I do my best to stay active and love to go for a ride on my e-bike but sometimes forget to stay focused on the task on hand. After a great ride to downtown Peterborough and around Little Lake, I was within a block of my house when you know it, shit happened! Coming off the trail to cross the road into our subdivision I had to make that decision “go or stop” for traffic. While waiting for that “executive” decision my Parkinson’s brain stumbled and seemingly sent confusing messages to the body parts. Stop! No go! Turn in! Turn out! Hurry! Wait! With all that happening I lost control of the simple operation of riding my e-bike and down I went, hard onto the pavement. First my knee hit in the same spot from last week’s fall (that will leave a mark). My forward momentum put my helmet as the second point of contact, not completely protecting my forehead which connected with the curb. Slowly picking myself up, I was painfully aware of the implications of not focusing on what I was doing and respecting the limitations of living with Parkinson’s (and not being 35 anymore).
This was not the first time I have fallen but the first time I felt the need to phone my wife for assistance. Luckily I have a cell phone for just this situation, never leaving home without it. As she approached me walking the bike, she noticed the knee bleeding down my leg but took a minute to recognize the goose egg forming on my forehead. A few hours later, after a visit to emerge and getting an all ok, we re-planned our weekend to a slower pace for me. On reflection I have to acknowledge the continuous progress of my Parkinson’s disease and that in my third summer on my e-bike more caution, slower pace and better focus is required. Multi tasking is no longer an option, especially when one task involves movement, even if the other is simply thinking of something else!