BOISE, Idaho — The summer solstice has the most daylight of any day during the year, and it has also been a day where people come together in the fight against Alzheimer's.
On the longest day, Dave Fotsch will embark on a 160-mile journey from Camel's Back Park to Baker City, Oregon, it's a ride that will gain 7,000 feet of elevation.
"We have 16 hours of daylight, and I hope we make it," said Fotsch, who works as the director of Boise Green Bike. "I believe bikes can change the world, and maybe through this trip, I can make some little change for the people dealing with Alzheimer's."
Alzheimer's hits home for Dave as both his mother and his aunt suffered from this awful disease.
"Alzheimer's is a terrible disease because it slowly steals the people you love," said Fotsch. "It doesn't happen all at once in my mother's case I started noticing it several years before she was diagnosed."
This will be one of the longest rides Dave has ever done to raise money for Alzheimer's, but he has participated in a ride each of the last five years.
Eight years ago, after Dave's mother passed away, he rode from Boise to St. Louis with his mother's ashes and scattered them at her childhood home.
"Towards the end, her vocabulary came down to just a few words, but she kept saying she wanted to go home," said Fotsch. "That's not unusual with Alzheimer's, it's called sundowners, and they want to leave the house because they feel they have to go somewhere, for here it was the house she grew up in."
If you would like to help Dave raise money for Alzheimer's click on this link.
