A family of Fizzy lovers are undertaking a remarkable journey this spring in memory of a much-loved family member.
Peter Shand, 54, his son Darrel, 30, and daughter-in-law Sam, 29, are setting off on May 24 to fulfil a long-held ambition: to ride the iconic Route 66 in the US – on a Yamaha FS1-E! It’s a bittersweet journey for Peter, as he is doing the journey in honour of his much-loved father Stanley, who had Alzheimer’s disease and passed away last September.
Stanley introduced Peter to bikes when he was just 10-years-old, and his love of bikes has been passed down through the generations to Darrel. The pair plan to make the journey on Peter’s treasured Fizzy, the Yamaha FS1-E that he first rode as a teenager, while Sam follows them in a support vehicle carrying spare parts, as Peter said: “They’re tiny, little old machines which probably will break down! In the biking world everyone thinks that I’m absolutely bonkers, doing such a long ride on such a small machine. But that was the point – it was to get people thinking!”
Peter will be raising money for Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity – see their fundraising page at https:// www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ fizzyroute66.
“I’d worked with my dad all my life. He was my dad, my best friend and My business partner,” said Peter. “It was awful seeing him in the home with Alzheimer’s, so I thought, what an I do? I’ve always wanted to ride Route 66 so I said, let’s do it on the Fizzy and see if we can get some money for research.” For more on Alzheimer’s go to www.alzheimersresearchuk.org
