Riding safety with Alzheimer's?

[Joerg]

In my volunteer work I sometimes deal with folks who have dementia, in
this case Alzheimer's. Today we did a very long walk together. He is
athletic and used to be a powerful high-mileage road bike rider so no
problems in the power and endurance domain. The disease has progressed
to the point where he would become disoriented on the roads or maybe
ride into freeway onramps and such. So he needs a companion. No problem,
that would be me. When I suggested that his (otherwise now quite
passive) eyes began to gleam.

Like in this paper he has lost the ability to shift and since we live in
the hills this means trucking our bikes into the flatlands where you can
remains in the same gear the whole ride:

https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/cycling-dementia/

We would stick to bike paths, preferably ones with a low amount of
traffic and definitely not many pedestrians. About 20mi from here we
have an almost perfect one that is about 15mi long and has no posted
speed limit:

Loading Image...

I will also switch out his pedals from clip-in to flat MTB pedals, don't
want to risk him not getting a foot out and fall (he is >70). I always
carry a first aid kit.

My question is, what else should I prepare for? Searches on the web
didn't reveal much, other than that cycling is beneficial in slowing the
progress of such diseases.

We'll see how the first rides go. If very well then there will be other
questions, such as whether there is a road bike bike with automatic
transmission. Maybe based on Di2. They offer it but AFAIK only for
electric MTB and maybe it can be adapted to non-electric road bikes:

https://velo.outsideonline.com/ebike/shimano-introduces-automatic-di2-shifting/

Of course, if the guy turns out to be a lot faster than I am and leaves
me in the dust that could present a very different problem :-)

[Catrike Ryder]

Post by Joerg
In my volunteer work I sometimes deal with folks who have dementia, in
this case Alzheimer's. Today we did a very long walk together. He is
athletic and used to be a powerful high-mileage road bike rider so no
problems in the power and endurance domain. The disease has progressed
to the point where he would become disoriented on the roads or maybe
ride into freeway onramps and such. So he needs a companion. No problem,
that would be me. When I suggested that his (otherwise now quite
passive) eyes began to gleam.
Like in this paper he has lost the ability to shift and since we live in
the hills this means trucking our bikes into the flatlands where you can
https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/cycling-dementia/
We would stick to bike paths, preferably ones with a low amount of
traffic and definitely not many pedestrians. About 20mi from here we
have an almost perfect one that is about 15mi long and has no posted
https://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/images/fsc-new.jpg
I will also switch out his pedals from clip-in to flat MTB pedals, don't
want to risk him not getting a foot out and fall (he is >70). I always
carry a first aid kit.
My question is, what else should I prepare for? Searches on the web
didn't reveal much, other than that cycling is beneficial in slowing the
progress of such diseases.
We'll see how the first rides go. If very well then there will be other
questions, such as whether there is a road bike bike with automatic
transmission. Maybe based on Di2. They offer it but AFAIK only for
https://velo.outsideonline.com/ebike/shimano-introduces-automatic-di2-shifting/
Of course, if the guy turns out to be a lot faster than I am and leaves
me in the dust that could present a very different problem :-)

I dealt with Alzheimer's people when I volunteered at assisted living
homes. Some do well under supervision, but others don't, have a mind
of their own and can be unpredictable. You know the guy so you choose.
Might be a good case for a tandem.

--
C'est bon
Soloman

[Joerg]

Post by Catrike Ryder

Post by Joerg
In my volunteer work I sometimes deal with folks who have dementia, in
this case Alzheimer's. Today we did a very long walk together. He is
athletic and used to be a powerful high-mileage road bike rider so no
problems in the power and endurance domain. The disease has progressed
to the point where he would become disoriented on the roads or maybe
ride into freeway onramps and such. So he needs a companion. No problem,
that would be me. When I suggested that his (otherwise now quite
passive) eyes began to gleam.
Like in this paper he has lost the ability to shift and since we live in
the hills this means trucking our bikes into the flatlands where you can
https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/cycling-dementia/
We would stick to bike paths, preferably ones with a low amount of
traffic and definitely not many pedestrians. About 20mi from here we
have an almost perfect one that is about 15mi long and has no posted
https://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/images/fsc-new.jpg
I will also switch out his pedals from clip-in to flat MTB pedals, don't
want to risk him not getting a foot out and fall (he is >70). I always
carry a first aid kit.
My question is, what else should I prepare for? Searches on the web
didn't reveal much, other than that cycling is beneficial in slowing the
progress of such diseases.
We'll see how the first rides go. If very well then there will be other
questions, such as whether there is a road bike bike with automatic
transmission. Maybe based on Di2. They offer it but AFAIK only for
https://velo.outsideonline.com/ebike/shimano-introduces-automatic-di2-shifting/
Of course, if the guy turns out to be a lot faster than I am and leaves
me in the dust that could present a very different problem :-)

I dealt with Alzheimer's people when I volunteered at assisted living
homes. Some do well under supervision, but others don't, have a mind
of their own and can be unpredictable. You know the guy so you choose.
Might be a good case for a tandem.

