New York, NY (April 23, 2014) – Disabled Navy veteran Ken Carr, who suffered an injury resulting in Traumatic Brain Injury more than 20 years ago while on active duty, and former USAF combat officer, Steve Redmond of Colorado, embarked on their “You Matter Bike Tour,” a cross country bicycle trip that will raise funds and awareness for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and its Intrepid Spirit centers from the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum here yesterday.
HITTING THE ROAD: David Winters, President of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, with You Matter Bike Tour Riders Ken Carr, Bryan Howard and Steve Redmond, at the Intrepid Museum before setting off on their cross-country trek.
Together with good friend Bryan Howard of Idaho, Ken and Steve plan to ride cross-country, stopping off along to the way to visit with veterans, especially those who are undergoing treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress.
“We are greatly honored that Ken would undertake such a mission to benefit his fellow veterans, and we are humbled by his service and his ongoing dedication,” said David Winters, President of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. “We wish him well on his journey.”
The ride officially began in Long Beach, NY early on Tuesday morning and will end on July 4 in Long Beach, CA. The Intrepid sendoff was the ceremonial beginning of the tour.
“This has been in the planning stages for so long, we’re just excited to finally be starting the ride,” said Ken Carr. “This is an open, self-funded, self-supported ride, which means we will each be paying our own way and we are each responsible for providing and carrying all of our own equipment with us on our own bikes. We are calling our efforts the You Matter Bike Tour to let these heroes know they matter to us.”
Along the way, Ken and his team will visit the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) in Bethesda, MD, the first special treatment center built in 2010 for veterans with TBI and PTS. Ken will also visit a new NICoE Satellite Center in Fort Belvoir, VA, one of nine planned centers being built by IFHF as an extension of the main NICoE.
Ken and the tour are on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/You.Matter.Bike.Tour and on twitter at https://twitter.com/YouMatterTour.
Posted on April 22 2014 in News