[Vision2020] Vets Wounded in Service Bicycle Across the U.S.

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (June 21, 2006) Spokesman Review -

>From the "Soldier Ride" website at:

http://www.soldierride.com/

"Soldier Ride was founded in 2004 by a group from East Hampton, New York who
came together to show their support towards the members of our armed forces
who have sacrificed so much for us. After running a number of successful
fundraisers to benefit individual soldiers, we knew that we had to expand
our efforts to support the thousands of other severely injured service men
and women recovering in military hospitals around the country. In 2004 and
2005 one of our members, Chris Carney, bicycled across America to raise
public awareness and support for the wounded. 

Many severely wounded servicemen and women joined Chris to bicycle in
support of their fellow injured soldiers. Thanks to the generous support of
our donors and corporate sponsors, Soldier Ride has reached thousands of
wounded servicemen and women, providing comfort items, counseling, and
rehabilitation to aid in the transition from a hospital bed to an
independent life at home."

Show them we care.  Show them that we do support our troops regardless of
what others say or think.  This has NEVER been an "us versus them" thing,
concerning our troops.  It has ALWAYS been "we".

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Vets wounded in service bicycle across the U.S. 

Caryn Rousseau 
Associated Press
June 21, 2006

BRANSON, Mo. - Wake-up call is 4:30 a.m. for these soldiers, and a day of
cycling as many as 100 miles on black asphalt in the hot sun lies ahead. But
this is no boot camp.

These soldiers all have served in Iraq or Afghanistan and all were severely
injured there. They lost legs or arms, have replaced elbows or reconstructed
feet. Home from war, they have chosen to spend their summer cycling from
coast to coast to raise awareness and money for other wounded veterans.

"A lot of guys feel it's like being in the Army again," said Staff Sgt.
Yegor Bonderenko, 25, who lost his right arm in a roadside bombing south of
Baghdad last year. He stands in a Cracker Barrel parking lot off the strip
in this tourist town, fiddling with his bike, specially made to fit him and
his injury. He cycled through the Ozark Mountains from Little Rock that
morning.

"It's a journey. It's tough," he said. "You've got to do it."

About 80 soldiers signed up to cycle at least a portion of this summer's
Soldier Ride. Only Bonderenko and Sgt. Drew Biddle have chosen to complete
all 4,400 miles from Montauk, N.Y., to San Diego. The cyclists travel with
vans full of supplies and a crew that jumps to get them water or energy bars
and fixes flats or grease chains.

Miles to go

Soldier Ride started with five cyclists as a fundraiser for the Wounded
Warrior Project in 2003. Now it's become so popular there are corporate
sponsors. The money the soldiers raise helps other wounded veterans as they
find jobs or adjust to the stresses of civilian life.

"It's easy in our everyday lives to forget that the war is still going on a
daily basis," Soldier Ride's executive director, Steve Nardizzi, says.
"Their needs haven't gone away just because it's three years into these
conflicts. If we don't continue to let the American public know there's that
need, then they can't address that need."

So the soldiers wake early each day to beat the hot sun and ride. And every
day they stop in a new town to meet other veterans. They're treated well - a
standing ovation at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn., seats to Major
League Baseball games, free dinners. They are living examples of the costs
of war and how the human spirit can endure.

"These guys," Nardizzi said. "They're doing something most of us with an
able body wouldn't do."

And just what is that commitment? The soldiers are cycling Lance
Armstrong-style: between 50 and 100 miles a day - day after day. They have
to be at Camp Pendleton just north of San Diego by July 29.

On this day, as the riders cruised into Branson, the top headline is that
the U.S. death toll in Iraq has reached 2,500 soldiers. The Soldier Riders
have completed 2,000 miles.

A personal odyssey

Lena Libich-Bonderenko sees a change in her husband since he pedaled west on
May 6.

"He's talking more," she said. "He's maybe more open to other people, talk
to the other guys."

Bonderenko nods in agreement, looking down at his wife smiling and adds,
"Everybody talks about different things. We're all dealing with different
problems we share."

Bonderenko and his wife live in San Antonio to be near his rehabilitation
center. Losing his right hand has made him learn how to do everything over
again, he said. His bicycle was modified so the gears, the brakes,
everything is on the left side.

"I was going to ask for a motor to power me up the hills but they wouldn't
go for that idea," he said.

Cpl. Kevin Blanchard, 23, is riding 450 miles from Little Rock to Dallas.
The Marine from Arlington, Va., lost his left leg below the knee in an
explosion while on patrol last summer in Iraq. This fall he's going to
school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., to study
international business. Until then he's keeping in shape with Soldier Ride.

"It's been really good therapy for me physically," he said. "It's
strengthened my legs a lot. I feel like I'm in really good shape."

A new 'normal'

Rob Roeder was on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Iraq on Jan. 29,
2005, when the arresting wire that's supposed to catch the planes snapped,
taking his left leg with it. He also has a replacement left elbow and a
reconstructed right foot from the accident.

Ten weeks later he was walking.

"I was trying to achieve normalcy, and this is one way I can. I rode a bike
before my injury," he said. "Now I can prove to myself that I can just be
normal."

Roeder cycled 500 miles with Soldier Ride last summer. This year he's the
logistical guru.

He keeps the van filled with Gatorade, helmets and a road atlas. Having
other injured soldiers around helps him deal emotionally with his injury, he
said.

"You're surrounded by guys," he said, stopping, quiet for a minute.
"Everyone else has the same problem as you."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 
 
--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.