Who: Steven Blackwell 
What: Cycling across the United States to raise money and awareness for Project Hero. 
When: June of 2017
Where: Across The United States
Start: Florence, Oregon
Finish: Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia 
Why: To help improve the lives of all service members and first responders that struggle each day to heal from their physical and psychological injuries. 

Dear Family and Friends, 

Upon turning fourteen I had one simple dream: to cycle across the United States. My name is Steven       Blackwell, and I am currently seventeen years old and seeking for everyone to let my story be told in hopes of effectively helping others who have been more bold. In pursuit of this dream, I made plans to cycle alongside veterans in Ride to Recovery’s California Challenger Series in 2013. I arrived in Pal Alto thinking I would be checking off a box to satisfy my school’s community service requirement and helping the veterans who had sacrificed for my freedoms but the opportunity turned out to be much more. It was then that I met my true heroes. I rode alongside veterans and first responders healing from both physical and psychological wounds -- they all found healing from these wounds in the form of cycling. Two years following this volunteer               experience I went on to complete my second Double Century Cycling Race at the age of sixteen: The Davis Double Century. Upon completing this two hundred mile ride, my pride was deprived. At mile five I learned how very lucky I was to survive. Early in the race I witnessed the results of an eighteen wheeler fatally striking a cyclist. The accident took a while for me to process. However, after some time passed, I came to one simple realization after losing another fellow cyclist to a tragic accident in my local cycling club. If this experience is challenging for me to process, I can not even imagine the barriers our service members and first responders hurdle on a daily basis. It was following this realization that I had one solution to the problem. I will support them just like they support me. Although I lack the degrees necessary to carry out their occupational duties, I have been gifted with the legs, heart and determination to support this great organization that offers these brave men and women effective methods of coping and treatment. Now, I hope at the age of seventeen we can partner and help each other accomplish this dream, and make many lives gleam.

 

With Appreciation,

Steven T. Blackwell

 
For More Information on Project Hero Visit: 

Project Hero