Day 4 - Brighton to Barcelona - Perserverence - 95km

This was supposed to be a completely different blog today.  I was going to paint a picture for you of the French countryside.  I would describe the feathery wheat fields speckled with bright red poppies or the landscape of rolling hills, with swells and swirls like a frozen ocean of green and gold.  But I won't.

Instead, I will tell you that I arrived at the hotel this evening to bad news.  A friend in remission with a brain tumour just received word that a resumption of activity will necessitate harsh treatment.  It takes enormous emotional resolve to willingly commit your body to chemical or nuclear poisons or assume the risks of other invasive therapies.  Yet, I have little doubt that my friend will do what it takes.  

It got me thinking about perseverance in the face of hardship, which got me thinking about the people on this trip and Alison in particular.  Alison is many things: our group organizer, a Parkinson's ambassador, the centre of a committed social network, and the heart of this adventure that we are on.  What makes her the heart?  Guts and perseverance in the face of adversity.  

Adversity is when Parkinson's comes into your life, as it has for Alison.  Guts are when you don't just wait for Parkinsosn's to overtake your life but, instead, you actively search for it where it is hiding and confine it's impact.  To better understand who she is with Parkinson's, Alison tests the limits of her abilities by attempting tasks outside her comfort zone, like a 1,600 KM cycling trip, or expanding the trip to include others in need.  Testing limits this way gives a realistic baseline of what any of us can or can't do, unobscured by limits defined by fear. 

But this would only matter if there is perseverance.  Alison knows that she can only discover her limits once they are tested to their extremes, which means not giving up.  She has travelled more than 500 km so far, and Alison won't quit.  She has scaled over 3,000 m of verticle rise, yet she has not withered.  I think about this each time I see her working hard - often near her psychological limits - only to discover that they weren't real limits at all.  Alison is getting stronger.  It is so essential for others in her circumstances to see this effort and the reward.

There are many more things to say about this, but I am thinking about my friend again and wishing him the same strength he would want for me.

P S, For an excellent and detailed companion blog by Julian McCarthy, another team member, have a look at www.jmhr.com