Ride 2 Recovery

By Melanie Colavito Posted in The Archives Tagged with

Today is Veterans Day here in the U.S. So thank you to all of the veterans and to everyone still serving!

I figured today was the perfect opportunity to write a bit about a program a friend mentioned to me a few weeks ago. Ride 2 Recovery is a program for military veterans that helps provide mental and physical rehabilitation through cycling programs. Ride 2 Recovery brings together military veterans (many of whom have post-traumatic stress disorder and severe injuries), professional cyclists, celebrities, and many other participants for a group bike tour.

Ride 2 Recovery is a non-profit program created through the Fitness Challenge Foundation in partnership with the Military and VA Volunteer Service Office. Every year a series of long distance, point-to-point rides take place around the US to highlight the program and provide a unique and challenging experience for the riders.

The concept behind the Ride 2 Recovery program is a brilliant one – use the bicycle to bring a group of people from diverse backgrounds together; send them off on a 350-500 mile bike tour complete with crashes, flat tires, headwinds, and bonking; and give them the opportunity to together overcome the challenge of the ride and the challenges they have faced in their lives And although cycling is a low-impact activity suitable for people with traumatic injuries, as we all know, it is not always easy to ride 100 miles. In fact, sometimes it is very, very hard. So what I find most incredible about this program is its ability to challenge people into recovery from past challenges.

But is it utility cycling you might wonder? I would argue that it most definitely is. utility cycling There is a great deal of utility in community building, confidence building, and strength building that can be accomplished via bicycle, and this is just one example of many other charity bicycle programs that attempt to do those things.

To learn more…

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