After 53 miles in the saddle Saturday, Face of America 2007 riders were feeling sufficiently road tested for the start of Sunday's final 55-mile leg from Frederick to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.
As members of Team Semper Fi rallied at the start point, the able-bodied and disabled Marines on the team joked darkly about the challenge ahead.
“Many of you will not make it today,” one of the team leaders said ominously, mocking a boot camp drill instructor's deep drone. “If you fall and die,” he bellowed, “we will eat you, and then sell your bike on eBbay.”
Laughs all around. The Marines were ready for what would be a fun and sometimes difficult ride that would end at the place where many servicemen who had lost limbs in Iraq or Afghanistan had first come for treatment when returning home from the war.
And while there might have been some dark humor about getting the ride done, the serious purpose of Face of America — for Team Semper Fi and for everyone else on the ride, able-bodied and disabled — was clear: That those who had sacrificed in the war effort were not alone and would not be forgotten.
A goal
One of the goals for ride organizer World T.E.A.M. Sports is to use “the powerful platform of sports to bring together the disabled and able-bodied communities.” Not surprisingly, this can have an amazing effect on both groups.
For an able-bodied rider, it is inspiring to see hand cyclists and other disabled riders toughing out the miles under their own power just like everyone else. For the disabled riders, the idea, according to World T.E.A.M., is that Face of America lets them know “they can still be active athletes.”
No question about that. One of the Marines on the Semper Fi team who had lost a leg was powering up steep grades on his single bike with incredible strength. He later said he had only recently started riding. Next year, he added, he was going to train more.
The Semper Fi riders are part of the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund, which raises money and provides support for injured Marines and their families. Since the group was created in 2004, according to its website, the fund has provided more than $10 million in assistance “to our wounded heroes.”
So strong is the Marines' support of its wounded men and women that none other than the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James Conway, turned out for the finish of Face of America 2007 to congratulate the riders and to say that basically, he was not surprised that disabled Marines and servicemen in other branches of the military would have set the goal of doing the ride and achieved it.
Wrap up
The riders and their families cheered the general and themselves, and pretty soon it was time to go home. Everyone will take up their normal lives Monday morning, but I would like to think that for those involved in Face of America 2007 — riders, organizers, volunteers, families and friends — the ride will have left positive and lasting impressions. That will certainly be the case for me.
Riding a bike is satisfying in so many ways. A bike can take you a long way under your own power. You can go slow enough to enjoy the scenery, or you can hammer and get the rush of speed. Either way, it reduces stress, makes you strong, and is just plain good fun.
The ability to do all of that while getting to know some of the exceptional people I met during the Face of America ride makes the cycling experience all the more meaningful for me.
Despite what your views are about politics and the war, these wounded servicemen are awesome and inspiring people who can never be thanked enough for the sacrifices they have made for the freedom that Americans so often take for granted. It was a privilege and an honor to be in their company.
To see pictures of Sunday's ride and other photos from Face of America 2007, click here.
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