Biking for Good: Quechee Riders Rally for Alzheimer’s

Spring is here, at least on the calendar. Nothing says spring quite like getting on your bike, filling your lungs with fresh air, and watching the Upper Valley scenery roll by. If you’re looking for motivation to jump start your spring exercise routine, joining a fun group and a worthy cause might help keep you on track.

Quechee’s Andy Clark has just the thing. Last year, Clark organized the inaugural Upper Valley Bike to End Alzheimer’s team as a way to build support for the annual Upper Valley Walk to End Alzheimer’s. He was among 15 riders — seven from Quechee — who biked a picturesque route along the Connecticut River on a spectacular fall day. Together they raised more than $3,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association while sharing their stories and honoring loved ones with the disease.

Andy Clark and Sarah Pushee with Jeremy from Omer & Bobs

Clark is no stranger to biking for good. Following the lead of his father, Ed, who initially got him in to biking (he still has the bike his dad gave him in high school), Clark started participating for rides to benefit cancer and MS. When a friend’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he joined a Bike to End Alzheimer’s event in his then-hometown in central Massachusetts. The following year, Ed was diagnosed with the disease.

Call to Action

It was devastating for Clark to see someone who was so verbal and engaged withdraw. “I wanted to do something as a way to honor him and raise money for something,” Clark recalled.

Ed’s motto had always been “If it is to be, it’s up to me,” so his son doubled down on the ride, creating a team called “Doin’ It for Our Folks” with fellow riders and making it an annual tradition. “Doing something to combat the disease became an absolute must. It was a way to release energy from the anger you feel with this,” explained Clark.

Ed passed away in 2014, and since then Clark has only built on his efforts. Since moving to Quechee, he’s also joined the Upper Valley Cycling Club and built a pack of biking pals.

Last year, they joined forces with the Upper Valley Walk to End Alzheimer’s, an Upper Valley tradition that has grown to 650 people from New Hampshire and Vermont communities. The 2025 walk raised more than $190,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association to fund free services, education, and research aimed at treating and preventing Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Riding on Hope

Mike and Sarah Burke

The impact of the disease is devastating, affecting nearly 7 million people in the U.S., and impacting their 12 million unpaid caregivers, who are mostly family. In New Hampshire and Vermont alone, close to 40,000 people are living with the disease.

The numbers are sobering, but the events also exude a new sense of optimism, thanks to a better understanding and sense of agency around the disease. Walks like these help fund the advances. As of now, 14 modifiable lifestyle factors have been identified that together can dramatically reduce the risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia. Research breakthroughs have also brought treatments that slow disease progression and diagnostic tools to identify dementia and brain disease earlier and more easily.

Among the key prevention factors are exercise and social connection. The ride hits on both. On the morning of September 27, the riders assembled in the Park and Ride lot in Lyme. Clark introduced himself and the crew, then briefly told his story while holding up a picture of Ed, his inspiration. From there, the group (all wearing some purple, the color of Alzheimer’s awareness) pedaled north to Orford, across to Fairlee, down to Thetford, then back across to Lyme. From there the 20-mile route headed back to Lyme, while the 30-mile route continued south on River Road then back to Lyme on Route 10. The “no drop ride” meant no one was left behind. It included two major stops — nine miles in at the Fairlee green, and 17 miles in Cedar Circle — where riders enjoyed coffee and snacks while sharing their personal stories and reasons for riding.

A COMMON THREAD

Everyone in the group has been touched by it in some way, and some in many ways. Sarah Pushee’s mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s (before age 65) in 2015. Pushee, who had a full-time job and two small children at the time, had to quit her job to care for her. Her life turned upside down. Shortly after her mother passed away in 2019, Pushee got back to work by opening a bike shop. Then, in 2024 her dad got simultaneously diagnosed with A-Fib and vascular dementia. He went into delirium and died 30 days later.

“It was very traumatic,” said Pushee of the experience of seeing both parents taken by the disease. When Pushee first attended a Walk, she found it emotionally overwhelming. The biking felt more intimate, so she signed up. “The whole small, casual nature of it was really, really nice, and the pace was pretty amazing,” says Pushee. The “no drop” format, in addition to being inclusive, allowed people to talk and share their stories along the way. Alzheimer’s is notoriously isolating, so connecting with people who have had similar experiences is especially refreshing.

“For me, personally, [Alzheimer’s] was such a traumatizing experience,” explained Pushee. “Just being around other people, knowing that I don’t have to hurt alone, that I’m not the only person who’s had these really difficult experiences, and that there are other people who have tons of hope with life … there’s something to take from that.”

The bike team with the Alzheimer’s dinosaur

Pushee had found herself caught up thinking that the disease — which afflicted both parents and her aunt — was her inevitable fate. She felt powerless to fight her odds. That’s changed, however, as she has embraced the building evidence that lifestyle factors like exercise, social connection, whole foods, and sleep allow you to be more proactive in bringing down your risk.

“None of those three people at 50 years old rode their bike as much as I do,” she noted.

A post-ride celebration at Stella’s capped off the event and took care of any unfinished chatting. Most of the bike team, including Pushee, joined Clark on October 27 at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, again carrying their team poster.

The $3,000 the group raised for the Alzheimer’s Association exceeded their goal for the inaugural ride. “As importantly,” said Clark, “we helped raise awareness about this devastating disease.”

Clark hopes more people will join the team to ride in 2026, and perhaps become like the Upper Valley Row to End Alzheimer’s that has grown from 12 people to 150 people in the past five years.

Get more info on the walk or sign up at: act.alz.org/uppervalley