Thanks, Solomon. Unfortunately I or anyone around me don't have a
tandem. He is mild-mannered and listens well.

I know it can be different. I volunteered in the memory care section of
care homes, mainly because hardly anyone else wanted to go in there.
Some folks can turn rather violent but it's not them, it's the disease
doing that.

[Catrike Ryder]

Post by Joerg

Post by Catrike Ryder

Post by Joerg
In my volunteer work I sometimes deal with folks who have dementia, in
this case Alzheimer's. Today we did a very long walk together. He is
athletic and used to be a powerful high-mileage road bike rider so no
problems in the power and endurance domain. The disease has progressed
to the point where he would become disoriented on the roads or maybe
ride into freeway onramps and such. So he needs a companion. No problem,
that would be me. When I suggested that his (otherwise now quite
passive) eyes began to gleam.
Like in this paper he has lost the ability to shift and since we live in
the hills this means trucking our bikes into the flatlands where you can
https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/cycling-dementia/
We would stick to bike paths, preferably ones with a low amount of
traffic and definitely not many pedestrians. About 20mi from here we
have an almost perfect one that is about 15mi long and has no posted
https://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/images/fsc-new.jpg
I will also switch out his pedals from clip-in to flat MTB pedals, don't
want to risk him not getting a foot out and fall (he is >70). I always
carry a first aid kit.
My question is, what else should I prepare for? Searches on the web
didn't reveal much, other than that cycling is beneficial in slowing the
progress of such diseases.
We'll see how the first rides go. If very well then there will be other
questions, such as whether there is a road bike bike with automatic
transmission. Maybe based on Di2. They offer it but AFAIK only for
https://velo.outsideonline.com/ebike/shimano-introduces-automatic-di2-shifting/
Of course, if the guy turns out to be a lot faster than I am and leaves
me in the dust that could present a very different problem :-)

I dealt with Alzheimer's people when I volunteered at assisted living
homes. Some do well under supervision, but others don't, have a mind
of their own and can be unpredictable. You know the guy so you choose.
Might be a good case for a tandem.

Thanks, Solomon. Unfortunately I or anyone around me don't have a
tandem. He is mild-mannered and listens well.
I know it can be different. I volunteered in the memory care section of
care homes, mainly because hardly anyone else wanted to go in there.
Some folks can turn rather violent but it's not them, it's the disease
doing that.

+1
Yes, it's the disease. My wife, who worked in assisted living homes as
an activities director always said something like that. She's retired
now and I'm eighty so neither of us are involved and almost all of the
attachments we made have passed on but we still maintain contact with
a couple residents. THis is one who didn't make it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/j_soloman/with/53910283643

--
C'est bon
Soloman

[Catrike Ryder]

On Sun, 09 Mar 2025 05:35:37 -0400, Catrike Ryder

Post by Catrike Ryder

Post by Joerg

Post by Catrike Ryder

Post by Joerg
In my volunteer work I sometimes deal with folks who have dementia, in
this case Alzheimer's. Today we did a very long walk together. He is
athletic and used to be a powerful high-mileage road bike rider so no
problems in the power and endurance domain. The disease has progressed
to the point where he would become disoriented on the roads or maybe
ride into freeway onramps and such. So he needs a companion. No problem,
that would be me. When I suggested that his (otherwise now quite
passive) eyes began to gleam.
Like in this paper he has lost the ability to shift and since we live in
the hills this means trucking our bikes into the flatlands where you can
https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/cycling-dementia/
We would stick to bike paths, preferably ones with a low amount of
traffic and definitely not many pedestrians. About 20mi from here we
have an almost perfect one that is about 15mi long and has no posted
https://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/images/fsc-new.jpg
I will also switch out his pedals from clip-in to flat MTB pedals, don't
want to risk him not getting a foot out and fall (he is >70). I always
carry a first aid kit.
My question is, what else should I prepare for? Searches on the web
didn't reveal much, other than that cycling is beneficial in slowing the
progress of such diseases.
We'll see how the first rides go. If very well then there will be other
questions, such as whether there is a road bike bike with automatic
transmission. Maybe based on Di2. They offer it but AFAIK only for
https://velo.outsideonline.com/ebike/shimano-introduces-automatic-di2-shifting/
Of course, if the guy turns out to be a lot faster than I am and leaves
me in the dust that could present a very different problem :-)

I dealt with Alzheimer's people when I volunteered at assisted living
homes. Some do well under supervision, but others don't, have a mind
of their own and can be unpredictable. You know the guy so you choose.
Might be a good case for a tandem.

