Ride 2 Recovery: Day 5 — Williamsburg to Hampton‏

Join us for our next events:
California Challenge – Oct. 4-10
Florida Challenge – Dec. 12-17

Day 5 – Williamsburg to Hampton saw the return of Patty Collins to the Ride. Patty has been very motivational for all of us as we have seen her develop over the past few rides. It was a year ago that Patty made her debut at a R2R event participating in last years East Coast Challenge.

Riding along the James River

Day 5 also saw the debut of Jackie and Dr. Wayne on the tandem. Jackie has never ridden a bike before, not even as a kid until she showed up at the start of the Memorial Challenge. She has come a long way since day one. She was quite shy and kept to herself and now is fully integrated into the group. She is fully enjoying the R2R experience. (more…)

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Tags: Alternative Vehicles, American Legion Auxiliary, American Legion Riders, Bicycling Magazine, California American Legion
Posted May 30th 2009 at 5:19 pm in Featured Story, Military | 147994One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/r2r/2009/05/30/road-2-recovery-day-5-williamsburg-to-hampton/Ride+2+Recovery%3A+Day+5+--+Williamsburg+to+Hampton%E2%80%8F2009-05-31+00%3A19%3A51Ride+2+Recovery

Ride 2 Recovery: Day 4 – Richmond to Williamsburg

Day 4 started off with a visit from Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. The Governor has been pushing many Veteran’s benefit programs as Virginia has a large military presence. Gov. Kaine is also a cycling enthusiast and pledged to take part in next year’s event.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine talks to the media after speaking to the Wounded Warriors

The route to Williamsburg again took the riders through some of the greatest roads in Virginia. The 72-mile route had a couple of long climbs, something that the riders have not seen many of.

Williamsburg is part of the Historic Triangle of Virginia, which also includes Jamestown and Yorktown, is among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Williamsburg is the original Capitol of Virginia dating back to 1698. Williamsburg was established in 1632. Prior to the arrival of the English colonists at Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia in 1607, the area, which became Williamsburg, was largely wooded. (more…)

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Tags: American Legion Auxiliary, Brothers At War, David Cook, Jake Rademacher, r2r
Posted May 29th 2009 at 3:36 pm in Uncategorized | 147422No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/r2r/2009/05/29/road-2-recovery-day-4-richmond-to-williamsburg/Ride+2+Recovery%3A+Day+4+-+Richmond+to+Williamsburg2009-05-29+22%3A36%3A13Ride+2+Recovery

Ride 2 Recovery: Day 3 — Fredericksburg to Richmond‏

Day 3 started with a great weather report as the front that threatened rain had passed thru and the weather was mid 70’s, perfect for a great ride though the Virginia countryside.

The 65 mile ride to Richmond along a good portion of Virginia Bike Route 1 promised to be a lot of fun.

Bike Route 1

Most everyone knows that Richmond was the capitol of the Confederacy, but did you know that: In 1775, Patrick Henry delivered his famous “Give me Liberty or Give me Death” speech in Richmond and in 1781, under the command of Benedict Arnold, Richmond was burned by British troops. (more…)

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Tags: "Give me Liberty or Give me Death", Alternative Vehicles, American Legion Auxiliary, American Legion Riders, Benedict Arnold
Posted May 28th 2009 at 11:13 am in Military | 145894No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/r2r/2009/05/28/road-2-recovery-day-3-fredericksburg-to-richmond/Ride+2+Recovery%3A+Day+3+--+Fredericksburg+to+Richmond%E2%80%8F2009-05-28+18%3A13%3A44Ride+2+Recovery

Ride 2 Recovery: Day 2 Manassas to Fredericksburg‏

The Riders awoke to cloudy skies and occasional rain. Not exactly the way everyone hoped to start day 2 of the Memorial Challenge. With group morale at a high level, the riders and staff actually looked forward towards the ride to Fredericksburg. The 55 miles ride was relatively flat with 1 sharp 10% climb just before the arrival to the hotel.

The Battle of Fredericksburg was remembered as one of the most one-sided battles of the American Civil War. It brought an early end the Union campaign against the Confederate capital of Richmond.

US Marine Adam Jahnke on his R2R Bicycle

After a long wait, the Ride 2 Recovery has finally unveiled the brand new Ride 2 Recovery bicycle. It is an all carbon frame and fork with Shimano black group and wheels, Michelin Tires and Cane Creek head parts.

The bike were made possible with a grant from the USO and the support of former Giant product manager, Kevin Cox. The bikes feature a USO logo and corporate slogan. The bikes are given to the wounded warriors under a permanent loan program. The bikes have a retail value of $2700.  (more…)

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Tags: Alternative Vehicles, American Legion Auxiliary, American Legion Riders, Battle of Fredericksburg, Bicycling Magazine
Posted May 27th 2009 at 12:53 pm in Military | 144766No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/r2r/2009/05/27/road-to-recovery-day-2-manassas-to-fredericksburg/Ride+2+Recovery%3A+Day+2+Manassas+to+Fredericksburg%E2%80%8F2009-05-27+19%3A53%3A16Ride+2+Recovery

Ride 2 Recovery: Memorial Challenge

National Memorial Concert

The second annual Ride 2 Recovery Memorial Challenge is from May 25-30. For the first time, the event started with a cycling clinic featuring Olympic cyclist Wayne Stetina and former Mercury Cycling Team mechanic Scott Moro. With support from cycling professional like Gary Hanson and Neil Stewart, Vietnam vets Jim Penseyres and Duane Wagner, all of the R2R participants had a great deal of knowledge to learn the ins and outs of riding and healing.

The clinic really helped get the R2R participants oriented on their bikes and almost all of them had their riding positions fixed up and this will make for a much more comfortable ride.

The Wounded Warriors that participate in the Ride 2 Recovery events have come from all over the US and almost all service branches are represented. Many of these brave men and women have seen their friends and fellows soldiers not return from Iraq and Afghanistan. Memorial Day is not just another day off. (more…)

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Tags: Add new tag, Alternative Vehicles, American Legion Auxiliary, American Legion Riders, California American Legion
Posted May 25th 2009 at 1:48 pm in Military | 142822No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/r2r/2009/05/25/ride-2-recovery-memorial-challenge/Ride+2+Recovery%3A+Memorial+Challenge2009-05-25+20%3A48%3A47Ride+2+Recovery

R2R Texas Challenge: Day 5 Waco to Cleburne – WOW!

Day 5 felt a bit different. Maybe it was the fact that we did not have 40-50 mph crosswinds, or perhaps it was the larger than expected turnout of American Legion Riders, but all of the riders could tell that this was going to be different than the previous four days. The R2R crew took off on the ride through Johnson County to Cleburne with a relief that the tailwinds had returned.

As soon as the ride reached the first big town of Whitney, you could tell the difference was the amount of people that had come out to greet the riders.

Each day, the local American Legion Auxiliary helps plan and support the event. Whether it is our lunch stop, dinner, or getting the local schools and business showing their support for the wounded warriors. (more…)

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Tags: American Legion Auxiliary, American Legion Riders, Juan Guerrero, Texas, Wounded Warriors
Posted Apr 5th 2009 at 6:04 pm in Military | 978342 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/r2r/2009/04/05/r2r-texas-challenge-day-5-waco-to-cleburne-wow/R2R+Texas+Challenge%3A+Day+5+Waco+to+Cleburne+-+WOW%212009-04-06+01%3A04%3A35Ride+2+Recovery