Michael J. Fox MVP Will Trike for the Cause in the New England Parkinson's Ride

Jim Spahr studies his recumbent tricycle for several minutes as he thinks about how to get into it. Slowly, he turns around, lowers himself into the seat, struggles to place his feet into the stirrups, then tests the hand brakes. Confident that he’s ready to go, he stops a minute to remember how to peddle. Then, like a speeding bullet, he’s off down the driveway. Not only is the cycle Jim’s newest toy, it’s his latest weapon in his fight against Parkinson’s disease, a war he has waged with relentless optimism and positivity for 25 years.

“Parkinson’s is a constantly changing disease,” the Strasburg resident says. “You never know what your new challenge will be. Attitude is everything.”

Spahr’s current challenge includes the loss of balance, which could have sidelined him from his favorite fundraiser—The New England Parkinson’s ride, held each September in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. The event is the largest independent fundraiser to support the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Last year, 1,000 participants raised $711,290, all of which went directly to the Foundation and was earmarked for research.

This is Jim’s fourth year to participate. He began in In 2013, after surgeons inserted electrodes into his brain and connected them to a pacemaker just under the skin near his collarbone. Known as Deep Brain Stimulation surgery, or DBS, the procedure restored Spahr’s failed balance and allowed him to ride 10 miles in the event. That year Spahr and his team co-captain Mariann Rybarczyk, Glen Mills, were named Most Valuable Persons by the Michael J. Fox foundation for raising $3,000 for research. The following year, Spahr rode 30 miles and eventually settled on 10 miles as his best riding distance. (The New England ride features 10-mile, 30-mile, 50-mile and 100-mile rides.)

Despite DBS surgery, Parkinson’s does continue to progress, and early this year Jim once again lost his balance and takes longer than before to process how to maneuver. Despite that, “I hated to give up the ride,” he says. So, characteristically, he faced the hurdle and figured a way around it: the recumbent tricycle. He has been honing his riding skills daily, which is not only good for building stamina, but great cognitive therapy. It also improves mobility. “My plan is to go 10 miles this year,” he says. All who know him are completely confident he will.

If you would like to support Spahr in his effort, go to neparkinsonsride.com. Click on “donate to a person” and type in “James Spahr.” With any luck, he’ll be named an MVP fundraiser again.