90-year-old man cycles to see his dying wife twice a day for two hours

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By James Kay

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A 90-year-old man cycles twice a day for two hours to see his dying wife in what is one of the most heartwarming stories of love you're likely to see.

Peter Burkhardt proves that love knows no limitations as he dedicates each day to being by his wife's side as she lives in a care home, as can be seen on a video uploaded to Reddit.

His wife is in Apeldoorn care home in the Netherlands, which is situated around 10 miles away from Peter's home in Diepenveen, but that doesn't stop him from making the journey by bike twice each day.

Speaking to the Dutch outlet Destentor, Peter said: "Cold doesn’t bother me and with rain, you can put on a rain jacket. If it’s really bad I’ll take a cab and else one of my sons will bring me. So I’ll always get to my wife."

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Peter cycles 10 miles to Apeldoorn each day. Credit: StockStudio / Alamy

Peter has been doing this each day for over seven years, stating: "I have to take the situation as it is. I just want to be with her every day. I just can’t miss her. I did it by car for a while. But even then I alternated it with the bike."

He hit the staggering milestone of cycling 40,000 km (approximately 25,000 miles) in December 2022, all in the name of love, and he has no intention of slowing down as he says: "I hope I can keep doing it. I walk a lot less now, but cycling is still going well."

Sadly, his wife isn't fully aware of what he does for her each day, but that doesn't faze Peter. "No, not that. It is completely outside her realm of experience," Peter said on whether his wife knows of his cycling. "But when I’m back, I notice that she gives me a very nice hug every now and then."

His reason for doing this is as good a reason as you're ever likely to hear. "I want to see her, hear her voice. When I enter the nursing home I immediately know where she is," Peter says. "She is no longer the same as she was. But I’m still in love with her. Every time I go back home, I think it’s a sad moment."

One person on Reddit summed up what we are all thinking pretty well, by saying: "What true love is! These ties that bind can not be severed."

size-full wp-image-1263192411
Credit: Reddit

Peter concluded: "I want to see my wife and be with her. We are married for 63 years so then you want to be together."

Featured image credit: Anna Berkut / Alamy

90-year-old man cycles to see his dying wife twice a day for two hours

vt-author-image

By James Kay

Article saved!Article saved!

A 90-year-old man cycles twice a day for two hours to see his dying wife in what is one of the most heartwarming stories of love you're likely to see.

Peter Burkhardt proves that love knows no limitations as he dedicates each day to being by his wife's side as she lives in a care home, as can be seen on a video uploaded to Reddit.

His wife is in Apeldoorn care home in the Netherlands, which is situated around 10 miles away from Peter's home in Diepenveen, but that doesn't stop him from making the journey by bike twice each day.

Speaking to the Dutch outlet Destentor, Peter said: "Cold doesn’t bother me and with rain, you can put on a rain jacket. If it’s really bad I’ll take a cab and else one of my sons will bring me. So I’ll always get to my wife."

size-full wp-image-1263192413
Peter cycles 10 miles to Apeldoorn each day. Credit: StockStudio / Alamy

Peter has been doing this each day for over seven years, stating: "I have to take the situation as it is. I just want to be with her every day. I just can’t miss her. I did it by car for a while. But even then I alternated it with the bike."

He hit the staggering milestone of cycling 40,000 km (approximately 25,000 miles) in December 2022, all in the name of love, and he has no intention of slowing down as he says: "I hope I can keep doing it. I walk a lot less now, but cycling is still going well."

Sadly, his wife isn't fully aware of what he does for her each day, but that doesn't faze Peter. "No, not that. It is completely outside her realm of experience," Peter said on whether his wife knows of his cycling. "But when I’m back, I notice that she gives me a very nice hug every now and then."

His reason for doing this is as good a reason as you're ever likely to hear. "I want to see her, hear her voice. When I enter the nursing home I immediately know where she is," Peter says. "She is no longer the same as she was. But I’m still in love with her. Every time I go back home, I think it’s a sad moment."

One person on Reddit summed up what we are all thinking pretty well, by saying: "What true love is! These ties that bind can not be severed."

size-full wp-image-1263192411
Credit: Reddit

Peter concluded: "I want to see my wife and be with her. We are married for 63 years so then you want to be together."

Featured image credit: Anna Berkut / Alamy