Cycling Ohio is a week long bike ride with the goal of bringing awareness to Parkinson’s Disease research. The state of Ohio has the biggest concentration of clinical sites for a Parkinson’s clinical trial that evaluates the effectiveness of exercise on patients living with the disease. This is called the SPARX3 clinical trial. The goal of Cycling Ohio is to bring connectivity between Ohio’s four regions of research and promote the possible benefits bicycle riding has to minimize the progression of Parkinson’s Disease.  

Parkinson’s disease is a condition that affects control over your movements. Its motor symptoms are mainly caused by a decrease in the manufacturing of dopamine, a chemical that helps nerve cells in your brain communicate with each other. When dopamine is missing from certain areas of the brain, the messages that tell your body how to move are lost or distorted. This can lead to symptoms such as shaking, stiffness and slow movement. There’s no cure for Parkinson’s disease but proper treatment can help ease symptoms and allow you to live a full, active life.