Many people follow our adventures and we hear lots of comments from friends and family quite often about how they enjoy our journey and like being connected to it through posts and photos. Well, if I had to choose our most memorable and important adventure out of those we have, I’d say the Brotherhood Ride is probably one of the most important for sure.
This flag flies high during the ride. The red part of the stripe honors our fallen firefighters and the plus part honors our fallen police officers.
The Brotherhood Ride was founded in 2008 when fire and police officers rode from Naples, FL to Charleston, SC in honor and remembrance of the Charleston 9. Side note for those that may not know. The Charleston 9 refers to 9 firemen that lost their lives in the line of duty. At the time, it was the largest line of duty death since the tragedy of 9/11. We are both deeply connected to this loss of firemen and the unfortunate tragedy is where our story begins. The idea behind the ride is that the riders aim to show the families, towns, and departments that their loved one is never forgotten. The riders are all police and fire personnel….and by bike riders I mean bicycle! John began participating in the rides in 2011 as a rider and joined the group that rode to New York City in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
The 2018 Texas Brotherhood Ride Team
In 2017 the formation of the Texas Brotherhood Ride happened we we both joined the group. John rode and Rachel worked on the support team. In 2017 we journey from Dallas to Baton Rouge.
Us on the 2017 Ride
Now, I’m 2018, we are on our way from Westwego (near New Orleans) to San Antonio. Over a course of 8 days this team of 29 riders will pedal close to 1,000 miles in honor and memory of 11 fallen officers. However, in addition to those 11 officers, the riders and support team will also remember and honor all others who have been remembered during rides and all other fallen officers. The ride rotates one rider a day wearing a jersey from previous years (except the first and last days) and memories of those officers are shared. Today is the day that brings us full circle. Today is the day they reflect on and honor those that were honored on the first Brotherhood Ride – The Charleston 9. So today is an important day on our adventure as it connects us back home and back to where our lives were forever changed. Today reminds us of where our journey was before 6/18/07 and where we have been since then. It gives us a chance to honor the men that were so close to us and remember the times we had with them. It allows us to appreciate life and all our blessings both past and present. So it’s one of our most important adventures. This adventure allows us to take where we have been and what we have been through and support others in similar situations. It allows us to help show families and departments that their loved ones are not forgotten. It gives us the chance to raise funds for these families and support them both financially and emotionally during one of the hardest times of their lives. But, it’s also a chance for us to remember and continue our healing.
Remembering the Charleston 9 with the first year jersey
So for this adventure we invite you to join us. We invite you to join us in always remembering and never forgetting those who have fallen in the line of duty. We invite you to join us in prayer for the safety of the ride and the healing of the families and departments. And we invite you to join us by donating to the cause, which supports the families. This is your chance to join us in ColesAdventures and impact other lives. You can donate by following this site: http://www.active.com/donate/txbhr18/txbhr18JCole
Every dollar donated helps show these families that their loved one will Never Be Forgotten. Thank you for joining us in #ColesAdventures
Thank you for supporting our journey!
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