Local cyclist Carl Foote, 74, is turning miles into memories and milestones.
      Starting Wednesday, September 9, he embarked on the Magical Memory Tour, a 700-mile, two-week bicycle journey around the entire perimeter of Lake Erie. His mission is to raise critical funds and awareness for the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund.
      Foote launched his tour in Ashtabula,, pushing west through Cleveland and Toledo before heading north into Monroe and Detroit, Michigan.
      From there, the international journey crosses into Windsor, Ontario, tracing the Canadian coastline down to Buffalo, New York, before looping back to the starting point in Ohio.
      “Every mile of this ride represents a step forward in the fight against a disease that affects millions of families,” says Foote. “The Magical Memory Tour is about keeping those memories alive and supporting the scientists working tirelessly to find a cure.”
      This isn’t Foote’s first long-distance charitable trek.
      In 2022, to commemorate his 1972 ride across America, he rode from New Jersey towards Crater Lake in Oregon. Time constraints ended that ride in Idaho Falls, Idaho but that trip encouraged him to ride US Highway 62 from Niagra Falls to El Paso, Texas in 2024.
      Upon completion, of that tour, he learned that a friend of his from the local bicycling club, the Outspoken Wheelman, that 50 years ago a friend bicycled around Lake Erie, and that was the impetus for planning this ride in 2026.
      “This Lake Erie tour aims to bring local communities together across three states and two countries to back Alzheimer’s research. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised through the tour’s GoFundMe campaign will go directly to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, a non-profit organization where every single dollar donated is funneled straight into breakthrough scientific research,” Foote told The Boardman News.
      How to Support and Follow the Journey
       •Donate: Contributions can be made directly via the official campaign page on GoFundMe.
       •Follow Live: Track route updates, daily mileage milestones, and stories from the road by searching for the “Magical Memory Tour” online.
      Local residents, business owners, and fellow cyclists along the Lake Erie perimeter are encouraged to cheer Carl on as he passes through their towns.
     
      PICTURED: CARL FOOTE, 74, OF MAPLE DR. left from Ashtabula, Oh. this week on a two-week bicycle journey around Lake Erie to raise funds and awareness for the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. “Every mile of this ride represents a step forward in the fight against a disease that affects millions of families,” says Foote.