‘Ride2Recovery’ rides into Hancock
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Mar 1, 2013, 19:11
Local American Legion and auxiliary members are busy making preparations for Sunday’s return of the Ride2Recovery Gulf States Challenge.
“As members of the American Legion Post & Auxiliary, our mission and goals are to serve and support veterans, military and their families,” Diane Fountain, president of Bourgeois Stieffel Ray American Legion Auxiliary Unit 77, said. “Ride2Recovery is one of the many veteran programs that we support.Ride2Recovery is a program that is designed to provide support to injured veterans and introduces them to the therapeutic and health benefits of cycling through spinning recovery labs and outdoor cycling programs which helps them to recover from physical and mental injuries.”
On Sunday, veterans participating in Ride2Recovery will leave New Orleans, making several stops until they reach their final destination in Tallahassee, Fla.
“Last year, our support of Ride2Recovery consisted of setting up a welcome stand in our area and distributed refreshments to over 300 cyclists and sponsors who participated in the Gulf States Challenge,” Fountain said.
“(We) will once again set up a welcome stand at the Pearlington Rest Stop. We encourage all supporters to come out and welcome the riders by cheering and waving American flags as they make their way through our area.”
American Legion Post 139 in Bay St. Louis will also treat the riders to lunch – as it did last year – at around 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
“They will have lunch in Bay St. Louis and the Bay St. Louis Unit will host their dinner in Gulfport, furnishing the food and everything for the dinner,” Post 139 R2R committee chairman Lou Wilkerson said.
“Sunday night, R2R will be featured on 60 Minutes. They are doing a program about suicide among the military. (The riders) will get to watch it during dinner.
“Our committee from Bay St. Louis unit 139 got the stops and everything. These guys travel all over the world but they said our Mississippi Hospitality was great.”
