Disabled veterans cycle through Monroe County  

Over 40 bicyclists with Project Hero rolled through Monroe County Wednesday.
Over 40 bicyclists with Project Hero rolled through Monroe County Wednesday.
Herald photos by Nicole Vik.​​
Posted

It was not your average group of cyclists that quietly traveled through Monroe County while participating in the Great Lakes Challenge hosted by Project Hero representing every branch of the United States military.

Just over 40 bicyclists along with their support members departed from La Crosse Wednesday morning for what was day three of a six-day bike ride across 450 miles, which began in Minneapolis, Minnesota and will conclude in Barrington, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.

Project Hero was founded in 2008 to help veterans suffering from injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) achieve recovery.

From building and donating adaptive bikes and hosting cycling events throughout the country to supporting community-based rehabilitation and recovery programs and important medical and clinical research, Project Hero raises awareness of the PTSD mental health crisis and makes a difference in the lives of participating veterans as well as their families and communities.

Peter Bylsma, director of communications for Project Hope said this experience has been a pleasurable one so far. 

“It’s been great. The Minnesotans and the Wisconsinites have been fabulous to us, and the guys and gals have been loving it,” he said. “The ride has been really good to us too.”

According to Bylsma, the rides usually host a much larger group. Organizers found that the smaller group creates more community and greater therapy. 

“This is a therapy ride. It’s not a race,” Bylsma said. “There is no competition, it's about getting together and building good health.”

The group arrived to a wave of applause at the Wilton American Legion Wednesday where they enjoyed a light lunch and some refreshments before continuing on to Reedsburg where they spent the evening. 

Upon their arrival, the cyclists were in good spirits, wearing smiles and making light-hearted jokes. Project Hero participants report a decreased use of prescription drugs, greater injury recovery rates, improved sleep habits and overall improvement in daily life functions.

One cyclist, Patrick Kelly, originally from upstate New York is a retired United States Marine. He claims that Project Hero saved his life. This ride is one of five challenges he has participated in on his recumbent bicycle dubbed Blue Lightning. 

Before he started riding, his legs were purple, swollen and felt like bread dough from injuries he had sustained. He was on fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone, Demerol and hydrocodone all at the same time. 

“Through riding and the camaraderie, I was able to keep bringing it back and now I’m off all of them,” he said. “I’m in the same amount of pain it’s just now I can control it and I’m also more clear headed and I’m stronger.”

Kelly said at times he can suffer from depression and self-loathing. While it doesn’t take much to throw him into it, it takes a lot for him to fight his way back out of it.

He said that Project Hero has helped him control his PTSD by being surrounded by so many others who know exactly what he’s going through.     

“These guys have been through some things that we are fortunate not to be able to have shared, they ride side by side in lines of two for a reason,” Bylsma said. “Us and their families can’t relate to everything they’ve been through but the person riding next to them can.”

After they’ve been on the road for a couple of hours, the walls start to break down, the conversation begins along with the community building, which is therapeutic and beneficial in many ways.

Most of the participants knew each other going into the ride, some from previous rides, but mostly through an online community hosted by Project Hero. 

“It’s such a tight community and that’s what it’s all about,” Bylsma said. “The group here extends to a larger community of several thousand throughout the country.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here