily basis. Overall, the cyclists will climb about 15,000 meters over the 10 stages - the longest covering 188 kilometers.
"Most of us ride at a pretty elite level. We want to challenge ourselves and raised funds and awareness along the way. British Columbia's kind of the perfect scenic route for really elite cycling," said the five year veteran of the event.
With the sun shining and the scenery indeed spectacular, Jablonski, who lost his stepfather to the neurological disease, said about 100,000 Canadians are diagnosed with Parkinson's, while in North America the number is around 1.6 million people.
Globally, the number is thought to be much greater with one in 300 people suffering from the disease. As the baby boomer generation ages, the number is expect to rise significantly.
