Watertown’s Doug Orifice will bike 62 miles in the 2015 Ride to End Alzheimer’s on July 18.
Doug Orifice, of Watertown, will bike 62 miles in the 2015 Ride to End Alzheimer’s Saturday, July 18. Beginning and ending in Fort Devens the Ride provides a 2-mile family ride, 30-mile, 62-mile and 100-mile route reaching all the way from Western Massachusetts to Southern New Hampshire.
Orifice joined the Ride to honor the memory of his grandfather, Leo Egidio. To date, Orifice has raised over $2,800 of his $3,000 goal for the event.
“I wanted to do my tiny part in helping raise money to help eradicate this illness,” said Orifice. “This disease touched every member of my family and turned the life for my grandparents, mother, aunt and uncle completely upside-down.”
”Doug and the hundreds of other riders have made a big commitment to help fight Alzheimer’s,” said Jim Wessler, president/CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter. “His commitment inspires us and it also supports critical research and programs.”
More than 5 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. The fatal disease of the brain has no cure yet, but the Alzheimer’s Association is the international non-profit leader in research for effective treatments and someday a cure.
Started by the Noonan family, the event has raised more than $3 million for Alzheimer’s disease Research. Formerly called Memory Ride, the Ride to End Alzheimer’s grew from a small, family-inspired event to a cycling challenge attracting riders throughout New England and beyond. For more information about the Ride to End Alzheimer’s visit rtrendalz.org.