Thank You!

Thanks to Unser Racing for a fun day of fundraising.

Thanks to FedEx for the safe transport of our bikes.  

Thanks to the Marshals and Motors for keeping the riders safe along the way.

Thanks to Target for hosting so many breaks.

Thanks to the support members who kept us fed, watered, housed and, for a few, sagged.

Thanks to the mechanics for fixing so many flats and keeping all the bikes in good riding condition

Thanks to all those who cheered us on along the route and when we arrived at the Memorial

Thanks to all the generous supporters who made the $1.5 million donation possible

Thanks to Sam Brownlee and the other 19,000 law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep their communities and the country safe.

A Ride for Sam and Candlelight Vigil

Since my first PUT ride, I've marked the end of the ride with another ride, either solo or with a small group.  It's a good way to loosen up the legs and clear the head after a pretty intense four days of riding.  This year I took a trip along Rock Creek for Sam, who loved to fish. 

The rain held off for the Candlelight Vigil, but the evening was cool.  The PUT riders changed from the familiar PUT jersey into our various department's dress uniforms to escort survivors. 

Rest in Peace, Samuel Kent Brownlee.

Let's Ride!

Day 4 of the ride takes us from Annapolis to the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.  We were blessed again with sunny, warm weather.   

As a cyclist, the 4th day is probably my favorite.  The first part of the ride takes us through swoopy descents and punchy climbs on tree-lined roads.  As we near D.C., the ride is decidedly more urban, with even more punchy little climbs in the appropriately named Landover Hills, MD.   

As a Police Officer, the 4th day is my favorite.  After riding in from Annapolis, we stage at RFK stadium to await the arrival of the Chapters that ride in on other routes.  At RFK I put on a lei with a spoke card that I made to honor Matt Tokuoka.  Matt was Hawai'ian, hence the lei, but his life was taken in Alaska, where he was one of two Hoonah Police Officers shot and killed last August.  

Once all the riders get to RFK, we head out, two by two, through the streets of D.C. to the Memorial. 

 At the Memorial, all 1200 cyclists get to ride through the crowds and past the approximately 19,000 names engraved on the walls.

The ride concludes with the arrival ceremony and presentation of the PUT donation to the National Law Enforcement Memorial. 

After the ceremony, the cyclists linger at the Memorial, meeting with survivors, leaving tributes and reflecting on what it means to Ride For Those Who Died. 

Windy Wednesday

Day 3 of the ride takes us from the area of Wilmington Delaware to Annapolis Maryland.  The motors led us out on a crisp and cool morning.

After disrupting the morning commute traffic through downtown Wilmington, we headed off to the more rural roads of the eastern shore of the Chesapeake.  Our first break of the day was at the David Lokey Center.  The center is a day service provider for for developmentally disabled adults.  They are part of the Chesapeake Care Resources system, providing resources for developmentally disabled adults and their families in southern Delaware and northeastern Maryland.  The David Lokey Center has hosted us for 5 years.  Before hosting us, they were a constant cheering fixture in their driveway as we rode by.

After visting with the clients at the David Lokey Center, we headed south to conquer the dreaded Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.  It is not as dreaded as the Commodore Barry Bridge, but the 3% grade does look a bit imposing on the approach.  

Our lunch break at the Galena Volunteer Fire Department was followed by a bit of windy riding.

There's not a lot of vegetation or topography to shelter us from the winds, so the riders started to get really spread out.  The ride marshalls at the back really had to work to try and keep the group together.  We still ended up doing an unscheduled stop to get everyone back together.

Another 25 or so miles of riding brought us to the Chesapeake and onto busses for the ride over the bridge into Annapolis.  

Stats for the Day:

98 - Miles ridden

30 - MPH Marshall motor pacing after rounding up stragglers in the wind

6 -  Oysters devoured in Annapolis

Marc Kenneth Castellano and Christopher Milito

Day 2 of the Police Unity tour took us on familiar roads from Edison NJ to Wilmington DE. We got off to an early start and the weather was great all day. Road conditions and debris kept the repair trailer busy and us riders grateful for all the spare parts provided by the PUT and the awesome mechanics who keep us rolling.

Shortly after our first break of the day, hosted by the Target in East Windsor Township, we headed off to pay tribute to New Jersey State Police Trooper Marc Kenneth Castellano. Several NJ State Police members are riding with us in his honor.

After our lunch, hosted by the Abundant Life Church, we rode on to the Commodore Barry Bridge, where we honored Officer Christopher Milito of the Delaware River Port Authority who was also killed last year. Although no one from the department is riding for him, the DRPAPD is still a vital part of the PUT Family. They close the bridge so we can safely continue on our journey and helped out with route security along the way today

After paying our respects, and taking a quick break, it was off to face the Commodore Barry Bridge and continue on into Pennsylvania and Delaware for the night.


Stats for the day:
1 - Tire, tube & rim tape destroyed by a rogue screw in the roadway
~90 - Miles ridden - lost a few getting the flat fixed.
1 - Officer killed overnight while we ride for those who died. Sergeant Brian Dulle, Warren County Sheriff, Ohio.

