Alf Todd has an extraordinary story to tell.

Itsa国际传媒檚 actually two stories but, put together, they speak to the spirit and resilience of a remarkable Langford resident.

Letsa国际传媒檚 begin with Toddsa国际传媒檚 love of cycling.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e always loved the freedom and the feeling of moving down the road,sa国际传媒� said Todd.

He loved it so much that he wanted to share the feeling and, when his eldest son was all of 10 years old, Todd decided that the two of them would combine that affinity for cycling with a father/son adventure. After training for a few months here in Langford, they set off for a cycling trip to San Fransisco.

sa国际传媒淲e trained for it, and, after a few months, I knew we could do it. I was 36 years old at the time,sa国际传媒� said Todd.

Four years later, Todd and his son were joined by his youngest son, who was similarly 10 years old by then, and the three of them set out to repeat the feat. They cycled down the coast to San Fransisco on a trip that took them only 11 days.

That meant that the trio was averaging almost 100 miles a day.

Now that spirit could easily have been the whole story but for the fact that, in 2007, Todd was diagnosed with Parkinsonsa国际传媒檚 disease.

sa国际传媒淚 knew that something wasnsa国际传媒檛 right and went to the doctor. He told me what I had, and I found out how strange a disease it is. Theresa国际传媒檚 about 50 different symptoms and it can affect everyone differently,sa国际传媒� said Todd.

In Toddsa国际传媒檚 case the disease didnsa国际传媒檛 stop him from proceeding with life and, in 2012, he and his daughter decided to repeat the ride to San Fransisco, this time joined by a couple of other riders who were similarly dealing with a diagnosis of Parkinsonsa国际传媒檚.

sa国际传媒淲e did another ride with about 18 riders with us and raised some funds for Parkinsonsa国际传媒檚 research. She called us Parkinsonsa国际传媒檚 peddlers,sa国际传媒� said Todd. sa国际传媒淭hen a couple of years later we rode from Port Hardy to Victoria. We had about 18 riders with us then too.sa国际传媒�

With his disease progressing, Todd decided on a plan of action.

sa国际传媒淲hen I got off the bike at the end of that last trip something said to me that I needed to make a pedal power wheelchair,sa国际传媒� said Todd.

He met with an old friend, Jeff Lewis, and together they set to work developing something that would accommodate people who had difficulty walking. The pair decided that those people still deserved the chance to experience the joy of movement that cycling would give them

sa国际传媒淲e spent the better part of two years designing the peddler, and I can tell you that we had a lot of what we called sa国际传媒榝rankenchairssa国际传媒� in that time,sa国际传媒� Todd said. sa国际传媒淚 have this park behind my house, and wesa国际传媒檇 do a chair and take it back there to try out. There were a lot of problems we had to overcome.sa国际传媒�

In the end, though, the pair developed a remarkable machine that Jeff named the Extreme Rhino pedal wheelchair.

sa国际传媒淗e liked that name. I still call them peddlers,sa国际传媒� Todd said.

Theysa国际传媒檇 moved from steel to aircraft-grade, tig-welded, powder-coated aluminum, complete with hydraulic disc brakes, and a differential that allows for sharp turns and a tight turning radius.

The true test, though, came when they made the first peddler for Mercy.

"She was a young girl here in Victoria who was severely handicapped. But she got on and took off. It was an amazing transformation and quite emotional,sa国际传媒� Todd said.

Since that time Todd and Lewis have custom built about 40 of the units and have even shipped one to the Dalai Lama. They formed a company named Extreme Rhino and have built the units for people who are suffering, not only from Parkinsonsa国际传媒檚 but from other diseases like multiple sclerosis.

sa国际传媒淭he transformation is absolutely incredible. We have had people who can barely walk, but they get on the peddler and itsa国际传媒檚 like their brain signals change and they take off,sa国际传媒� said Todd.

Todd, who now relies heavily on a cane to walk, demonstrated the truth of that statement by mounting his own peddler and zipping around his driveway and street in front of his home with the joyful abandon of a six-year-old on their first bike.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 not out to make any money on these, itsa国际传媒檚 just a chance to help people regain that sense of freedom,sa国际传媒� said Todd. sa国际传媒淎nyway, Jeff did a lot of the work. I couldnsa国际传媒檛 master tig welding, but he could. I provided the vision, and he did a lot of the work,sa国际传媒� said Todd. sa国际传媒淚n the end, my reward is helping people.sa国际传媒�

Todd also helps counsel people who have been newly diagnosed with Parkinsonsa国际传媒檚 and is always ready to help those people cope with the degenerative disease.

sa国际传媒淎nyway, when you do nice things, your body produces more dopamine and thatsa国际传媒檚 good for Parkinsonsa国际传媒檚 patients. So, I guess Isa国际传媒檓 helping myself at the same time,sa国际传媒� Todd said.

Then he smiled and took another turn around the drive on his peddler.

For more information on the Extreme Rhino pedal wheelchair, visit .