Thanks, Solomon. Unfortunately I or anyone around me don't have a
tandem. He is mild-mannered and listens well.
I know it can be different. I volunteered in the memory care section of
care homes, mainly because hardly anyone else wanted to go in there.
Some folks can turn rather violent but it's not them, it's the disease
doing that.

+1
Yes, it's the disease. My wife, who worked in assisted living homes as
an activities director always said something like that. She's retired
now and I'm eighty so neither of us are involved and almost all of the
attachments we made have passed on but we still maintain contact with
a couple residents. THis is one who didn't make it.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/j_soloman/with/53910283643

Sorry, wrong picture..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/j_soloman/53971342104

--
C'est bon
Soloman

[Jeff Liebermann]

Post by Joerg
My question is, what else should I prepare for? Searches on the web
didn't reveal much, other than that cycling is beneficial in slowing the
progress of such diseases.

I suggest some kind of senior GPS tracker:
<https://www.google.com/search?q=senior%20gps%20tracker&num=10&udm=2>

During the pandemic, our group of about 6 hikers would regularly meet
for walks (not bicycle rides) in Henry Cowell state park. One of our
friends asked if he could join and if he could bring a friend. No
problem, as long as the observed the usual Covid precautions. The
friend of the friend turned out to be a rather serious diabetic. We
discovered later that he had a history of not monitoring his blood
sugar and wandering off.

All seemed to be going well until we made a detour to the nearest
public restroom. 15 minutes later, we discovered that he had
disappeared. He also wasn't answering his cell phone. We checked
with nearby hikers, but nobody had seen him. We were about to alert
the park rangers, when someone saw him driving away from the park.
That's also when our friend casually mentioned that he had driven
himself to the state park in his car. We called his wife to alert her
of the problem and asked her to call us if and when he arrives home.
Half an hour later, we received the call. His cell phone battery was
dead because he had forgotten to charge it.

To avoid a repetition of this type of fire drill, someone should
purchase a "senior GPS tracker" for your riding companion and
permanently attach it to his clothes so that he doesn't loose it. The
one's that run on a smartphone will rapidly discharge the phone
battery. The one's that have an SOS button require an expensive
service plan and are marginal in dense foliage. I haven't looked at
the watches that use a smartphone as a repeater (i.e. Apple Watch).
Those appeared after all this happened and might an improvement.

Also, if you think that a cell phone is sufficient, be sure to enable
location tracking on the phone. If you have his Google account login
and password, you can use another computer to locate his position
without requiring that he do anything:
<https://myaccount.google.com/find-your-phone>
<https://support.google.com/maps/answer/15437054>

Thanks for volunteering.

[Joerg]

Post by Jeff Liebermann

Post by Joerg
My question is, what else should I prepare for? Searches on the web
didn't reveal much, other than that cycling is beneficial in slowing the
progress of such diseases.

<https://www.google.com/search?q=senior%20gps%20tracker&num=10&udm=2>

He has that but it wouldn't be any good if he steps on it and then I
can't match his speed. At least once upon a time he must have been a
rider more capable than I am. Much less weight but almost the same
muscle power. I'll see. If I ask him not to forge ahead he won't likely
do it.

Post by Jeff Liebermann
During the pandemic, our group of about 6 hikers would regularly meet
for walks (not bicycle rides) in Henry Cowell state park. One of our
friends asked if he could join and if he could bring a friend. No
problem, as long as the observed the usual Covid precautions. The
friend of the friend turned out to be a rather serious diabetic. We
discovered later that he had a history of not monitoring his blood
sugar and wandering off.

Nasty.