53 hours

Day 1 of the 2011 Police Unity Tour started in East Hanover NJ and traveled north to Jersey City before going into NYC via the Holland Tunnel. After we entered NYC, we headed to Ground Zero to pay our respects to the more than 3000 people who died there nearly 10 years ago. PUT Chapter 37, who lost 37 Officers on September 11, 2001, joined us as we rode back through the Holland Tunnel to Jersey City for our send off ceremony.

One of the speakers reminded us very dramatically of why we ride for those who died. On average this year, one Law Enforcement Officer is killed every 53 hours. 60% of those killed in 2011 were by gunfire.

Stats for the day:

65 - miles ridden from East Hanover to Edison NJ

70s - awesome temps for riding

30 - flat tires repaired after hitting grates and debris in the Holland Tunnel

And so begins another Police Unity Tour for me. I came in a few days early to lend a hand with logistics and landed squarely in the middle of trailer loading, uniform sorting, plaque fetching, hotel handling and all the other last minute details that go on behind the scenes. After helping out with a bunch of errands (yes, they are letting me drive in NJ), we went to the last PUT meeting of the year, which consisted of a fair amount of information about the route and some of the quirks of lodging 650+ riders along this year's route, combined with a lot of people picking up various pieces of riding uniforms and other gear. It was a great chance for me to see and catch up with some of the participants.
After all that fun, we headed out to start making the luggage tags. Every rider gets 3 tags, each printed with their name and the hotels they will be in each night. Every tag gets laminated, the stuffed in an envelope with a bunch of other stuff. We called it quits just after midnight, having gotten through the Ds...it's gonna be a long day tomorrow.

Stats for the day:

Minutes spent holding waiting to land in the clouds in Newark: 25

Laminators burned out laminating luggage tags: 1

Blog posts lost to wonky wi-fi: 1

"Engraving Day"

The 2010 Police Unity Tour donation was earmarked for the restoration of the National Law Enforcement Memorial. The nearly 19,000 names engraved on the Memorial were starting to show their age, so the entire Memorial has been re-engraved and a new process developed for the 316 names that were added in 2011.

With so many new names to add, the process takes several days, but every spring, the National Law Enforcement Memorial has an official Engraving Day, honoring a member of the local law enforcement community. This year the honoree was Maryland State Trooper Wesley Brown. A ceremony was held at the Memorial on April 27, attended by friends, family and co-workers of Trooper Brown.

Of the remaining 315 names, many are historical names. The names added for 2010 however, are too many, up significantly from the near record low of 117 in 2009. In reviewing the names of those who died in 2010 for a slide show I put together for a fundraising event, I was struck by the tragedy and the tenacity of four Officers who succumbed to injuries inflicted in the past: Maylond Bishop of Guntervsille AL was shot and paralyzed in 1993; Orange County CA Sheriff's Lt. Ira Esso was shot and paralyzed in 1980; Missoula MT Officer Robert Heinle was shot and paralyzed in 1998 and Forest Hill TX Officer Timothy Zurovetz, who was injured on duty in 1981.

Another thing that struck me while going trough the names of those killed in 2010 was that the trend of multiple officers being killed by a single assailant on a single call continues. Mishawaka IN Corporal James Szuba and his K-9 partner Ricky were killed by a drunk driver. Puerto Rico Dept. of Natural Resources Rangers Kenneth Omar Betancourt-Camacho and Felix Rodriquez-Gomez were shot and killed by trespassers at one of their facilities. West Memphis AR Sergeant Robert Brandon Paudert and Officer William Evans were shot and killed during a traffic stop. The suspects were later killed after engaging in further gunfire with an Arkansas Game & Fish Officer. Hoonah AK Police Sgt. Anthony Wallace was on patrol with his visiting mother as a ride-along, when he came under fire from a man in a near-by house. Officer Matthew Tokuoka, who was not on duty at the time, but visiting with family a few houses away, heard the shots and went to Wallace's aid. Wallace died on August 28th and Tokuoka died early the next day. The suspect barricaded himself in his house and was ultimately arrested following a lengthy stand-off and state-wide response. The suspect killed half the Hoonah Police department in one attack.

This trend of multiple-officer fatalities has not slacked, but increased in the new year, so for my brothers & sisters in blue: Stay Safe.

PUT 2011 - We Ride For Those Who Died

Weld County Colorado Sheriff's Deputy

Samuel Kent Brownlee

E.O.W. November 23, 2010

2011 will be my 6th Ride For Those Who Died and the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Police Unity Tour. For 2011 I will ride to honor the memory of Weld County Sheriff's Deputy Samuel Kent Brownlee. Deputy Brownlee was shot and killed on November 23, 2011 by a suspect in a domestic dispute who stole a car and engaged in a high-speed, multi-jurisdicitional pursuit that ended in the death of the suspect and Deputy Brownlee. Deputy Brownlee was laid to rest on November 29, 2010 in Greeley.

The Weld County Sheriff's Posse also rides for those who died.

Photo by Helen H. Richardson, Denver Post