Chris Woods, an avid cyclist, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 41, the mission of the Woods family, with his 73 year old mom, Edna, leading the charge, was to find a cycling event that raised money specifically for Parkinson’s research. For years Chris had been riding in the 150 mile Diabetes ride and the 150 mile MS ride but had never heard of one for PD. After much research, it became clear that there was nothing in the country, let alone the New England area, so the family decided to organize their own!
The New England Parkinson’s Ride took shape in the summer of 2008, and linked up with Team Fox at The Michael J Fox Foundation. Although we had only 35 riders that first year, we managed to raise over $27,000 for The Foundation. We started with a 30, 50, and 100 mile loop, with 10 rest stops manned by volunteers along the way, and added a 10 mile route in 2009, to accommodate younger families and less experienced cyclists. A brand new 62 mile route will be rolled out in 2022 for those looking for the metric century experience. All routes begin and end at The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and travel through the countryside and shoreline of beautiful southern Maine.