Pedaling for Parkinson’s

Pedaling for Parkinson's was founded by Dr. Jay Alberts, a neuroscientist and researcher at the Cleveland Clinic, and Cathy Frazier, a woman living with Parkinson's disease. Riding a tandem bike at RAGBRAI in 2003, they discovered that cycling reduced Cathy's symptoms. With Dr. Alberts guiding the bike and Ms Frazier on the back, she noticed something interesting after the day's ride - she felt like she didn't have Parkinson's anymore!  

The Pedaling for Parkinson's program is a form of “Forced Exercise” on indoor stationary bicycles. Participants ride for 1 hour - a 10 minute warm up at 60 RPMs, followed by 40 minutes at 80 RPMs, and a 10 minute cool down at 60 RPMs.

Participants riding 3 days a week over 8 weeks have shown improvement in their Parkinson's related symptoms by as much as 35%.  Hundreds of people with Parkinson's disease have participated in studies with Dr. Alberts; many with the same results!