The Spinning Wheels Tour makes stop in Kindersley
By Annie Duncan
The Spinning Wheels Tour, a group of four individuals living with Parkinson’s Disease; Steve Iseman, Jim Redmond, Mike Loghrin and Darlene Richards-Loghrin, are cycling cross country to spread the message and raise awareness about the benefits moving your body has on this disease.
They started their tour in Victoria, BC, beginning June 2022 and are riding through every Canadian province. Their route is roughly 9,000 kms, and they attempt to average 125 kms daily, six days a week. On July 18, they arrived in Kindersley, SK slipping into town just before a thunderstorm hit.
Iseman was diagnosed with Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 48, but as he had lived most of his life as an avid skier and cyclist, he was not ready to give up on his two loves quite yet. In 2019 Iseman and Loghrin, who was diagnosed at the age of 50, co-founded a group called Rigid Riders, a Parkinson’s cycling group to motivate people living with Parkinson’s to take charge of their symptoms through intense exercise.
When Iseman reached out to others living with Parkinson’s about getting active, the most common response he received was “I’d love to, but I can’t.” The more he heard I can’t, the more he was determined to prove to them that through training, they could.
When Redmond came to Iseman with the idea of crossing the country by bike, “Almost before the words left his lips, I said yes,” said Iseman.
When the idea was brought up to Loghrin, his instant reaction was to start laughing and didn’t stop laughing until he got home and told his wife, who said she wanted to help them with this almost impossible challenge by driving alongside them. Richards-Loghrin has been married to Mike for 38 years and has spent every day since his diagnosis supporting and fulfilling the role of caretaker.
Coming into Kindersley last week, the group celebrated reaching the 3,000 km mark of their journey. The Kindersley and District Plains Museum hosted a barbeque on July 19 to welcome The Spinning Wheels Tour. All funds from the barbeque were donated to help aid in the research to cure Parkinson’s disease.
“This has been the biggest, warmest welcome we have received by far,” said Redmond.
The group left Kindersley on the morning of July 20 as they headed for Regina.
You can follow along their journey at spinningwheelstour.ca
PHOTOS BY ANNIE DUNCAN
Steve Iseman (left), Darlene Richards-Loghrin, Jim Redmond, and Mike Loghrin(right) stand in front of the Kindersley and District Plains Museum as the guests of honour in the museums barbeque fundraiser to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease. These four individuals set off on a cross-country cycling tour to raise awareness about Parkinson’s.
Steve Iseman and Jim Redmond take off on bicycle, from Kindersley, heading east to Regina, to continue their cross-country journey to end Parkinson’s.
