When Delvin McMillian contracted a virus nine years ago that caused him to lose all four limbs, he never stopped believing he was just like anyone else.
He was right.
McMillian, a former Airman 1st Class and armament systems repairer in the Air Force, was just one of 130 other injured military veterans, civilians and active U.S. troops from all over the country who set out April 5 on a 350-mile, six-day cycling ride through the state of Texas to support the rehabilitation of wounded veterans.
The cycling tour, put on by Ride 2 Recovery, a non-profit organization that raises funds to support the rehabilitation of injured veterans through indoor spinning and outdoor cycling, was just one of five that will take place this year in separate states.
The ride began in San Antonio at Brooke Army Medical Center and ended Sunday in Dallas/Fort Worth. Gen. George Casey, the Army’s chief of staff; Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek, Warrior Transition and care commander; Medal of Honor recipient Mike Thorton; and actors Adam Baldwin and Ethan Suplee also joined the group for the ride.
Making a halfway stop at Fort Hood April 8, McMillian and fellow riders were welcomed by the post’s senior leadership and then were cheered on by thousands of Soldiers as their group cycled through the post the following day on its way to Waco.
Several Fort Hood Soldiers left with them and rode as far as they could. One of them, Command Sgt. Maj. George Zamudio, from Fort Hood’s Warrior Transition Brigade, works with recovering Soldiers every day.
“I feel like I should be part of this to show them we haven’t forgotten them and they’re still part of our team,” Zamudio said, adding that he’s never ridden more than 15 miles before, but was inspired by the group.
While the group of determined cyclists pedaled its way between crowds of applauding Soldiers Friday, it left nothing behind but inspiration for witnesses and proved that almost anything is possible for those who are willing to work for it.
As founder John Wordin would tell anyone, that’s exactly what Ride 2 Recovery is all about: encouraging wounded troops to believe they can bounce back from anything.
“There are a lot of guys riding who never thought in a million years they would be able to do this, but they’re doing it,” said Wordin, who founded Ride 2 Recovery in late 2007 after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs asked him to create a program to help wounded troops. “It’s truly amazing,” he added.
For McMillian, who contacted Wordin by e-mail in January and asked if he could be a part of this year’s ride, it was a different story.
No one believed McMillian would ever ride a bike. But he didn’t need encouraging; it was something he wanted to do.
After McMillian asked Wordin for help, Wordin and a team of mechanics began creating a unique bicycle with specialized mechanisms for steering and shifting that would allow him to ride comfortably.
After everyone told him McMillian would never ride a bike, Wordin tried harder. Two and a half months later, McMillian tested his bike at Wordin’s home in California.
Like Wordin, McMillian is the kind of guy who loves a challenge, and with this ride, he got one. He hopes to show other wounded veterans that no obstacle they face will ever be too large for them.
“No one’s life ended when they were injured; they just started a new chapter,” said McMillian, who travelled from Maylene, Ala., to participate in the ride. “You have to adapt and move on.
“This ride shows (other veterans) that although they may be injured, there are activities they can still do,” he added.
Fort Hood’s senior leadership personally recognized McMillian April 8 and Friday for his extraordinary resilience and the determination to take on a physical feat the average able-bodied person wouldn’t even think of undergoing.
“He’s the poster child of what a wounded warrior’s life can be like,” Wordin said. “It’s guys like him who make me motivated to do this.”
McMillian said that at times the ride was a struggle, but he loved the camaraderie and the opportunity to push himself.
“You just have to tell yourself you can make it,” he said. “I may be grunting and in pain, but I like pushing myself.”
With the ride reaching its end, each participant got, if nothing else, a long-lasting boost of confidence from the ride. But, according to Maj. Gen. Will Grimsley, Fort Hood’s acting senior commander, everyone got something.
“This is really a ride for inspiration for the rest of us,” Grimsley said.
