Men with Parkinson's find sense of independence, community riding Confederation Trail

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Men with Parkinson's find sense of independence, community riding Confederation Trail CBC.ca

'It really fills me up with energy when I see my friend is happy, just enjoying the thrill'

Dan Steele loves to ride the Confederation Trail with his good friend Paul Bernard.

The two men started riding together last spring, on a couple of recumbent trikes made for people with mobility issues.

Steele and Bernard have Parkinson's disease, a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement.

The disease causes loss of balance, mobility issues and tremors which make speech difficult.

Steele says living with Parkinson's can be physically and emotionally exhausting. But when he's on the trail enjoying the beauty of the day, one word sums up his feeling.

"I guess really the best way to say it would be 'energized,'" he said. "It really fills me up with energy when I see my friend is happy, just enjoying the thrill."

Bernard has been enjoying the thrill of the ride all his life. His wife, Renee Blanchette, said he has always loved action and adventure.

A modern-day Renaissance man, Bernard drove motorcycles, loved to sail, played hockey, baseball, tennis, did carpentry, taught himself to weld and studied as a classical guitarist in London, England.

"Paul was a very mentally and physically active person, very talkative, very independent-minded, and he was very driven and goal-oriented," Blanchette said.

But Bernard's life changed forever in 2013, when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's.

"We first noticed that he ...


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