Pedal For Parkinosn’s

An intro into the charity and founder Sarah Buckpitt

We have teamed up with Audrey Coffee to choose a different charity to support every 3-6 months to help raise awareness and valuable funds towards a chosen cause. These organisations will be carefully selected for their ability to put honesty and transparency at the forefront, with the clear capacity to make a real difference.

We have chosen to support Pedal for Parkinson’s Tasmania as our first charity for a few reasons. Founded by local cyclist Sarah Buckpitt, Pedal for Parkinson's has research at the forefront, putting 100% of funds into valuable research to find a cure for Parkinson's disease.

My Story And my connection to Parkinson’s Disease

Words by Sarah Buckpitt

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive, degenerative neurological condition that affects a person’s control of their body movements. It is a disease that effects many and is poorly understood by most.

Cycling means something different for everyone. For me, it was a way of clearing out junk in my head space and rehabilitating old injuries…

but then it became more, it had purpose behind it.

In 2017 my ever amazing Nan Pat was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. For those that aren’t aware of what Parkinson’s Disease actually is; it is when dopamine producing cells in the brain are lost over time which in turn means that these cells are no longer producing dopamine which results in motor loss symptoms accruing such as tremors, rigidity, and loss in strength.

This however is not what Parkinson’s Disease symptoms are limited to.

Now you might be thinking, “yeah okay that happens to a lot of elderly people.” But in actual fact, in Australia, approximately 20% of suffers are under the age of 50 and furthermore around 10% of suffers are under the age of 40.

Nan Pat was such a loving, strong willed, independent woman that people of her generation were born with in bucket loads. She helped run a farm with her husband, raised two beautiful daughters, all while making sure there was a hot, home cooked meal on the table each night. She was so proud of her family, loved spending time with us granddaughters and then great grandchildren when they came along.

It was such a shock to see the Parkinson’s take over her. To watch as her mobility lessened as she became more and more confined to her lounge chair. I think that was something she struggled with too, because she was losing her independence that she took for granted over her lifetime.

In 2021 I moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands for twelve months. However, whilst I was there, Nan Pat’s Parkinson’s began to progress quickly and dramatically. I remember the last phone call we shared together which also happened to be the last time I saw her. She had not long woken from a nap so she had a little more energy to talk. Whilst I was telling her how I’d been and what I’d been up to, she was radiating her biggest smile to me.

So I stopped what I was saying and said

“Nan why do you keep smiling like that?”

And she replied with

“Because I’m just so happy to see you”

And that was one of the last things she ever said to me.

It still brings tears to my eyes writing it. It’s such a special moment that I’ll cherish forever. It sounds cliche, but I’ll be forever thankful to modern technology to be able to have had that moment with her despite being on the other side of the world.

It was only a couple of weeks later and she passed peacefully surrounded by her daughters and granddaughters. I was there on the phone too, but it wasn’t the same to not be there in person.

In the weeks passing, I wanted to do something in her memory, something to honor her, something to make her proud one last time. And this is where cycling comes back into it all. I’d like to add here that I am in no way a professional, fast, or particularly strong cyclist BUT I wanted to challenge myself, raise money, and bring awareness to Parkinson’s Disease. And with that, Pedal for Parkinson’s Tasmania was born.

I reached out to some friends and to Shake it Up Australia to see if this was doable and everyone jumped straight onboard. A 500km charity ride across five days, around beautiful Tasmania with a goal of raising $10,000… I know Nan would be looking down, smiling and saying how proud she was of me.

I know it’s too late to find a cure for Nan now, but I hope the money we raise will help to fund projects that aim to find treatments and ultimately a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.

This is the first instalment of a number of articles coming up over the next few months to help you understand more about how Parkinson's Disease can effect the individual as well as their family and friends. We hope you can either join us on some upcoming rides in support of Parkinson's, make a donation or discover more about Parkinson's Disease and what you can do to make a difference!

We thank Sarah for her valuable time in putting this charity ride together and sharing her experience with Parkinson’s Disease. We would also like to thank Audrey Coffee for raising valuable funds toward the cause and hope together we can make a difference to a disease which is currently greatly misunderstood and without a cure.

Sofia Tsamassiros