Santa Rosa County has expressed a warm welcome to the Warrior Ride organization this weekend during their first ever ‘Tour de Sunshine.’
“The community, the veteran and military support is just incredible,” said Event Coordinator Harry Carr. “We want to make this an annual event.”
Carr said the three day event, which originated in Oak Island, North Carolina, received support from not only from the City of Milton including the city’s police and fire departments, but from the entire county including the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, school district among others.
The Warrior Ride supports wounded military members through the rehabilitation of cycling.
Whether a participant is dealing with post traumatic stress disorder, health issues or injuries endured during a military conflict or while enlisted, Carr said many of the regular participants find the group cycling event to be therapeutic.
“We find rehabilitation through cycling,” Carr said. “They are thinking about the team and it can build their confidence.”
Bob Racine, the founder of the Warrior Ride, said the organization also allows the veterans to bond while overcoming the obstacles each face.
“We find that we have more healing in that area than any other areas,” Racine said.
Racine, a veteran and native of North Caroline, credited Carr for working to make the event happen in the Northwest Florida.
“If it would not have been for him and his wife, it would not have gotten off the ground they way that we did,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: The Warrior Ride visits 'Tour de Sunshine' in Santa Rosa County