Suffolk Police Officer Will Ride 300 Miles For Fallen Officers

SHOREHAM, NY — Vanessa Logan has just started training for a very long bike ride: on May 9th she will set out from New York City with around 150 other current and retired law enforcement officers for a 300-mile bicycle trip. The Police Unity Tour is meant to raise awareness of officers who died in the line of duty. The riders head toward the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. to kick off Police Week.

Logan, a Suffolk County police officer and mother of four children, spends at least two months training for the ride, both on the roads near her Shoreham home and inside on a Peloton stationary bike. 2020 will be the third year she's participated in what she calls a "life-changing event." She estimates about ten percent of the riders on the tour are female.

"By the time we all converge at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium before we all ride into D.C., there are 2,000 of us on our bicycles. It is incredible," she told Patch.

"The cause is one that I feel is very important. I always like to work for something I believe in instead of just writing a check. And this seemed like an incredible experience to support not only the cause, but the surviving families and let them know that we will never forget their loved ones"

The ride, which started in 1997, is actually so popular there is a wait list for participants, who must fundraise at least $2,000. The riders start at Ground Zero in Manhattan before heading through the Holland Tunnel on the first day, then ride 50 miles to their first hotel. The next two days they ride 100 miles each, then 50 again on the last day into the capital.

"Last year we had day 2 in which we battled terrible winds and day four was frigid, in the upper 40s and pouring rain," Logan remembers, but says the cause is worth it.

"I keep returning because there are police officers being killed in the line of duty on a regular basis, unfortunately. It is a reality of the job, but I feel it is important to raise awareness and raise funds for the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial which is a memorial that won’t ever be complete, due to the fact that officers continue to die in the line of duty."