![Windsor man launches round-the-world bike ride for Alzheimer's disease](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7251643.1719865515!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/don-martel.jpg)
Windsor man launches round-the-world bike ride for Alzheimer's disease
CBC
A Windsor, Ont., man has kicked off a round-the-world bike ride to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease and raise money for the Alzheimer Society of Windsor and Essex County, along with other Alzheimer societies worldwide.
Don Martel set off on Canada Day from underneath the Canadian flag on the Windsor waterfront.
His journey will take him across the upper plains of the United States to California; then he'll fly to Australia and travel across the country and onto Malaysia and Thailand.
"It's the biggest trip I've ever done," Martel said.
"I'm a little bit nervous. But nervous is not a bad thing."
Martel won't decide on a route through Asia until he's on the ground and has spoken to locals about the safest journeys, he said.
He then plans to travel through France, Spain and Portugal and fly from Portugal to Newfoundland.
Martel chose to raise money for Alzheimer societies because his mother passed away from dementia in 2022, he explained.
"They were a huge help in the last year or so," he said.
"I have many friends that have, you know, husbands or wives, and it's a very tough disease. You're locked in; you're working 24 hours a day with somebody with dementia or Alzheimer's. … and [the] Alzheimer Society will give you respite time where you can run to the grocery store, you know, just give you a break. And of course, we'd all like to see it cured."
Martel is no stranger to long-distance bike trips.
The 66-year-old has ridden both east to west and north to south across Canada.
His new adventure will see him spend more than a year on the road — a pace that will allow him to "enjoy the sites" — and cover approximately 30,000 kilometres, he said.
He hopes to raise $100,000 in the process.