Road 2 Recovery bike rides to benefit veteran TBI
Film stars, pro cyclists and veteran advocates are teaming together to raise money and awareness for military veterans with traumatic brain injuries. Mike Vogel, actor from the film Cloverfield, is the chairman of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans and is participating in a series of “Road 2 Recovery” bike rides across the country. Mike McNaughton, a member of the Wounded Warrior Project and a Louisiana VA official, explains how the sport can help veterans. "The movement and independence cycling creates is a great way to treat depression, one of the biggest problems for wounded vets." The first of two major fundraising rides will begin May 17 in Philadelphia and end May 25 in Charlotte, with a lap before the start of NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600. The second ride is planned for Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 from San Francisco to west Los Angeles along the Pacific Coast Highway. One other cyclist involved in the program is the former pro racer Saul Raisin. "Cycling does something wonderful and healing to your brain," says Raisin, whose pro cycling career was cut short when he suffered a serious brain injury in a French race in 2006. "It gives you more stamina to heal and helps you get over the depression that occurs." Doctors gave Raisin little chance of recovery, but he now shows few signs of his injury. "Many of our country's military members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from traumatic brain injury," says William Anderson, an assistant secretary of the Air Force. "As a premier athlete who also suffered from TBI but has recovered from his injuries, Saul Raisin is an inspiration."
