Bike4Alz Team 14 rides into Bowling Green

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – On Sunday, the WKU Bike 4 Alzheimer’s Team 14 made it to Bowling Green in the final stretch of its cross-country bike ride to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease research.

Bike 4 Alzheimer’s is a nonprofit organization through Western Kentucky University, Phi Gamma Delta. Team 14 is made up of 12 students from WKU and is helped by a board of adults. The mission of this organization is raise awareness and raise money for Alzheimer’s disease research. Each member of the team chose to ride for different reasons.

For Jakob Barker, the reason was close to home.

“My grandma, she has white matter disease, which is basically an early onset form of dementia. And it really impacts the way that she remembers things and sometimes how we come to a family reunion. But she won’t recognize me from the kids. And so, seeing that kind of degeneration in real time has been really heartbreaking. And just the impact that it’s had on my family, I can’t imagine how something more aggressive, like Alzheimer’s and Louis Gehrig’s disease, has been on another family. So even to make a small difference in that, by doing this bike ride and we go through our days are hard. We have hard rides. It’s hot outside. We go up mountains. But that’s just a little bit of the pain that these families have to experience. ” says barker.

As the team made it through each state, it stopped at local restaurants and local businesses to talk about the cause. Throughout its ride, the team was housed by locals in each state, and the team got to be with those who have also been impacted by the disease.

“Each time we stayed in the home, you’re able to really get to know the family, their kids and the wives and stuff like that and hear their experiences. A lot of who are impacted by Alzheimer’s, a lot of the nation is so able to like, see it almost, I guess second hand, but close to being close to firsthand,” says Team 14 member, Jonah Hall.

Even though biking up mountains and straight into 35 mph winds can be hard, this team has conquered each battle in support of the cause. Finally making it to Bowling Green, the team was greeted by friends and family who it hasn’t seen since the start of its journey. The team received a warm welcome home before its final stretch. Team 14 has two more states to bike through before its trip is over.

The team will finish its trip in Virginia Beach, Virginia on July, 26. To help and donate to the cause, or to find out more about Team 14’s mission, visit its website at bike4alz.org.