Bikes stolen from cyclists participating in cross-Canada relay for Parkinson's awareness

The Spinning Wheels Relay in Alberta in Aug. 2024. (Credit: Spinning Wheels Relay)

Two cyclists with Parkinson's disease that are passing through Edmonton on a fundraising cycling tour woke up to find their bikes had been stolen overnight.

On July 27, Jim Redmond set out from Victoria, along with a group of other cyclists, for the Spinning Wheels Relay, raising awareness and money for Parkinson's disease.

The relay covers over 10,000 km across Canada from coast to coast over 60 days.

Parkinson's disease is the fastest-growing neurological condition in the world, according to Redmond. Canada leads the world in per capita diagnosis.

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"People with Parkinson's .. they tend to withdraw into themselves," Redmond, who has Parkinson's disease, said. "Parkinson's is a quiet disease, sometimes an embarrassing disease, because you have uncontrollable movements and that can put you in an embarrassing situation.

"We're trying to say, come out, get active, be part of a community, and that will make it just a little bit better."

On Monday, Redmond and another cyclist on the team who has Parkinson's disease, Mike, were staying at the Best Western Cedar Park Inn on 51 Avenue between Calgary Trail and Gateway Boulevard.

"Someone came and cut the lock and made off with our bikes sometime last night," Redmond said.

"For people with Parkinson's, cycling is medicine and that's why we're choosing cycling to do this and to spread the word," he added. "I feel bad that my bike was stolen, but I feel worse that (Mike's) bike was stolen.

"It's a semi-specialty bike. He has trouble with one of his hands, so the bike shop set it up so that he could do the gearing switches with just one hand."

They checked the bikes around midnight and both were there, locked at the hotel, but when Redmond checked them again around 5:30 a.m., he said the bikes were gone.

"I was in shock and then my stress level went up and my Parkinson's symptoms flared up," Redmond said. "It took me about 20 minutes to walk the 50 feet to get back into the hotel because I had freezing of [my] gait and shuffle steps and my tremor was going and I had the swimming motions, which I'm still experiencing right now."

Edmonton police not investigating

The theft has been reported to the Edmonton police, but because the value of the bikes is under $5,000, Redmond said he was told it "isn't significant enough to actually warrant them coming out."

"I'm just discouraged," he said. "I recognize that they're busy and that there are bigger things, but this is big to us.

"I'm hopeful if they can help, if they would help, if anybody could help, that would be great."

They have also reported the incident to the Ottawa part of the relay.

Someone with the disease has to be cycling with the team and since Redmond and Mike are the only two on their team with Parkinson's, the team is stuck for the moment.

People have reached out to the two with offers to loan them bikes so they can continue the relay.

They hope to find bikes that fit them and get back on the road on Wednesday.

"When you're cycling 100 km a day, is what we average, having the wrong size bike, although a very nice offer, can actually hurt your knees or hurt your back," Redmond said. "We still have about 4,500 kilometres to go, so we'd like to also be healthy when we get there."

Redmond described his bike as:

• A Scott gravel bike
• Mostly black with red and white trim;
• A white bottle holder/cage;
• Small lights on the front.

He also described Mike's bike as "distinguishable:"

• Pinkish, light purple in colour;
• Large;
• Aluminium;
• SRAM brand components.

This is the second time Redmond and Mike have participated in the Spinning Wheels Relay.

More information on the relay is available online.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Matt Woodman