BY B.J. SMALL – Times Editor
“You see people coming out; taking time out of their day to watch some guys that have served their nation pass by on bikes,” Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson says. “It’s just a huge pump-up; an adrenalin flow of patriotism. You feel so proud to be an American.”
Seventy injured veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be in the field of 370 bicycle riders who will make the 110-mile journey from the nation’s Capitol to hallowed Civil War battlegrounds later this month.
The 10th “Face of America” ride will leave the National Mall on Saturday morning, April 24, and wind its way to Gettysburg the next afternoon.
The effort is awesome to those watching along the route, and inspiring to the veterans and supporters who ride shoulder-to-shoulder.
Gadson will be riding in his second FOA. The 44-year-old graduate of West Point uses a hand-cranked bike. He lost both legs above the knees when hit by a roadside bomb in Baghdad in May, 2007.
The ride presents a physical challenge and camaraderie for the injured veterans and other riders, as well as an opportunity to raise funds for future events.
warriors and their supporters will take, is awe-inspiring.
“It is hard to be more dramatic than several hundred riders gathered in front of our nation’s Capitol building with the sunrise at our backs as we ride past our great memorials,” says Jeff Messner, president of World TEAM Sports, organizers of the ride.
The group of riders will proceed down Pennsylvania Avenue just after 7:15 a.m. on April 24, toward the Lincoln Memorial, then across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Iwo Jima Memorial.
“The area is the most secure public space in the country and the level of detail and coordination required between event organizers and the multiple law enforcement agencies – we could not do this event without their assistance,” says project coordinator Scott Hartman of Gettysburg. “Sergeant Stephanie Clark, the command of the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Park Police has been incredibly helpful in our efforts in the Washington, D.C. area..”
The first-day, 65-mile, route to the Frederick SportsPlex will wind through rolling Maryland countryside. Along the way, the riders will stop at the Montgomery Fire Station in Potomac, Md.; the Calleva, Inc., Park in Poolesville, Md.; have lunch at mile 42 at the Upper Montgomery Fire Station in Beallsville, Md.; and at Green Hill Park in Adamstown, Md.
Most of the riders will overnight at the SportsPlex in Frederick, before continuing on to Gettysburg Sunday morning at 7 a.m.
The first rest stop on the road to Gettysburg will be at Loy’s Station Park in Thurmont, Md.; the other at Barlow Fire Company, south of Gettysburg. The ride is expected to arrive at Seamus Garrahy’s residence at 30 Plank Road, Gettysburg just after noon on Sunday, April 25.
In Adams County, the ride will proceed on Mason Dixon Road past The Links at Gettysburg, then north on Pa. 134, Taneytown Road. The group will turn left onto Wheatfield Road and ride through the battlefield, to Millerstown/Pumping Station Road, then turn right onto Black Horse Tavern Road. Riders will stage on the Michael Posner farm, before making the short ride to Garrahy’s on Plank Road.
“This event has no template, no standards, no other ride in the world to get ideas from,” says ride leader Doug Levy. “Every hurdle we have, it is OUR hurdle and we have to come up with a solution, many times on the fly, as we are in the middle of the event.”
Levy described quick thinking last year, when faced with unseasonably scorching temperatures.
“It was 110 degrees on Saturday, the riders had been on the road for eight hours already and as we pulled into one rest stop I could see how tired, dehydrated everyone was,” Levy says. “I went knocking on doors across from the park and asked one family if we could borrow their hose to cool down the riders.”
After a brief ceremony at Garrahy’s, riders and guests will enjoy the traditional steaks and beers at the finish point.
“You feel like you’ve accomplished something when you complete this,” says Army SSgt. Chris Villalobos of San Antonio, Texas.
The effort leaves an impression on well-wishes along the roadway as well.
“On the second day, right after the ride enters Pennsylvania, it turns onto Mason Dixon Road and travels through The Links community,” Hartman says. “The folks out there had called and asked if it would be appropriate if they came out with some signs and flags. When we came over the last hill before The Links, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were about 100 people along the road waving American Flags, signs and screaming encouragement.
“After we passed through that area you could hear a pin drop in the ride. I looked around a saw tears on the faces of a lot of the riders including the wounded warriors. It was a moment I will never forget as long as I am alive.”
The group is planning another welcome at The Links this time. Groups cheering the riders elsewhere in Adams County will be from Kennie’s Markets, American Legion Post 202 of Gettysburg, and the Rotary Club of Gettysburg.
https://www.gettysburgtimes.com/articles/2010/04/15/news/local/doc4bc6e5b6264ee573725506.txt
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