07/05/2016
Day 1 of Tony Seidl’s Parkinson’s 100 Challenge, a 11-day bike tour across the Alps.
At the beginning, there was a vow: “If everything goes well with this surgery, I will cross the Alps by bike and visit my namesake Saint Anthony of Padua.” That is what Tony Seidl promised himself prior to a major neurological procedure called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to treat the quickly deteriorating symptoms of his Parkinson’s disease. Today, on his 50th birthday, DBS patient Tony Seidl from Altoetting, Germany starts his 519km bike tour to show other people with Parkinson’s that they can still set things in motion. With his bike tour, Tony participates in the Parkinson’s 100 Challenge, a fundraising initiative by Parkinson's Europe (Parkinson's Europe), aimed at improving the lives of people with Parkinson’s.
A long anticipated tour
7 AM on Saturday morning, 7 May 2016: the idyllic town of Altoetting, situated just below the Alps 90km east of Munich is still asleep. While most of its inhabitants turn over in their beds once more, Tony Seidl is already wide awake. It is his big day: the start of his extraordinary journey which will take him across the Alps to Padua in Italy. Hard to believe his dream is finally about to come true. Plans for the journey were made more than a year ago and he has trained for many weeks and months.
Incredible support and first meetings with other PD patients
When Tony arrives at Altoetting’s Kapellplatz, the central square of the town flanked by baroque buildings including the town hall and church, his family, friends and companions from his local patient group have already assembled. They want to accompany Tony at the start of his journey and wish him well for his trip of a lifetime.
“During the last few weeks, I have received incredible support which makes me very thankful and happy. Several people even decided to join me, among them my osteopath and a friend who is also a fellow DBS patient.” After a short speech by the local mayor and a travel blessing by the local priest, Tony and his companions start pedaling.
The first stage of the tour leads Tony from Southern Germany to the Austrian border, stopping over at Freilassing near Salzburg, where he meets with members of a local Parkinson’s patient organization. “My first day on the road, and what a remarkable and eventful day in my life! I couldn’t be more excited about setting things in motion, starting with myself,” Tony says with a gleaming smile on his face.