Post by Jeff Liebermann
All seemed to be going well until we made a detour to the nearest
public restroom. 15 minutes later, we discovered that he had
disappeared. He also wasn't answering his cell phone. We checked
with nearby hikers, but nobody had seen him. We were about to alert
the park rangers, when someone saw him driving away from the park.
That's also when our friend casually mentioned that he had driven
himself to the state park in his car. We called his wife to alert her
of the problem and asked her to call us if and when he arrives home.
Half an hour later, we received the call. His cell phone battery was
dead because he had forgotten to charge it.
To avoid a repetition of this type of fire drill, someone should
purchase a "senior GPS tracker" for your riding companion and
permanently attach it to his clothes so that he doesn't loose it. The
one's that run on a smartphone will rapidly discharge the phone
battery. The one's that have an SOS button require an expensive
service plan and are marginal in dense foliage. I haven't looked at
the watches that use a smartphone as a repeater (i.e. Apple Watch).
Those appeared after all this happened and might an improvement.
Also, if you think that a cell phone is sufficient, be sure to enable
location tracking on the phone. If you have his Google account login
and password, you can use another computer to locate his position
<https://myaccount.google.com/find-your-phone>
<https://support.google.com/maps/answer/15437054>

He is pretty well decked out with "electronic surveillance".

Post by Jeff Liebermann
Thanks for volunteering.

Thank you as well. We all need to give back and be thankful that we
don't have any of this stuff (yet ...).

[AMuzi]

Post by Joerg
In my volunteer work I sometimes deal with folks who have
dementia, in this case Alzheimer's. Today we did a very long
walk together. He is athletic and used to be a powerful
high-mileage road bike rider so no problems in the power and
endurance domain. The disease has progressed to the point
where he would become disoriented on the roads or maybe ride
into freeway onramps and such. So he needs a companion. No
problem, that would be me. When I suggested that his
(otherwise now quite passive) eyes began to gleam.
Like in this paper he has lost the ability to shift and
since we live in the hills this means trucking our bikes
into the flatlands where you can remains in the same gear
https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/cycling-dementia/
We would stick to bike paths, preferably ones with a low
amount of traffic and definitely not many pedestrians. About
20mi from here we have an almost perfect one that is about
https://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/images/fsc-new.jpg
I will also switch out his pedals from clip-in to flat MTB
pedals, don't want to risk him not getting a foot out and
fall (he is >70). I always carry a first aid kit.
My question is, what else should I prepare for? Searches on
the web didn't reveal much, other than that cycling is
beneficial in slowing the progress of such diseases.
We'll see how the first rides go. If very well then there
will be other questions, such as whether there is a road
bike bike with automatic transmission. Maybe based on Di2.
They offer it but AFAIK only for electric MTB and maybe it
https://velo.outsideonline.com/ebike/shimano-introduces-
automatic-di2-shifting/
Of course, if the guy turns out to be a lot faster than I am
and leaves me in the dust that could present a very
different problem :-)

I am not an expert.

If you want to shift the bike alongside you, set it up with
SRAM and mount the mini-lever pod on your bike, not his.

https://www.sram.com/en/sram/models/EC-AXS-POD-D1

[Roger Merriman]

Post by Joerg
In my volunteer work I sometimes deal with folks who have dementia, in
this case Alzheimer's. Today we did a very long walk together. He is
athletic and used to be a powerful high-mileage road bike rider so no
problems in the power and endurance domain. The disease has progressed
to the point where he would become disoriented on the roads or maybe
ride into freeway onramps and such. So he needs a companion. No problem,
that would be me. When I suggested that his (otherwise now quite
passive) eyes began to gleam.
Like in this paper he has lost the ability to shift and since we live in
the hills this means trucking our bikes into the flatlands where you can
https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/cycling-dementia/
We would stick to bike paths, preferably ones with a low amount of
traffic and definitely not many pedestrians. About 20mi from here we
have an almost perfect one that is about 15mi long and has no posted
https://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/images/fsc-new.jpg
I will also switch out his pedals from clip-in to flat MTB pedals, don't
want to risk him not getting a foot out and fall (he is >70). I always
carry a first aid kit.

I’d see how he gets on, I’d be minded to try his bike set up as it was so
it’s familiar and try it somewhere safe, ie leave the clipless on as it was
and so on.

As it’s an old skill he may surprise you.

Post by Joerg
My question is, what else should I prepare for? Searches on the web
didn't reveal much, other than that cycling is beneficial in slowing the
progress of such diseases.
We'll see how the first rides go. If very well then there will be other
questions, such as whether there is a road bike bike with automatic
transmission. Maybe based on Di2. They offer it but AFAIK only for
https://velo.outsideonline.com/ebike/shimano-introduces-automatic-di2-shifting/
Of course, if the guy turns out to be a lot faster than I am and leaves
me in the dust that could present a very different problem :-)

Roger Merriman