Bill Taylor and Liberty.
An elderly Iowan is riding his horse across the state to raise money for Alzheimer’s research at the University of Iowa. Bill Taylor mounted his horse, Liberty, and started his journey Monday morning.
“I’m 80 years old and not too many people who are 80 years old can even get on a horse,” Taylor said. He plans complete the trip along Highway 92 from Grandview to Council Bluffs in less than two weeks.
“If I ride 20 miles a day, it’ll take 12 or 13 days,” Taylor said. Along the way, Taylor is talking with Iowans about Alzheimer’s – a disease that a number of his friends are battling.
“I have a friend in Oklahoma who just recently acquired Alzheimers, so I want to try and raise money for research,” Taylor said. The money generated from the ride will be donated to the research laboratory of U-I neurology and psychology professor Daniel Tranel.
“One of my staff told me there was some old guy in the waiting room who wanted to talk about Alzheimer’s research,” Tranel recalled of his first meeting with Taylor. “Within the first couple of minutes, it was clear he was very serious about what he wanted to do.”
Tranel and a couple of fellow researchers joined Taylor for the first few miles of his journey. For more information about the ride and an opportunity to donate to Taylor’s cause go to this website: www.uifoundation.org/GiveToIowa/WebObjects/GiveToIowa.woa/wa/goTo?area=2011GCWA
By Mark Carlson, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids