Participants will roll through Jacksonville next week on bikes as part of a three-day Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride, kicking off Wednesday, September 23, and wrapping up with a beach ride open to public supporters on September 25.
The event begins with participants receiving custom bike fittings and meeting fellow riders, according to Action News Jax. On Thursday, September 24, the group sets off on a 20-mile loop that concludes at the USS Orleck, a WWII-era Gearing-class destroyer with 18 battle stars that served in the Vietnam War. The ship served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1982 before a stint in the Turkish Navy, and it has been docked as a museum ship at Jacksonville's Shipyards West since 2023, according to Wikipedia.
Jacksonville isn't just another stop on the tour. Wounded Warrior Project was founded in 2003 in Roanoke, Virginia, but relocated its national headquarters to Jacksonville in 2006, per the organization's own history. That makes the city the charity's home base and gives this ride an added layer of local significance.
From a Solo Cross-Country Ride to a National Program
Soldier Ride is a multi-city program. Earlier this year, the program also received coverage from WVEC.
Next week's Jacksonville event relies on specialized gear. Wounded Warrior Project provides bikes and trikes to participants, with custom bike fittings during the event.
Beaches Leg Brings in Local Legion Riders
The ride's final day, Friday, September 25, sends participants through Jacksonville Beach, where veterans from Ocean Beaches American Legion Post 129 will ride alongside them. Post 129, located at 1151 4th Street South, serves as the host facility and community partner for that leg, according to Visit Jacksonville. Supporters are invited to cheer on riders at the beaches that day as the event comes to a close.
The Bigger Picture Behind the Ride
Soldier Ride is built around peer connection and physical rehabilitation, while the population it serves faces broader challenges.
Mental health remains part of that picture too. Physical activity and peer connection through adaptive sports like Soldier Ride are designed, in part, to combat isolation.
The organization also has local fundraising ties, including a Hoodline report last month on a Vietnam soldier's burial 58 years later, where the family directed donations to Wounded Warrior Project.
