2 minute read
Healthy inspiration A POSITIVE SPIN FOR VETERANS
WRITER: JAMES COMBS
She went the distance, despite low-back pain, a tingling sensation in her left shoulder, numbness in her left foot and an “icy electricity” sensation in her hip.
Nothing could stop Tracy Draper from finishing a 35day, coast-to-coast bicycle ride and raising funds for wounded veterans.
A morning ritual motivated her to push through the pain.
“Before we hopped on our bicycles, we started every day by telling an inspirational story about a veteran who received help from Hope for Warriors,” says Tracy, a resident of Eustis. “Anytime I felt pain, I made a conscious effort to tell myself to shut up and keep pedaling. My pain was nothing compared to veterans who suffer physically from lost limbs or emotionally from losing friends on the battlefield.”
Tracy, 48, and six other bicyclists recently completed a 3,059-mile bicycle ride from Malibu, California, to Amelia Island, Florida. They raised more than $15,000 for Hope for Warriors, a nonprofit organization that assists veterans who have sustained physical and psychological wounds during war. Tracy spent two years organizing the ride, which she affectionately named Ride Across USA.
“Doing this was very important to me because I have a deep appreciation for our military,” she says. “My father is a Vietnam veteran and my son is attending the U.S. Air Force Academy.”
Much like veterans who return home from war, Tracy and her team received a hero’s welcome as they pedaled into small towns across 10 states. They enjoyed police, firefighter and motorcycle escorts. The mayor of Augusta, Kansas, invited the cyclists into his home for dinner. And one appreciative woman — a complete stranger — presented the team with a $1,000 check.
“People would cheer for us and wave American flags,” Tracy says, tears flowing down her cheeks. “In one Kansas town, a pastor allowed us to shower at his home and then fed us dinner at his church.”
While cheering crowds warmed Tracy’s heart, one of the most memorable moments of the journey occurred in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.
“Our team got split up due to the confusion of the mountainous terrain and I found myself riding alone for two hours,” she says. “During that time, I saw snow-covered peaks and wildflowers and heard the rush of a nearby river. It was a peaceful moment and helped me truly realize the impact our ride would have. I started signing ‘America the Beautiful’ and ‘How Great Thou Art.’”
The ride concluded July 8 in Amelia Island, where team members symbolically dipped their front bicycle tires into the Atlantic Ocean. Tracy, who’s writing a book about the adventure, lost 9 pounds.
“I’m physically and mentally stronger,” she says. “You cannot complete a coastto-coast bike ride and come back weaker.”
Without question, though, personal health benefits took a backseat to helping veterans overcome deep war scars.
“Several years ago, I read that 22 veterans commit suicide each day,” she says. “Through this ride, we our giving our servicemen hope. Without hope, they may think life is no longer worth living.”
