More than 200 injured veterans and their supporters will set off on
Sunday, Oct. 5, on the UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery California
Challenge, a seven-day, 465-mile bicycle ride from VA Palo Alto
Health Care System – the birthplace of Ride 2 Recovery – to VA West Los
Angeles Medical Center.
Jose Miranda (middle foreground) of Pasadena, Calif., uses his hands and arms to pedal his recumbent during last year's UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery California Challenge. A U.S. Navy veteran, Miranda lost his right leg above the knee when he was run over by a jet while stationed on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. Earlier this year after regaining strength and balance, Miranda began riding an upright road bike and plans to participate in this year's UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery California Challenge, a 465-mile ride from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles Oct. 5-11 (Photo: Tiffini Skuce).
California Challenge cyclists will begin their journey in Palo Alto,
ride south to Gilroy, and then travel the iconic Pacific Coast Highway
along the state’s scenic coastline with overnight stops in Carmel, San
Simeon, Pismo Beach, Solvang and Ventura. The ride will conclude
Saturday, Oct. 11, at the VA West Los Angeles Medical Center.
The highlights of the week-long ride include comedian Dennis Miller
welcoming the riders in Solvang on Thursday, Oct. 9, and performing for
them during a dinner reception. On Saturday, Oct. 11, 94-year-old
Tuskegee airman Lt. Col. Robert Friend will join the cyclists for the
last several miles of the ride and across the finish line at VA West Los
Angeles Medical Center. The Tuskegee airmen are America’s first African
American military airmen who fought in WWII.
The public is encouraged to gather along the daily ride routes or at the
hotels to support the cyclists at any juncture along the route. To see
daily stops and events along the route, or to sign up for the California
Challenge, visit UnitedHealthcare
Ride 2 Recovery California Challenge.
Ride 2 Recovery supports physical and psychological rehabilitation
programs for injured veterans, featuring cycling as the core activity.
From indoor spinning training at military installations to multiday,
long-distance rides, Ride 2 Recovery helps injured veterans heal through
the challenge of cycling long distances using hand cycles, recumbents,
tandems and traditional road bikes.
Jose Miranda of Pasadena, Calif., joined Ride 2 Recovery in 2013 and
pedaled a recumbent bike 425 miles from Chicago to Detroit. Miranda, a
U.S. Navy veteran, lost his right leg above the knee when he was run
over by a jet while stationed on an aircraft carrier in the
Pacific. Earlier this year, after regaining strength and
balance, Miranda began riding an upright road bike.
“Cycling allows me to challenge myself physically and mentally as I
continue to heal from my wounds,” said Miranda. “I’m excited to be back
on an upright bike and look forward to riding in the UnitedHealthcare
Ride 2 Recovery California Challenge with my fellow veterans. I hope I
can inspire them as they get on their road to recovery as well.”
The service men and women such as Miranda have been training for the
California Challenge as a means to build strength and conditioning, and
to help overcome the challenges many veterans face when returning home
from service. Most of the cyclists are introduced to Ride 2 Recovery
from a Warrior Transition Unit/Battalion or Veterans Affairs facility
through Ride 2 Recovery’s Project HERO program.
“In the UnitedHealthcare Challenge Series, about 60 percent of the
participating injured veterans come through our feeder program, Project
HERO,” said John Wordin, president and founder, Ride 2 Recovery. “There
are 43 Project HERO programs at military bases and VA facilities across
the country. Our medical personnel and R2R onsite coordinators help
prepare these healing heroes for the week-long challenge of riding a
bike hundreds of miles. For these men and women, cycling becomes a
life-changing addition to their physical and mental rehabilitation.”
“It is an honor to support the Ride 2 Recovery and its work for the
physical, mental and emotional rehabilitation of the men and women who
sacrificed their health in the service of our country,” said Tom
Wiffler, chief operating officer of UnitedHealthcare Military &
Veterans. “Ride 2 Recovery is making a critical difference in helping
these veterans in their journey to lifelong health and well-being – a
future they so richly deserve.”
This is the fifth year UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:
UNH) company, is serving as Ride 2 Recovery’s title sponsor, providing
financial, in-kind and volunteer support to help America’s injured
veterans.
Ride 2 Recovery is one of many ways UnitedHealth Group supports veterans
and their families. In 2012, UnitedHealth Group joined the 100,000 Jobs
Mission, a coalition of major U.S. corporations that share the goal of
hiring 100,000 transitioning service members and military veterans by
2020. UnitedHealth Group partners with a variety of organizations to
help source military and veteran candidates such as the Military Spouse
Employment Partnership, RecruitMilitary and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Last year, UnitedHealthcare became the managed care support contractor
for the West Region of the U.S. Defense Department’s TRICARE program,
serving nearly 2.9 million military service members, retirees and their
families in 21 states, including more than 846,000 in California.
About R2R
Ride 2 Recovery supports physical and psychological rehabilitation
programs for injured veterans, featuring cycling as the core activity.
From outdoor training at military installations to multiday,
long-distance rides, Ride 2 Recovery helps injured veterans heal through
the challenge of cycling using custom adapted bicycles, hand cycles,
recumbents, tandems and traditional road bikes.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare
is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers and Medicare
and Medicaid
beneficiaries, and contracts directly with 800,000 physicians and care
professionals and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide.
UnitedHealthcare serves more than 45 million people in health benefits
and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth
Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being
company.
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