This past week the rubber hit the roadways in Florida as a phalanx of red, white, and blue-clad bicyclists traversed through Sunshine State cities until they chronicled 500 miles of trekking in honor of fallen police officers, firefighters and EMS technicians. This band of brothers on bicycles were dedicated members of the Brotherhood Ride.
Neither rain nor the blazing sun could hinder this caravan of camaraderie-driven cohorts, each one a public safety pro. Nope, inclement weather didn’t slow the roll. Honor was the ingredient which gave them momentum. Honor for public safety professionals who didn’t make it home before the end of their final shift, leaving loved ones embattled by inexplicable torment…
Like many similar public safety organizations and charitable entities, the Brotherhood Ride seeks to continue the memory of colleagues fallen in the line of duty while also seeing to it that loved ones are supported and reminded that they are not necessarily “left behind.”
Per the Brotherhood Ride site, “the 2020 Ride will be dedicated to 25 Fallen Heroes from Florida who died in the line of duty in 2019. We will honor them by riding through the state of Florida for 7 days, covering 500 miles. The Ride will begin on October 1, 2020 in Fort Myers, FL [with bagpipers sounding the sendoff] and finish on October 7, 2020 in Live Oak, FL.” One of the 25 honorees is a law enforcement canine named “Biggie.”
A total of 40 riders, all sworn public safety officials, are involved in this year’s honorary Ride.
I’m writing this during their finale. I’m sure these road warriors have that taxing yet ultra-pleasant fatigue one only gets from physicality invested in heartfelt accomplishments on behalf of others—the very same reason they got into the business of public safety. 500 miles of legwork is quite a stride, especially when each bicyclist’s sponsors’ pledged donations go to the surviving families of the fallen.
“Our organization is entirely comprised of volunteers who are themselves emergency responders… Other than the cost of conducting the rides, all donated proceeds go directly to the beneficiaries designated. No one is compensated for their time in order to maximize the impact of donations.”
Each rider is sponsored by one or more people who pledge funds. In addition to funds for families who have lost a public safety hero, companies donate products to bike riders—professional bicycling gear, anti-cramp agents, energy bars, protein drinks, air mattresses w/pumps, anything to make the ride go smoother and the overall operational effort a success, including a ride back to the starting gate while aboard a complimentary custom, luxury tour bus illuminated with thin blue lines of lights.
Not at all surprising that these cops, firefighters and EMTs are doing this selflessly.
Like any cop, firefighter or EMT does on active duty missions, stops for good eats is a huge part of carrying out the purpose, pit-stopping at police stations and fire houses…meeting public safety practitioners in large and small jurisdictions along the way. Reminiscent of when they are on active duty, the pack of riders switch lead positions, fall back, cycle each other out, signal road hazards (potholes, etc.), and are provided with easy flow by police motorbike units stabilizing traffic at crossroads, as demonstrated here.
The Brotherhood Ride cyclists stop for prayerful moments along their route, often in scenic locales where nature caters breathtaking blessings with backdrops to soothe aching souls surrounded by serenity and solidarity.
Personally/professionally, the closest thing I’ve experienced similar to this was being one among many police cruisers caravanning from a church to the cemetery to lay down a brother in blue at his final resting site. One mile away from the cemetery grounds, our outstretched chain of cruisers with all emergency lights flashing came upon a radius on a state roadway. My patrol car was a few behind the lead car. On that lengthy radius, I peered into my cruiser’s sideview mirror and saw the homogeneity of a lengthy string of police cars with reds/blues burning, motorists pulled curbside, pedestrians motionless on sidewalks…saluting someone they only knew by status as a police officer, not necessarily by personage.
Even as I compose these words and reminisce that fateful day, the lump in my gullet dares not go away. I suspect the same factor is present in each of the Brotherhood Ride participants, evincing the remnant thoughts of how things went tragically awry, the picture book story of do-gooders being stolen in a life-altering instance for many people, both in service and in support.
The final day of seven, the Brotherhood Ride wended through several locales to pay homage to fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters and EMTs who once ran emergency runs on the very same soil upon which cycling cohorts pedal for public safety. During a rest break, several bicyclists honor four fallen heroes personally/professionally known to them —one policeman and three firefighters— after having a dinner and hospitable digs to bed down, compliments of the local Elk’s Lodge.
Although I denounce dour messaging, as a retired cop who maintains realist ideologies, I discovered that the Brotherhood Ride does not publicize the bicycling route. As a Brotherhood Ride response to a citizen inquiring where she could stand to cheer them on, the sad state of affairs as it relates to the severe threats against our public safety warriors amounts to the following: “Due to safety concerns we are not posting our route. Thank you for your support.” Indeed we’ve come to this, where citizens paying taxes for such services and wishing to stand in solidarity with cops, fire personnel and EMTs are necessarily kept in the dark because of the potential for bad actors to bastardize honorable deeds carried out by public servants.
Pre-planned, the cycle route has “overnight destinations” where the riders dine, refresh, bunk, then re-gear for the next mileage as they wheel closer to the finish line while “cycling for fallen heroes.”
Besides the heartrending purpose behind the Brotherhood Ride, it righteously resembles the connections, camaraderie, and spirited stewardship commonly found among public safety professionals.
Cops, fire personnel and EMTs are quite often running code to the same calls, religiously there for one another…and to ensure that every single uniform walks away unscathed. But that is the utopia which does not always come to fruition, hence the Brotherhood Ride doing their part to help carry out commemorations annually, one mile at a time…without breaking the cycle of honoring heroes.
We leave you with a covenant written by the Brotherhood Ride, aptly named “Why we ride.”