Cape Town – Brothers Lyle and Struan Anderson, together with their friends Gareth Myles and Simon Clayton, will start a gruelling two-week, 2 200km
BORDER2BEACH Psycle Tour on Saturday at Beitbridge in Musina.
They will be raising awareness of Alzheimer’s and dementia, with the aim of riding an average of 160km per day and raising R200 000 by the time they reach Cape Town on September 7.
The team will follow the same route that Lyle and Struan’s late father, Jonathan Anderson, took 50 years ago, when he undertook the journey at the age of 17, as a tribute to his life and his legacy after he died from dementia last year.
Lyle, a husband and father of twin boys from Johannesburg, said: “My father’s illness and subsequent death from Alzheimer’s last August made us appreciate how devastating this disease is on those diagnosed with the condition, and how unprepared we were as a family to cope and support my father through the process.
“We hope that the BORDER2BEACH Psycle Tour will generate exposure and decrease the stigma around the disease, while raising funds to train
caregivers that can assist those in low-income communities that would otherwise be unable to access vital nursing care.”
Struan, a dairy farmer from KwaZulu-Natal and father of four-year-old Emma and two-year-old Thomas, said they had learnt that people affected by dementia in rural communities are often ostracised or even beaten, as their symptoms are misunderstood.
“Having helpers in these communities to educate and create understanding will hopefully reduce the stigma around mental health issues, empower people to look for early signs of detection, and be better prepared should a loved one ever be affected by this cruel disease.”
While the team has secured title sponsorship support and funding from Livewell Villages to cover the expenses to complete the ride, they hope to drive donations to their BackaBuddy fund-raising platform: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/ch/project/border2beach-psycle
For more information or to follow the team’s progress visit: