Soldier Ride DC Helps Wounded Veterans Find Purpose Together

TYSONS, VA — When Robin Young was injured, her 23-year career as a critical care nurse in the U.S. Army came to an abrupt end.

“You're not the same person,” she said. “You have to find your new norms. It’s hard. I was a critical care nurse, and that was all taken away from me. I got really depressed and sometimes suicidal, and this gave me purpose, where it brought me out the house. It got me trying different things I probably would never in my whole life have tried. I meet so many wonderful people like me.”

Young participated in her first Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride about six years ago in North Carolina.

“It was awesome,” she said on Tuesday. “ I didn't think I could do it, but everybody is just clamouring with everyone. They encourage you, they push you through. I did 40 miles in a day.”

Earlier this week, Young traveled from her home in Georgia to take part in the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride D.C., something she’s always wanted to do.

The multi-day biking event brings together more than 25 wounded veterans from the East Coast, including former patients at Walter Reed and Brooke Army Medical Centers, to ride adaptive bicycles around the DMV area.

On Tuesday, members of the WWP team from Colorado Springs, Colorado had set up a makeshift bike shop in the parking lot of the McLean Hilton in Tysons. Wounded veterans living in the East Coast area dropped by throughout the day to get fitted for the adaptive bicycle they would be using in the ride.

Over the last few months, WWP team members have been communicating with the veterans and figuring out what type of bike would be best suited for them.

“They come in today and we fit them on the bike that’s the size that we think that they're going to go on,” said WWP’s Kervin Quiones. “We put their names on it and we load it in the U-Haul, so then we'll actually drive it to the start location.”

On Wednesday, riders took a 21-mile trek around Annapolis, Maryland and through the U.S. Naval Academy.

“In the afternoon, we typically have an activity, whether it's a hike or a walk, or we'll do a yoga session or something related to nutrition and hydration or mindfulness, things like that,” Quiones said.

On Friday, the wounded warriors will be riding their adaptive bicycles on a 13.5 mile ride in Lorton.

“The usual group that we deal with may have been retired for many years, so they're dealing with isolation or all the things like that,” Quiones said.. “The main thing is to get them out with their peers, get them out of their isolation, get them away from the video games and those kinds of things.”

Like Young, Bruce Patterson showed up on Tuesday to get fitted for his adaptive bicycle.

A resident of Fork Union, Virginia, he’s been involved with the WWP’s programs for 20 years. This included the WWP’s Project Odyssey program, which is designed to help veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

“It was a life-change event,” Patterson said. “I just love the support they're giving to veterans especially. That to me is the one thing that really stands out is the mental health assistance they're giving.”

Through the Soldier Ride, WWP focuses on helping the veterans become more active, but during that process, other benefits may appear.

“Get the exertion, get them physically active, get them to realize how good this is for you,” Quinones said. “Also have you integrated back with people that are in the scene, walking the same path as you are, right? Their peers. So we inadvertently do develop a relationship with them, but the goal is for them to have a relationship with each other.”