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81 year old to 'Ride Out Dementia' in memory of husband

Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), UNSW Sydney

Illawarra cyclist Janice Fitzpatrick will ride 40km around Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin, turning a passion she shared with her late husband Bernie into a mission to help change the future of dementia – with a growing community rallying behind her.

For decades, cycling meant companionship for Janice and Bernie Fitzpatrick.

The couple met as trainee teachers at Wagga Wagga Teachers College in 1964, built a life together over 60 years, raised seven children and, in retirement, took on long-distance fundraising rides – sometimes on their own bikes and sometimes together on a tandem.

Now, almost two years after losing Bernie to dementia, Janice is getting back on her road bike for one of her most meaningful rides yet. And it’s not an e-bike!

On Friday 18 September, Janice will set out at 9am from the Acton Peninsula, Lawson Crescent on Lake Burley Griffin’s foreshore to complete a lap of the lake, including the steep climb up to the Arboretum, with a goal of raising $15,000 for dementia research at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) at UNSW Sydney.

Her son is driving from Ballarat to ride with her in the event, as well as a grandson driving from Melbourne to ride. A Canberra local has volunteered to guide her around the lake, and friends and supporters are planning to gather to see her off and welcome her back.

Support has extended well beyond the ride itself. ACT cycling organisation Pedal Power has provided Janice with guidance as she prepares for the event, while supporters are also coming together for a gathering in Canberra the night of the ride.

The response to her fundraiser has been equally powerful. Janice initially set herself a target of $8,000, but after donations climbed beyond $7,500 well ahead of the ride, she increased her goal to $15,000.

For Janice, that groundswell of support has added another dimension to a ride already carrying enormous personal meaning.

“Bernie and I had been a team for 60 years,” Janice said.

“Cycling was one of the things we loved and something Bernie continued until just 11 months before he passed.

“Seeing my soulmate go from an intelligent, dedicated, loving and fit husband and father to someone so impacted by dementia was extremely hard. I wanted to take something that meant so much to us and use it to help research that could make a difference for other families.

“To have so many people get behind the ride and support what I’m trying to do means a great deal. I’ll be the one riding the bike, but there are so many people helping me get around that lake.”

Bernie was diagnosed with dementia in May 2018.

An English and History teacher, he had taken enormous pride in his command of language. Janice recalls the distress of watching dementia gradually take away abilities that had been fundamental to his identity.

“He was a grammar guru and an almost perfect speller,” Janice said.

“As those abilities disappeared, he knew it was happening. If he made a spelling mistake, sometimes he would say, ‘This is pathetic.’ It was heartbreaking because this was the disease – it wasn't Bernie.”

Rather than stepping away from the dementia community following Bernie’s death in September 2024, Janice has remained an active advocate and supporter of other families.

She continues to support the Corrimal Dementia Carers Group and is involved in community initiatives including the Illawarra Shoalhaven Dementia Public Forum - offering to others some of the support and understanding that can be so important for families living with dementia.

And she has certainly not stopped cycling.

Every Friday, Janice joins a group of fellow senior cyclists for a ride of about 22 kilometres - preparation that will stand her in good stead when she takes on Lake Burley Griffin.

The inspiration for the Canberra fundraiser came after Janice saw dementia clinician and researcher and CHeBA Co-Director Professor Henry Brodaty recognised as the 2026 Senior Australian of the Year and decided to contact CHeBA.

“Janice’s enthusiasm, generosity and determination have been quite overwhelming. To think that seeing my Senior Australian of the Year recognition prompted her to reach out to CHeBA, and that she has since put so much energy into supporting dementia research, is incredibly humbling,” Professor Brodaty said.

“Janice has already given so much to the dementia community through her experience caring for Bernie and her ongoing support of other families. At 81, to turn something they loved doing together into an opportunity to help others is remarkable. We are enormously grateful to Janice and to the community that has rallied around her. Every person who donates, turns up or simply shares her story is helping demonstrate just how strongly Australians want to see a future where dementia can be prevented and effectively treated.”

For Janice, reaching the finish line will be about much more than completing a lap of the lake. It will be another ride with Bernie in mind, powered by a community standing behind her -and by the hope that their collective effort can help researchers move closer to a future in which fewer families have to watch dementia change someone they love.

 

EVENT DETAILS

Janice Fitzpatrick’s Ride Out Dementia
DONATE AT: https://ride-out-dementia.raiselysite.com/

When: Friday, 18 September 2026
Where: Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra
Start/finish: Acton Peninsula, Lawson Crescent - Viewing deck, Lake Burley Griffin foreshore (9am start).
Fundraising target: $15,000 for dementia research led by UNSW Sydney’s Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA)

 

 

 

Contact details:

 

Heidi Douglass, Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing

[email protected]

T: (02) 9385 0410