Oakton High Grad to Help Others Ride to Recovery

As Sgt. Brian Crump biked in his first Ride2Recovery last year, he saw a quadruple amputee ride an upright bicycle by himself across the state of Florida.

"The first time I went, I was kinda forced to go, in all honesty. But it was an eye-opener, big time," Crump said. "If that doesn't motivate you right there, something's wrong with you."

Crump, a Herndon native and 2001 Oakton High graduate, now lives in Colorado where he works with the Warrior Transition Battalion for the U.S. Army. He will be returning this weekend to participate in the Washington, D.C., Ride2Recovery race which will take riders 350 miles from Arlington to Virginia Beach starting May 30 and ending June 4.

Ride2Recovery is a program designed to raise awareness of Wounded Warriors and to help in their recovery. Each ride includes about 200 veterans who have both physical and mental wounds from war, as well as support riders to help them through the race.

"A lot of these soldiers come back home after getting hurt and get told, 'Well, these are your limitations. This is what you can and cannot do for the rest of your life.' And Ride2Recovery is something in place that allows these Wounded Warriors to get on a bike and push themselves to explore their new boundaries," said Crump, who served in Korea and Iraq as a Combat Medic. "A lot of these guys haven't biked in years before the day of the race. They may not be physically ready to go through the ride, but mentally, with that military mindset, they have the heart to finish."

An avid bicyclist for about three years, Crump will be participating in his third Ride2Recovery race in the last year. He jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the race so close to his hometown.

"When I saw Virginia on the schedule, I was pretty excited, especially because it starts essentially in my hometown," said 28-year-old Crump.

His participation is right in line with what he does day-to-day for the Army, as the Warrior Transition Battalion is designed to give soldiers the tools to transition from the military world into the civilian world. Motivating wounded soldiers to explore and push their limitations helps them adjust.

Besides helping wounded soldiers in the recovery process, Ride2Recovery is also an awareness campaign. Participants want people to understand how much the recovery process has changed over the years.

"When I came back from Iraq, nobody had even heard of Traumatic Brain Injury," Crump said. "The screening process for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was just a couple questions. ... The process has completely turned around to be much more thorough."

The hope is also that people will become aware of what they can do to help. Besides supporting various causes and organizations set up to help these soldiers, it is important for others to understand that injuries affect people differently. There is no cure-all.

"PTSD and TBI, or even other physical injuries, everybody handles it in their own way. There is no set way to help someone cope with what they're going through," Crump said. "It's a long road, and people need to understand that. If you want to help soldiers and help the military through these times, the best thing is to go on a website and read about PTSD or research TBI because there's a lot to learn."

The ride begins 12:45 p.m. Monday at Whipple Field in Arlington to head to Manassas before going south to Virginia Beach. American Legion Post 10 in Manassas will host a dinner for the riders at 6 p.m. Guests are welcome with a $15 donation to Ride2Recovery. Call 703-369-4900 for more details.

"Most people don't know we're coming until we ride down their street, but it's nice to see support from people as we ride," Crump said. "American Legion is a huge supporter of ours, so supporting American Legion is supporting us."

Money raised by Ride2Recovery goes toward allowing wounded veterans to ride for free. To donate, click here.