More than 200 bicyclists, including injured veterans, gathered outside of the Gilroy Best Western on Monday morning before heading out on day three of their seven-day, 450-mile ride along the scenic coast of California.
The bicyclists are part of “Ride 2 Recovery,” an organization that helps veterans recover from physical injuries and post-traumatic stress by getting them out on bikes with other veterans.
“We organize cycling rides that help our injured vets recover by cycling,” explained Christopher Swan, Director of Logistics for Ride 2 Recovery.
The bike ride kicked off Saturday in Palo Alto and will end Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Santa Monica Pier. It is the last of this year’s seven “Challenge” rides, each of which cover at least 350 miles. Previous rides included one from Washington D.C. to Virginia in May and a ride in Italy in July.
“I just welcomed them to Gilroy and hoped that next year they would come back… We appreciate all that they have done for the United States,” said Gilroy Mayor Don Gage, who addressed the bikers at 8:30 a.m. “They are roll models for the community.”
The bikers set off on a variety of bike models including hand cycles, tandems and traditional road bikes.
“There’s no judgment in this group because they’re all former soldiers,” Swan said.
The first bikers left the parking lot at 9 a.m., with a second fleet of bikers leaving shortly after. They were escorted by the Gilroy Police Department’s motorcycle unit from the Leavesley Road hotel until they reached Gilroy Gardens on Hecker Pass Highway. The California Highway Patrol escorted the bikers as they reached Mount Madonna County Park.
Ride 2 Recovery was started in 2008, when a therapist called John Wordin (who is now president of the organization) and suggested that cycling would be a great alternative therapy for veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. On Monday, as Swan stood next to a Ride 2 Recovery vehicle in the parking lot just outside the Best Western, he reflected on the magic of a program that gets people with similar life experiences together so they can focus on rebuilding themselves mentally and physically.
“Someone who’s really quite introverted at the beginning has a family of friends at the end,” he said.
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