Man plans 300-mile Harley ride without using his hands

Phil Comar watched his father, Robert, struggle for years with Parkinson’s disease. Now, in his father’s memory, Comar will ride his Harley-Davidson motorcycle nonstop and “hands free” from the Mackinac Bridge to the Ohio border on Oct. 10 to raise money for Parkinson’s research. “He was one of the longest-running patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” Comar said. “Dad decided early on to fight the disease and stay active. He never quit, right up to the end.”

Comar, 61, has a goal of raising $3,000 for his ride. After doing his own research, Comar chose the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research as the recipient of the funds. Donations can be made and more information found at www.teamfox.org/2010/phil. He is making the ride as a member of Team Fox. The goal is to help the foundation fund research to find better treatment and a cure for Parkinson’s disease.



“I’m doing this because it is such a good cause and I found that 85 cents out of every dollar (donated to the foundation) goes to research,” Comar said.As for the no-hands ride, Comar, who has been riding motor bikes and motorcycles almost 50 years, said the steering is done with legs and by leaning to allow the wheels to turn. An extra gas tank has been added to the back of his bike that will allow him to make the 300-mile trip without stopping.

He has been practicing the skill for about 20 years. The latest came a couple of weeks ago when Comar rode to his brother’s birthday in Midland. Coming back, he rode a couple of segments no-handed, including the rather tricky section where U.S. 23 and M-14 intersect north of Ann Arbor. “That’s got four lanes and a big curve,” he said. “But everything clicked. The bike was running perfectly and the road cooperated. I rode all the way to Dundee.” Comar handled it with relative ease and remains confident he will be able to make the entire Mackinac-to-Ohio trip without using his hands.