By Johnny Killmore (​CORPORAL (E4) - USMC & US ARMY)

​There is a carpool lane on the road to happiness, and it’s called AdventureVet. While many charities and organizations focus on improving quality of life for veterans, fewer take into account the family unit that is quite likely the most important part of a veteran’s daily life. Dave Frey took note of this fact while operating the Veterans Charity Ride. The ride itself takes wounded and amputee veterans on the ride of a lifetime, but also has a lesser-known program called VetFam, which brought some of the vets back with their families.

By Sara Liberte

Was it kismet that we ran into Randy on top of a mountain in Colorado, seemingly at random?? I mean what are the chances this guy served in the same group as some of our veterans on the 2019 Veterans Charity Ride?
Yea, that happened, and it blew my mind! We pulled our Fleet of Indian motorcycles and sidecars over to check out the ghost town of Leadville that sits atop Battle Mountain overlooking Eagle Gulch. The area was a thriving mining town back in the early days, but for about a century, the operations poured so many toxic pollutants into the eco-system the EPA declared the area off-limits.

Check out Casey Currie's 2019 VCR Gallery

by Johnny Killmore

I like to call it Wind Therapy. It’s the state of mind we all get when, leaving our worries behind, we climb aboard a motorcycle and aim it towards “somewhere.” And despite a lack of clinical research, this concept seems to be known by any motorcycle rider that’s spent much time in the saddle. On the bike is a time when the cell phone and other distractions are set aside, letting you interface with the world around you. Even on a group ride, we are “alone together,” sharing memories during fuel stops or meals.

Veterans Charity Ride takes veterans on a motorcycle therapy journey to Sturgis, SD for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and it does wonders for the veterans. We’ve supported them for a couple years now – here’s another story from 2019.

by Sara Liberte

This was my fourth year supporting Veterans Charity Ride as a photographer/videographer. Every year I’m blessed to experience a host of friendships with some of the greatest men and women our country has to offer. When you spend longer than 2 weeks on the road with people, (most of the time) you end up with a really strong bond. I’m eternally grateful for the friendships I have gained over the years.

~ by Trevor Phipps ~
Last week, the Veterans Charity Ride (VCR), a national group of veteran motorcyclists, traveled unchartered territory as they trekked through Teller County and make a key stop in Crystola for the first time ever.
Making a trip into Teller isn’t too surprising, as the local area has become a growing hub for veteran organizations.  After all, this is the home of the Salute to American Veterans Rally and the Eric Dickson Memorial (which pays homage to the sole casualty of the Vietnam War from Woodland Park). In the last few years, the region has featured many veteran-oriented ceremonies.

By Doug McMurdo

The Veterans Charity Ride to Sturgis began with a ceremony at Swanny Park July 25. The patriotic event featured bagpipes, a color guard from the American Legion in Moab, and the Utah Patriot Guard.
The guests of honor included 104-year-old Moab resident and World War II veteran Kate Thomson, who gamely rode in the sidecar of an Indian motorcycle, and men and women who were wounded in war. Some of the injuries they suffered were obvious. Amputees are hard to miss. Others were not visible at first glance – but those in attendance honored all of them.

When Keith Helfrich retired from Fort Carson’s 10th Special Forces Group in 2013, he was struggling to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and the effects of a traumatic brain injury.
“I was at place in my life where I didn’t want to go anywhere, didn’t want to do anything, didn’t want to get out of the house,” said Helfrich, 50, who retired as a sergeant major. During his 26 years in the Army, he deployed to Iraq four times and earned a Bronze Star Medal.
Then Helfrich was invited to go on the 2016 Veterans Charity Ride to Sturgis, S.D., a multiday ride for amputees and wounded veterans. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go, but the ride’s founder flew out to Texas, where Helfrich lives, to persuade him.

by: Mike Kretz

CLIFTON, Colo. –
“Motorcycle Therapy” might not be widely acknowledged by medical doctors. But, David Frey, founder of Veterans Charity Ride swears by it.