Two Hampshire pensioners are gearing up for an epic bike ride from Poland to Portsmouth this autumn in a bid to raise money for dementia charity The Alzheimer’s Society and have used the Isle of Wight as part of their training regime.
Their charity cycle coincides with the one-hundredth anniversary of the death of the German psychiatrist credited with identifying the disease.
Roger Cooper, 67, from Havant and Pete Scott, 66, from Waterlooville plan to cycle 1915 kilometres in honour of the contribution made to medical science by Alois Alzheimer, who was born in Germany in 1864 and died in Poland in December 1915.
Hoping to take advantage of a relatively quiet weekend, the pair – who have nicknamed themselves Mad Old Pensioners In Lycra (MOPIL) – rode around the Isle of Wight on Sunday as part of a training regime that they admit has been a little hit-and-miss.
Roger explained:
“We thought that, while the rest of the country was glued to the America’s Cup, we would make the most of the Island’s undulating terrain as a relatively quiet practice route – although we didn’t really bargain on such dreadful weather.”
Roger planned the 1,915 kilometre route carefully, aiming to take in cities and regions that were important to Dr. Alzheimer during his lifetime and to raise a fitting £1,915 in the process.
Starting in Wroclaw, the south western Polish city where Dr. Azheimer died, Roger and Pete will cycle unaccompanied through Germany and France then travel across the Channel from Caen to Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries, which has donated the cost of their tickets.
On the way they will pass through the town of Markbreit, Dr. Alzheimer’s birthplace, as well as the German Universities of Berlin, Aschaffenburg and Würzburg where the eminent psychiatrist studied.
Roger said:
“The work of the Alzheimer’s Society is especially important to me because my father, who died last year, was an Alzheimer’s sufferer.
“I hope our cycle ride will be a fitting tribute to his memory as he was so full of life and would have loved to hear all about an adventure like this.”
Roger and Pete have set up a Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/teams/mopil and all donations are welcome. Follow their progress on Twitter https://twitter.com/PolandToPompey.
