If you would like me to ride in tribute of your loved one, please email a photo to [email protected] or [email protected], include the person’s name and a brief note if you like, and send your contribution.
The entire $100 donation, is tax deductible and will go toward Alzheimer’s programs at Cedar Community.
Click here to submit your donation.
A big shout out of THANKS to Planet Mobile who supplied my phone for the tour!
Albuquerque, N.M. – Marty Kuehn at the information desk at the Albuquerque airport was doing her job filling me with maps.
“Now be sure to get a big hat and remember water, water, water,” she said.
You could barely hear her German accent as she recommended restaurants, good roads and the latest sweltering weather forecast.
“These are the hottest five days of the year,” she said. “And we’re barely through day three.”
Marty’s workmate at the desk was Sirpa. She was from Finland and wore a big straw hat.
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| L to R: Marty, me, and Sirpa |
Both ladies came to the U.S. via marriage.
“My husband died of Alzheimer’s,” said Marty. “He was in his 90s. Boy those guys live a long time.”
Marty said her husband died at home surrounded by family.
“And I remember in his final days I left his bedside to go make breakfast and he had a moment of clarity and he reached out and put his hand on my leg and said that he loved me dearly and that I was the best woman he ever met,” she said.
Marty was clear about two things. “I’m afraid of the ‘big A’ and the ‘big C.'”
To keep Alzheimer’s at bay she’s taking piano lessons. “They say music really helps the memory,” she said.
A former music major Marty stopped playing and sold her Baby Grand piano when she got married. “My husband didn’t like classical music,” she said.
With maps in hand and plenty to fill a day in Albuquerque I set out to find a place to stay the night. Within a stones through of the airport exit doors I got my first flat.
This is going to be an awesome tour!
Arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and was given this sweet NM license plate from Jim at the Studebaker Shop on Yales.
More in my next post.
And now….I’m off!
My dad turns 92 years old today. Who can even imagine living that long.
He’s packed a lot into those years. He’s a veteran, a graduate of Marquette University, a father of seven and grandfather of 13. He is a man of great faith.
When we were growing up he made sure we all had bikes. Most weren’t the newest, but they all worked.
We were the Wallendas of Whitefish Bay when he attached three tandems together. It didn’t work like we thought it would but it was fun to try.
Old school German ingenuity.
My dad is in pretty good shape for 92. He walks about a half mile three times a day and he can play a mean game of Solitaire on the computer.
He’s a ‘happy’ Alzheimer’s and I ride my annual bike tour as a tribute to my dad.
I’m also riding the same bike I had when I graduated high school in 1982 because of my dad. It was that Depression-era mentality. “So if it still works I don’t understand why you need a new one.”
Happy birthday to my Dad.
Today I’m leaving for New Mexico. I’ll be traveling/riding in tribute to Pat Bohn today.
Here are some candid comments from Deb Bohn about what it’s like to live with someone with Alzheimer’s. Family support is a big key as there’s an overwhelming fear of being very alone.
If you would like to have Judy ride in tribute of your loved one, please email a photo to [email protected] or [email protected], include the person’s name and a brief note if you like, and send off your contribution by clicking HERE. The entire $100 donation will go toward Alzheimer’s programs at Cedar Community.
I was asked if I could post a little bit more on what it’s like to get ready for the tour – packing and whatnot.
Here ya go. My goal is light and tight and small. Some of the tricks – I cut the handle off my toothbrush, I roll all my clothes and put them in plastic bags to help waterproof. Matter of fact, everything goes into a plastic bag.
Some other unique things – I put safety pins on all my zipper pulls. I call my credit card company and let them know I’ll be traveling – I also check the credit limit; I don’t want it to be too high just in case my card gets stolen.
Something I didn’t show in the video is the packets I make up. I have a team at home, close friends who are my backup in case of emergency.
I give them a packet with all my personal information including the credit card numbers, the number to call if the card is lost or stolen, my family numbers, ID, and a copy of my will. Seriously, I try to plan for everything.
Over the years I’ve made sure all my financial accounts have my brother as POD and I just try to be as tidy as I can so just in case something does happen, there’s not a lot of scramble.
All my electronics fly with me, including all the power cords – that’s a lesson from a past packing mistake when I had my device but my luggage was delayed for 26 days and I since the power cords were in the luggage I had to scramble to find replacements and it wasn’t easy.
Right now I’m juicing up all my devices and emptying the memory card as much as possible – I’m also still searching biking websites, looking for a place to stay when I land on Tuesday.
Anybody have a friend in Albuquerque?
The toothbrush has been cut in half, which means packing for the Amazing Ride for Alzheimer’s has officially begun!
My Amazing Ride for Alzheimer’s 2016 bicycle tour leaves June 21 as I fly to Albuquerque, New Mexico and then pedal home to West Bend. This is the fourth year for the fundraiser which brings awareness to Alzheimer’s and provides financial backing to music and exercise programs at Cedar Community.
I’m often inspired by some of the notes I receive so I asked Mary Ellen’s permission to share her post below.
Hi Judy,
I am so excited to follow The 2016 Amazing Ride for Alzheimer’s again this year and once again make a donation in memory of my dad, Bob Becker.
This year I included my mom, LaVerne, in the picture.
Both have passed but I remember how hard it was for my mom when my dad would ask the same thing over and over again or make the distant past the present.
It was so hard for her to deal with that day in and day out. Every night he would ask when his 5 children were going to come home for the night and every night she would tell him that we didn’t live there anymore.
Caregiving is a difficult task for loved ones so this year I am honoring my dad who suffered with Alzheimer’s and my mom for loving him through it.
Thank you for all you do to raise awareness!
Mary Ellen Hetebrueg
TheBiKeWriTer is a travel-by-the-seat-of-your-pants website. Few plans, lots of spontaneous adventure, great people, with a little bit of history and humor thrown in. Follow along.
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