On March 15, a Cazenovia woman will be waking up in California, and getting ready for an amazing journey. We found out about it through her husband. He wrote us saying that his wife suffers a very rare, inherited disease. It affects her coordination and muscles, and her ability to walk is deteriorating. But she's not letting that keep her from the bike ride of a lifetime.
"600 miles is nothing". NewsChannel 9 joined Linda and Andy Johnson on March 3rd, as they were enjoying their ride from De Ruyter back to Cazenovia - about a 15 mile ride. It's good practice for a fund raising journey they'll be starting tomorrow... a two-week, 600 mile bicycle ride from Sacramento, California to Las Vegas, Nevada.
"Definitely, this is going to be a great adventure.” But it will be especially challenging for Linda, “Five years ago I was diagnosed with ataxia." More specifically, Linda has Friedreich's ataxia. The neurological disease destroys the nerve cells, making it more difficult to walk and talk, and affects fine motor skills. “And I feel very fortunate because it came along so late in life. Often it's children that are diagnosed and they actually only live to about 25, depending on severity.”
Linda says she first noticed symptoms seven years ago, “Totally balanced related. So walking down the stairs with laundry, going hiking, and jumping from rock to rock was much harder than it used to be." It’s gotten so difficult that she’s had to give up sports she loves, including skiing. But now challenges herself in new ways, “Well, we're not bike riders. In fact, I didn't even own this bicycle until six weeks ago."
The three-wheel bicycle was specially ordered, tailor-made to her needs. “It's like a go-cart without a motor - it's fabulous. It's so much fun - my husband wanted one, our two kids each want one. It's just fun."
Fun with a purpose, Linda is riding to help cure ataxia. "The wind was in our faces and it was very hard to push but the views are gorgeous and I was with Andy, my husband, and we had a great time.”
Linda and Andy, and the rest of the Ride Ataxia" team will be cycling 50 to 60 miles every day. They're looking forward to getting to Las Vegas, where they'll hear the latest news on the disease from researchers.
