Wounded veterans cycle through Florida Keys for annual Soldier Ride

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KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — Nearly 15 years after his first Soldier Ride, Bill Hansen joined dozens of other wounded veterans on Friday as they cycled along the Overseas Highway, including the Seven Mile Bridge, for the annual Florida Keys event.

A total of 45 men and women, as well as their supporters, are participating in the cycling event organized by the Wounded Warrior Project.

“I wake up in pain every single day. I’ve gotten used to a level of pain,” Hansen said. “And so doing physical fitness, things like this, I know I’m gonna be in a little bit of pain, but it’s worth it for my mental health and for just my comradery with other vets.”

Hansen, who served more than two decades in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army National Guard, participated in his first Soldier Ride in Phoenix in 2012. He said he had suffered a serious neck and back injury and become addicted to pain medication before connecting with the Wounded Warrior Project. Hansen was able to make friends with other injured veterans and form a support system that remains in place.

“One of my bucket list events is to ride a bike over the Seven Mile Bridge,” Hansen said. “I mean, what an iconic thing to do, and it’s part of America, part of our heritage. And so this is gonna be fun for me, because I get to do this. Plus, I’m gonna be able to help other vets.”

The ride through the Keys started Friday and runs through the weekend. While some riders are missing one or more limbs after combat injuries, the veterans are using bicycles fitted with special adaptive equipment. Other injuries, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, are not so visible.

“The path to healing always starts with movement,” Wounded Warrior Project CEO Walter Piatt said. “This is about getting them outside, getting them reconnected with people they serve with, and people are going through the same thing they are.”

The group started their day with a 17-mile (27-kilometer) ride from a Key Largo VFW post to the Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. Following lunch at the Marathon fire station, riders traveled another 10 miles (16 miles), including over the Seven Mile Bridge, and stopped for the day in Big Pine Key.

A large crowd of Coral Shores High School students cheered on the warriors during a break in Tavernier, but smaller groups of residents lined the route as riders made their way through the island chain.

“I want them to see that we appreciate what they do,” Keys resident Carol Dieck said.

The Wounded Warrior Project's cross-country and Keys bicycle trips provide inspiration and rehabilitative opportunities for injured soldiers, while raising money for others recovering in American military hospitals. The funds generated help foster veterans’ independence, develop peer-mentoring programs and arrange transport between home and hospital when needed.

The Florida Keys Soldier Ride continues Saturday through Key West, with an additional community ride where the public can cycle with the warriors. And finally they will spend Sunday morning swimming with dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center in Marathon.