Today I joined Soldier Ride, a bicycle ride with wounded war veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan through parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.  Soldier Ride is a program supported by the Wounded Warrior Project.

The day started out with steady rainfall.  I prepared for the worst.  I put on my rear tire fender and even rigged up a front fender to keep the water off my face.  I met the soldiers I would be spending the rest of the day with where the ride started; at Fox News in midtown Manhattan.  In front of the cameras, they gave us a formal sendoff.  Four uniformed Marines toting large American flags were positioned in front of the 22 US servicemen and 5 members of the Israeli army for the cameras.    Amongst the riders were a few civilians; Woody (Soldier Ride's organizer from New Hampshire), Matthew Modine (an actor who played Pvt. Joker in the war movie "Full Metal Jacket"), and me.

A police escort blocked off traffic as our group of traditional bicycles along with specially designed three-wheeled hand cranked bikes (for the double leg amputees) made our way onto 6th Avenue.  Cheers from onlookers began almost immediately as the WWP support van lead the way.  The van doubled as an advertisement for the Wounded Warrior Project and was fully wrapped with large photos of wounded veterans in uniform.

We proceeded up the Avenue of Americas and into Central Park, where I could not help but play tour guide to our visitors by pointing out landmarks and prepping everyone for the hills.  While in the park we had a few mechanical breakdowns, which slowed things up a bit.  Thankfully, trailing the group was a big U-haul truck that doubled as a roving bike shop for repairs.  We exited the park and made our way over to the west side bike path to head downtown.

Along the way, I got to know my fellow riders.  Although I was morbidly curious as to how and where they were wounded and the extent of the injuries, I did not have the chutzpah to ask them specifically.  Surprisingly, they just started talking about it.  These men are truly heros.  Each one of them was awarded a Purple Heart.  Some of their wounds were visibly noticeable.  Others you would never guess that they had sustained any injuries at all from their physical appearance until they lift up a shirt or pull down their shorts and show you very serious looking scars that can sometimes be measured in feet not inches.  A young man showed me where three bullets both entered and exited.  Another explained what part of his leg remained after his foot was blown off.  A man with no legs explained that the quarter size hole in his neck was from the ventilator that he was connected to for months.  They were all sobering thoughts. 

We rode all the way down to Battery Park and looped around to Water Street toward our lunch stop.  Little did I know, waiting for us were a few hundred employees of the AIG corporation cheering our arrival along with a bunch of corporate PR folks and reporters.  AIG is a major sponsor of the WWP.  Along with AIG, Tony Sirico ( Paulie 'Walnuts' from the Sopranos), was there to greet us.  He's been a big supporter of WWP for years.  After some photos shoots, we were escorted across the street to a corporate office building on the 19th floor of BCG, a large big bond trading firm with 14 offices worldwide.  Upstairs they had a huge spread for lunch with a beautiful view of South Street Seaport, the East River and Brooklyn.  BCG's senior partners introduced Tony Sirico and two of the FDNY top brass; all who spoke from the heart to the soldiers with praise for the sacrifices they made.  The FDNY guys then asked us all to look out onto the East River where Marine 1, FDNY's fire boat, was spewing water 50+ feet into the air in honor of our ride.

After lunch we continued our ride into Brooklyn over the Brooklyn Bridge.  We meandered through the streets to our final stop in Bensonhurst where we were met by another equally impressive crowd including the entire department from FDNY Ladder 168 - "Bensonhurst Bravest", three FDNY bagpipers, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and 15 veterans of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.  From there I said my goodbye's to the men I shared a one-day bond with.  Although that's where my participation ends, the Soldier Ride continues through the weekend in Long Island where they will be guests of honor in the Empire State Challenge, a 60+ mile cycling event.

As I board the N train to find my way back to Manhattan, I pondered what the ride meant to me.  I originally reached out to the WWP because living, working and raising a family in Manhattan can make you forget about the rest of the country.  I am the first generation of Topilow men not to serve in the military.  My grandfather Jack, whom I never met, served in World War II.  My father, Arthur, was a Major in the US Army and was lucky not to be shipped off to Vietnam.  At 65, Arthur is still great friends with his Army buddy Dr. Merlin Wilson of New Orleans.  Maybe I was looking for some camaraderie with servicemen.  I don't know; but their thank you’s were said with sincerity and they made me feel good about what I did.