Photo courtesy of Facebook

Michael Moran is on a mission. He arrives in Los Angeles on Friday, Sept. 2, at 10:15 a.m. from Rochester, N.Y., and heads north on the 5 Freeway to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia. That’s where the California leg of his Roller Coaster Crawls to End Alzheimer’s begins.

In 2012 Mike’s brother Kevin lost his battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease at the age of 54. Kevin was a roller coaster riding fanatic. It was his passion and he was even a card-carrying ACE member (American Coaster Enthusiasts).

Now, Michael honors his brother by riding as many coasters as he can every summer. His journey began this year in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., where he rode the roller coasters at Dollywood. So far this year he’s taken 50 roller coaster rides and almost 300 in total to date. He’s done rides in two countries, 18 states and two Cannadian provinces.

He’s not just having a blast, the coaster rides are a fundraising adventure. Mike accepts per-ride donations for them and donates the funds to the Alzheimer’s Association in memory of Kevin. He’s raised nearly $15,000 since he began shortly after his brother passed away. Donated funds are used by the Alzheimer’s Association for support, education, research, awareness and more.

Members of the local SCV Walk to End Alzheimer’s planning committee and Brian Welch, the Alzheimer’s Association California Southland Chapter Walk Director will be meeting with and joining Michael on the Six Flags Magic Mountain leg of his trip.

You can follow Michael’s Roller Coaster Crawls to End Alzheimer’s on his Facebook page at www.alzcoastercrawls.com. And you’re welcome to join him. Just message him on the page.

To make a donation visit http://act.alz.org/goto/kevinskoasters

Registration for the 4th Annual SCV Walk to End Alzheimer’s is open at act.alz.org/scv. For more information email Brian Welch at bwelch@alz.org or call Rick Ferrante at 1-800-808-4777.