Report on the Wounded Warrior Bike Ride

March 16, 2008 by Karl.

Good afternoon, my friends.

After attending Church to thank the good Lord for the young people we have in this land who are willilng to lay it all on the line for us, we are resting up today after a long day yesterday.

We arrived at about 8 am, and were drafted by the director, Eric, to help register the riders (173), and then he took off to do other things. I had people sticking paper in my face from all sides, but we managed to get through by 11 and then made it over to the starting line for the 25 & 40 mile bike ride.

We had 12 wounded warriors make the ride, led by the Patriot Riders on motorcycles. The Corvette club was also there to escort them, which was neat, plus a whole bunch of kids on bikes that weren’t registered, they just showed up to ride with the troops and cheer them on. The route down Ocean View drive was crowded with spectators and flag waving citizens. Quite a sight.

The ride itself was really awe inspiring. They had 29 troops start the ride from San Antonio (Several other riders came from as far away as Fort Worth and had ridden over 500 miles when they got here).

One fellow, Matt, only has his right arm - his left is gone down from about six inches from his shoulder, and both legs are off at the top of the hip - he rode the entire ride, 240 miles, and led most of the way. He has muscles in his arms and back that rival my hips! What an inspirationl! He came in after the 25 mile race with his buddy, Kevin, who has all his limbs, but a severed spine, and who rides the same way Matt does, by using his arms. Matt promptly left his prosthesis hanging onto the bike, hopped down off his and literally “wormed” his way on his stumps to Kevin’s side and shook his hand. They both got a standing ovation and a large glass of beer!

We had a great time with them all, and got our own standing ovation from everyone when we presented our $5,000 check to Eric.

That evening we got a private banquet with the troops and just the sponsors and a few Navy brass. It was really a fun time. They offered a slide show and another disc that showed the different rides these guys and gals and others have made throughout the year. There was one part where they were riding in pouring rain in NY, and one of the guys says, “We shouldn’t be riding in the rain,” and another says, “Hell, we fought in the rain, what’s the difference?” Everyone laughs and keeps on riding.

The slide show was accompanied with the song “I’ll stand by you”, and showed the guys and gals on bike rides, shooting skeet, skiing, golfing, hunting, sailing, running races and just about every sport you can mention, with their families, wives, kids, etc., cheering the on and giving them inspiration. Talk about guts - these people have it.

One troop, Luke, had his spine severed, but has all his limbs, of course his legs don’t work, so he rides like Matt and Kevin. We had to laugh; he waited until everyone else had got their food, and then proceeded to fill one plate to almost overflowing with beef and chicken; then got another plate heaped full with rice; then took another and filled it with chips, piled about a pound of pico de gallo on it and then had the gal behind the counter smoother it with another pound of salsa — then he proceeded to eat it ALL!
He also had arms like my legs.

We gathered up several T-shirts and this morning we gave six of them to the workers over at Starbucks who have aided us in our book sales. We think they’ll probably get together and have a “Wounded Warrior Ride Day” and wear them. They are also a neat bunch of people.

If you have time, go online and check out the Corpus Christi Caller Times for the last two days (March 14 & 15) and you’ll see pictures of Matt and Kevin and some of the other riders and be able to read their story.

There’s also an article about us on the local part for March 14.

All in all, it was a great, wonderful time. These guys and gals went in harms way, and you should thank them every day for that - without their service, we wouldn’t be able to do the every day things we all take for granted.

If you’d like to donate to their cause, go to www.woundedwarriorproject.org and see what you can do.

Thanks for visiting my website, blog, and reading the above.

God Bless you; God Bless these wonderful, brave American Heroes, and God Bless America!!!

Karl & Carol….. ..

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