PORTLAND, Maine — When Brian Hall walks, he is prone to falling—a lot. There’s nothing he can do about it. His precarious, teetering balance stems from the Parkinson’s disease he’s had for 47 years. When he wrote a memoir a few years ago, the title was apt: “Not Afraid to Fall.”
On a bicycle, though, it’s a different story. Hall rides well, and although he occasionally takes a tumble, a bike can free him of some of the limits Parkinson’s imposes on his other movements.
“I can’t explain the physical mechanics of how I can [ride]” he says. “All I can say is participating in that activity is like an endorphin rush. Freedom overcomes me. It’s the best thing ever.”
The endorphins will be surging Saturday morning when, for the fourth time, Hall competes in the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, which is exactly what it sounds like—a bike race to the summit of the tallest mountain in the Northeast. Last year he finished with his best time yet, just under one hour and twelve minutes.
The people who organize the race are profoundly impressed by Hall’s achievements and the inspiration he has provided to so many other people. For that reason, they named him the grand marshal of this year’s event.
On Saturday morning, if all goes according to plan, Hall, who lives in New Hampshire, will roll across the finish line at the highest point in New England. He already has a pretty good idea of what emotions he’ll be feeling.
“It’s almost like a rebirth for me,” he said. “You feel like you can achieve things and be a part of life in a more normal way. That’s important to me. I think it’d be important to other people as well.”