For Those Who Died

362 new names were engraved on the Memorial walls this year.  163 of them representing Officers killed in the line of duty in 2011.

We Ride

The last leg of our Ride For Those Who Died takes us from Annapolis to the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, DC.  The first part of the ride takes us through rolling country hills, then onto rolling urban hills before we pause at RFK Stadium to wait for the other Chapters to join us.

 After all the Chapters join in at RFK, we roll out, 2 by 2 for the final short ride to the Memorial.

After all 1400 riders pass by the walls, bearing nearly 19,000 names, we had the arrival ceremony and the announcement of how much money we raised for the Memorial.

A huge thanks to all my sponsors, who made it possible to raise $1.65 million to support the work of the Memorial and Museum.

Bus Rides

Day 3 of the ride, from Wilmington, Delaware to Annapolis, Maryland, starts and ends with a ride on the bus.  Not the sag wagon kind though.  The hotels are spread out by several miles in Wilmington, so those of us staying furthest out are bussed to a cluster of hotels where we start the days ride.

Wilmington Police Department came out in force, lining the streets with people and vehicles as we rode through town.

We rode past the New Castle County Police Headquarters, where members of their department lined the road.  Some of us were riding to honor their Lt. Joseph Szczerba, who was fatally stabbed on September 16th, 2011.

 Crossing into Maryland, we stopped for a break at the David Lokey Center, a day center for developmentally disabled adults.  We've been stopping there for 6 years now.  They do great work there and the clients make banners to great us every year.  After leaving the David Lokey Center, we start our traverse of Maryland's eastern shore.  The countryside is beautiful, but it can get windy....
and it did, but not like in year's past.  There was some tough riding, but not too many people ended up in the sag wagon.

After a great lunch on the lawn of the Galena, MD fire department, we headed off into the wind.  We rode through the small town of Centreville.  Their Police Department lost Michael Scott Nickerson on February 13, 2001 when he and Queen Anne's County Sheriff Deputy Jason Schwenz were shot and killed responding to a noise complaint.  The Nickerson Memorial Garden is in front of the Police Department and makes for an appropriate place to play taps for the riders as they roll by.

After another break and some more riding, it's back on a bus to be taken over the Chesapeake and into Annapolis for the night.

Richard Keith Bellar

The weather forecast was partially correct for today's 92 mile ride from Edison, NJ to Wilmington, DE.  The forecast was for clear, sunny, warm with northwest winds.  When we got up, it was raining and in the 50s, by the time we started to ride, it was sunny.  And it did get windy...not Colorado Front Range windy, but a steady, draining wind.  Didn't get as warm as predicted either.

The wind did make the flags fly at New Jersey State Patrol Troop C Barracks where the Police Unity Tour placed a wreath to remember Trooper Marc Castellano.  Taps was beautifully played as the group rode past.

The wind took it's toll on the riders, with many ending up in the sag wagon.  The 'epic' part of this day is always the Commodore John Barry Bridge over the Delaware river from New Jersey into Chester, PA.  This year was no exception.  You know the wind is tough when you have to peddle to make forward progress downhill!

After getting safely up and down the bridge, we made our way through Chester, PA and into the outskirts of Wilmington, DE for the night.

Standing in line for room keys, I congratulated two new riders from Louden County, TN for completing a pretty tough near-century ride today.  One of them then told me about the Officer he is riding for, Dickson County Sheriff's Deputy, Richard Keith Bellar.  He was shot an killed after stopping for what he believed was a traffic accident.  It wasn't.  It was a domestic in which the estranged husband ran his wife (a dispatcher) off the road.  Keith stopped to help and was shot by the estranged husband and died the next day.  That's the story that made the news.  What I learned today was that Keith would think nothing of hoping on his bike and riding 51 miles just to have lunch with his wife.  The Louden County Deputy figured today would have been just another ride for Keith and that was what kept him going in less than perfect riding conditions.

Community Policing

I was really glad that the weatherman was wrong about the 70-80% chance of showers for today's ride.  We started out in the rain from East Hanover, NJ, but the rain quit early on, leaving the clouds to keep us cool.

This year the route diverged a bit from past years and I caught a glimpse of the benefits of Community Policing, New Jersey Style.  In every town, township, county and borough that we rode through, folks stood on the curb waving or waiting patiently in their cars as we rode.

Kids from pre-school through High School came out to high-five us and entertain us with the marching band.

The suit & tie crew came out from their luncheon to applaud as we rode by.

Local Law Enforcement Officers lined the route.

Verizon hosted our break

and American Flags were all over the route.  It wasn't just local Fire Departments exercising their ladders, but people along the route came out to wave the flag.  

This tremendous show of support was not the result of a few Officers making a few calls to tell people about the Police Unity Tour passing through.  This was a reflection of the deeper connection that the local law enforcement agencies have within all the communities that we passed through today.

The route was pretty awesome too.  There is some really pretty cycling to be had around northern New Jersey.

Countdown to Police Unity Tour 2012

We are three days away from the start of Police Unity Tour 2012 and there is still much to be done before we can Ride for Those who Died.

We came out a week early to lend a hand with the pre-tour logistics.  Cleaning up trailers, handing out uniforms, laminating 2900 luggage tags & putting together registration packets.  We even squeezed in a quick trip to NYC to visit the 9/11 Memorial and enjoy times with old and new friends.

I'm hoping that this trailer tire is the only flat I have to deal with the whole trip, but not counting on it.  Something about screws on NJ roads...

Groups of riders are starting to trickle in, so the rooms full of bike boxes will eventually transform into rideable bikes, and piles of bike boxes.

I put my bike together this morning and added spoke cards to honor the two Colorado Officers that I will be riding for this year.

Limon Police Officer Jay William Sheridan was shot and killed during the execution of a search warrant on March 9, 2011.  He is survived by his wife and daughter.

 

Denver Police Patrolman David Roberts was shot in the face on March 9,1985.  He was paralyzed and died due to complications of the shooting on May 27, 2011.  He is survived by his daughter, two sisters and a brother.

I ride with spoke cards with their pictures so that all who see them can put a face to the name and remember that every name has a story.