View from the Hill: Bike4Alz

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - By summer’s end, three brothers from Bowling Green will share a unique bond. All three will have biked across the country with their fraternity to raise money for Alzheimer’s.

“We are the first set of three brothers to do the ride, so that’s a pretty unique experience to share between all three of us,” said Jacob Howard, 2019 Bike4Alz team member.

It was Jacob who started the family tradition with the 2019 team. He says it’s a cause that hits close to home.

“Our mom’s grandfather had Alzheimer’s and we never got to meet him but she always talked about how it was, you know, you lose them slowly,” said Jacob.

Will was a part of last year’s team and calls it a life-changing experience.

“I’ve always been a BG boy, all of us have and never really left without each other or people that we’re really close to so we had to grow up real quick,” said Will Howard, 2022 Bike4Alz team member.

Next week, it will be their brother Luke’s turn to hit the road.

“Now I’m getting more nervous. I’m gonna be biking on the road where there’s cars driving past me going 55 miles per hour plus,” said Luke Howard, 2023 Bike4Alz team member.

So how are Howard’s parents handling yet another tense summer? Will says by now his parents are used to phone calls home being hit or miss.

“If they’re not freaked out about us two, they are definitely freaked out about him because he is the baby,” said Will. “After Jacob, they understood that so I didn’t have as much of a problem with them being extra nervous about me being ok.”

Luke says he wasn’t paying very close attention back when Jacob first started this journey.

“I was in high school and kind of oblivious. I knew Jacob was off to college,” said Luke. “I heard he was biking across the country and I was like, no he’s not. I didn’t believe you like you’re lying.”

Luke was able to attend both Bike4Alz Kentucky stops and also witnessed the team make their ceremonial dip in the Atlantic Ocean at the end of the trip.

“They were all so happy to see the east coast, see the ocean there and they all just took off running or going crazy. It was cool to see,” said Luke.

So cool that both brothers decided to follow in Jacob’s footsteps and definitely looked to him for advice. “I told them I said, you’ll hit every emotion. You’ll be happy, you’ll be sad, you’ll be hot, you’ll be cold. Everything just hits you and every day is different, that’s very for sure,” said Jacob.

“One hundred percent I’m glad where I am, I’m glad where they ended up and I’m glad he ended up here to influence me so I could influence him to be here,” said Will.

Luke Howard and the rest of Team 11 will depart for San Francisco on May 16 and will arrive at Virginia Beach on July 27. There will be a big Bowling Green event to welcome them to town on July 8 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the SOKY Marketplace. If you would like to donate to Bike4Alz, you can do so at www.Bike4Alz.org.

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