The 5th annual bike ride for the Veterans Transition Network was a great success this year in Calgary, bringing more than double last year’s turnout.
The Veterans Transition Network is a registered charity providing mental health programs for our veterans and the RCMP.
“It’s going to be a really good ride,” said Tegh Singh, a U.S. Army veteran with the transition network.
Singh is running the 37-kilometre ride to raise awareness of the contributions and sacrifices veterans made for Canadian freedom.
“This day means a lot to me,” he told CityNews.
“I always like to think the veterans do not exist in the vacuum. Any healing we are able to achieve is for us to be able to be there for our families and our communities, and I really wanted to keep the community at the centre of what we are doing with all this fundraising and the ride.”
The ride started at the Confluence where riders stopped by 14 different military landmarks around the city to pay their respects.
The ridegoers we spoke to have nothing but respect for Singh and are happy to show their support.
“I am here to support my friend and neighbour Tegh who is here to ride [for] veterans with PTSD. I think it’s a very important cause, and I’m here to create awareness to that particular issue,” one rider said.
“Well I have known Tegh for a few years and we have been on many rides, when I found out he was a veteran I thought that was very important and wanted to be a part of the ride,” another said.
“I’m also a veteran from the Canadian army, so knowing what he has been doing in support of the veterans network, I wanted to help out.”
More information on the Veterans Transition Network can be found online.