Bike4Alz Team 13 returns to Bowling Green to raise money for Alzheimer’s awareness

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A group of Western Kentucky University students are biking across the country to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s, and they returned home to Bowling Green Monday afternoon.

One student in particular says he decided to join because of his fraternity, but more importantly, due to a personal connection.

“My great aunt, she was diagnosed with dementia about three years ago. So the course is already kind of something in my heart. So I decided I’ve got it, I’ve got the capacity for this… and I love all these guys that are probably going to do this trip, so I’m going to go ahead and sign up for it and volunteer to spend my summer doing something good,” senior Kellen Patterson said.

However, as he was preparing for the 70 day trip, he received some news that really motivated him for the ride.

“My grandma, who I am pretty close with, also got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s… so it became really real in that moment for me… knowing that someone that has been in my life from my youngest years all the way until now, being diagnosed with that… really hit hard… so it’s only pushed me to push farther and push harder,” Patterson said.

Coming in to campus, the students were overwhelmed by the support of their families and friends who stopped by to welcome them home.

“It’s pretty surreal coming in here. It feels kind of like a dream. We’ve seen so many beautiful places, so many places that are really kind of exotic compared to the Midwest or the South,” Patterson said.

“We couldn’t believe just getting over the hill on Nashville Road and seeing campus and seeing roads that we recognize and seeing family and friends. It’s really hard to believe that we’ve come all the way from San Francisco to here, and you almost don’t even know what to say because it’s so hard to describe the past 50 days or so of your life and how crazy it’s been and all the different experiences we’ve had,” junior Carter Chapman says.

One thing is for sure though: they’re grateful to the community and those that have supported them.

“We had that little police escort and talking to those guys who they know what we’ve been doing over the years… just Bike4Alz in general… and they were kind of asking us what our experience has been like and what this team has been like. It’s pretty cool to see all those people rally together for us,” Patterson said.

“A lot of us out west, we don’t have as many supporters and people don’t really know who we are… and as we’re kind of getting closer to Bowling Green, Louisville, Lexington, where we’re all from and seeing people who support us… we feel a lot more appreciated, and it’s just really incredible, the kind of community that has rallied around this over 13 teams and we have past team guys, past families who have all supported us this entire way. So we’re really, really grateful, and it’s been really awesome,” Chapman said.