WKU News

As brothers, Jacob, Will and Luke Howard share several common bonds.

The sons of Tara Howard and Ben Howard are Warren East graduates. They are Hilltoppers. They are members of FIJI fraternity.

And when Bike4Alz Team 11 begins its cross country ride on Saturday (May 20), Luke will become the third Howard brother to make the FIJI fraternity’s 3,600-mile journey to raise awareness and money for Alzheimer’s research. Jacob participated in the 2019 ride and Will was a member of the 2022 team. (Watch: View from the Hill)

“We are the first set of three brothers to do the ride,” Jacob said. “It’s a pretty unique experience to share between all three of us.”

Their father, Ben, is proud of his sons and the other members of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity who have participated in Bike4Alz since its first trip in 2010.

“The sacrifices that they make for that journey over the summer is unique but not surprising. It really is humbling to see that,” Ben Howard said.

“What I’ve learned from these men being a part of the ride and being part of FIJI fraternity is this,” he said. “Number one, as a parent I don’t take any credit for what they accomplish, they deserve all the credit. Number two, the FIJI values are Friendship, Knowledge, Service, Morality, and Excellence. With my sons being a part of that fraternity for several years, I’ve witnessed that behavior. That gives me a tremendous amount of encouragement.”

Jacob learned about Bike4Alz when he pledged the fraternity as a freshman. “It was really cool to hear everyone’s experience,” he said.

Luke was 16 when Jacob made the journey in 2019. “I heard he was biking across the country and I was like, no he’s not,” Luke said. “I didn’t believe you, like you’re lying.”

As he learned more about Bike4Alz, Luke realized the trip was a great experience for his brother. Then last year, he watched Will make the trip.

“I told them, you’ll hit every emotion,” Jacob said.  “You’ll be happy, you’ll be sad, you’ll be hot, you’ll be cold. Everything just hits you and every day is different, that’s for sure.”

When planning began for this year’s ride, Luke said, “I was iffy about it. I needed to think about it.” But when several roommates at the FIJI house signed up for the 2023 trip, Luke decided to fully commit to the ride.

He is the event planner for this year’s ride and will help set up fundraising events in cities the team visits along the route. The Bike4Alz team has an event scheduled in Bowling Green on July 8 at the SOKY Marketplace. “We’re really excited for that,” Luke said.

The Bike4Alz team will leave Bowling Green on Tuesday (May 16) on a two-day drive to San Francisco. The ride will begin Saturday (May 20) with riders’ back tires in the Pacific Ocean and will end on July 27 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with the front tires in the Atlantic Ocean. (More: Bike4Alz calendar)

Will said Bike4Alz provided an opportunity for the brothers to share the experience of a cross country bike ride. “You experience parts of the country you wouldn’t expect to and you meet different people along the way,” he said.

The Bike4Alz teams have built “great connections and a network of people over the ride,” Jacob said.

The team rides an average of 80 miles a day so having food and a place to stay is important at the end of a day’s ride. “The only thing constant on Bike4Alz is worrying about food,” Will said. “But we did a good job eating.”

The team has done a good job raising money and Alzheimer’s awareness. Since 2010, Bike4Alz has raised about $600,000. Fundraising has grown with each ride; last year’s team raised about $150,000.

Ben Howard said his sons and all the Bike4Alz riders are committed to a great cause on a trip that requires hard work, courage and sacrifice. “These men are all between 19 and 22 and truly commit their whole summer to this,” he said. “At their age, I would never have had the courage to do that. I’m proud of my boys but I’m proud of all these men. In a world where truly virtuous men are in short supply, It’s comforting to witness how the men of FIJI approach life. It gives you a lot of hope for the future.”

Members of the 2023 Bike4Alz team are: Callan Jones and Ryan Spychalski, both of Spring Hill, Tennessee; Trey Englehardt of Sacramento, Kentucky; Christian Hines of Auburn, Kentucky; Elijah Hopkins of Adairville, Kentucky; Dylan Jackson, Reed Marple and Luke Howard, all of Bowling Green, Kentucky; Tyler Baldwin of Madisonville, Kentucky; Mason Alexander and Blake Mitchell, both of Louisville, Kentucky; and Grant Johnson of Paducah, Kentucky.

For more, visit https://www.bike4alz.org/

-WKU-

Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.