Community shows support for 22 on Ride 2 Recovery

Over 200 vets, active duty personnel cycle through Monterey County
Monterey Herald
By James Urton
POSTED: 10/06/2014

Students from Carmel River Elementary School cheer on bicycle riders participating

in the UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery California Challenge on Monday.

(Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

MONTEREY
Over 200 veterans and active military personnel cycled through the Monterey Bay area Monday on Day Two of the UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery California Challenge.

Their seven-day, 465-mile journey from Palo Alto to Los Angeles is a unique opportunity for riders to build up strength, heal from injuries psychologically and physically, and bond with other participants who were injured in service to their country.

"In my case, this is the only physical exercise I'm allowed to get due to my injury," said Michael Stephens, a first-time active duty rider who spent three months training for the California Challenge.

"Getting on the bike is the only time we can get out and do anything other than walk around."

The physical wounds borne by riders range from amputation and battlefield trauma to joint injuries, yet the Ride 2 Recovery project strives to accommodate all wounded veterans and active duty personnel who commit to extensive training for long-distance cycling.

Their costs are covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and sponsors such as UnitedHealth Group Inc., and bicycles are designed around each rider's wounds. Many ride traditional road bicycles, but some use tandem, recumbent or hand cycles.

Cycling often becomes an important source of exercise and healing for wounded active duty personnel and veterans, said Debora Spano, media relations agent for Ride 2 Recovery.
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