By Michael King
I recently returned from a week in Colorado volunteering with The Motorcycle Relief Project (www.motorelief.org). To volunteer, one must first attend a Relief Ride as a participant. I was a participant in March 2021 and had no idea how beneficial this program would be. The mission of MRP is to honor and encourage Veterans and First Responders who are experiencing mental and emotional struggles by providing them with opportunities to decompress, get unstuck, connect with like-minded peers, and gain new perspectives and skills for dealing with their challenges.
Personally speaking, I can attest to the immense value of MRP. I was very much stuck in my professional life when I attended Relief Ride 41. I was also struggling with symptoms of PTSD which were getting in the way of decisions I needed to make. Over three years later, I had the honor of helping facilitate Relief Ride 68. I love this program so much that my wife and I personally donate to it each year and I take a week of vacation to support MRP. United Veteran Benefits Agency also donates to MRP every year. This program saves and enhances lives.
Everything is provided for each participant for the ride. MRP has a fleet of BMW GS motorcycles including one with a sidecar for a participant who may not be able to ride on their own. Lodging, gas, food, safety gear, and helmets are all provided. The only thing the participant needs is to pay their way to and from the city in which their ride starts. The entire group stays at an Airbnb which can house all of us. We have a couple that we continuously use every year.
Participants arrive in either Denver or Tucson on the Sunday prior to their ride. Fall and winter rides are in Arizona while summer rides are in Colorado. The group has a family style dinner, go through introductions, and get an overview of the week. Each ride consists of up to eight participants, the President of MRP, two volunteers, and a certified adventure motorcycle trainer. The next five days are long, fun, exhausting, and eye-opening. A typical day starts with home cooked breakfast, conducting maintenance checks on the motorcycles, and packing lunch. Once all that is complete, a rider safety brief is conducted, and we hit the road. There is always a recovery vehicle that follows the group of motorcycles.
The routes taken are a combination of asphalt and dirt roads. The certified adventure motorcycle trainer conducts a few hours of training on the first day. This is where the “magic” starts. Most participants are only used to riding motorcycles on asphalt roads. Riding on dirt is counterintuitive to riding on asphalt. What the participants don’t realize is that they are being taught a different way to ride. If they can learn a different way to ride, they can learn a different way to think. We ride until lunch and stop in a location that has a great view, is historically significant, or otherwise interesting. Everyone grabs their lunch from the recovery truck and enjoys conversation while eating.
After lunch, we hit the road again and ride until late afternoon/evening. Nearly every ride takes the group over at least one mountain. This is another hidden metaphor for overcoming major obstacles. We stop and fill all the motorcycles with gas for the next day. Once we get back to the “lodge”, the motorcycles are parked, and everyone gets out of their safety gear and relaxes while dinner is made. We have a family dinner every night and have a structured conversation.
After dinner, we gather in the living room and conduct a workshop. There are no therapists, psychologists, or psychiatrists present. There are just people who have been through things and may be able to help others get unstuck. The structured workshops cover concepts geared toward coping with mental health symptoms and understanding our conditions. I can attest to how incredibly rewarding it is to go through MRP. Having been on both sides (as a participant and as a volunteer) the “magic” is real! Like a doorknob, I don’t need to know how it works, I just let it work.
MRP conducts at least one woman only ride and two first responder only rides per year. There is value in creating an environment in which people feel comfortable talking about uncomfortable things. As of this writing, there are 465 alumni of The Motorcycle Relief Project. If you would like to learn more, please go to www.motorelief.org.
Michael King is the Chief Operating Officer for United Veteran Benefits Agency, on the Board of Directors for The Motorcycle Relief Project, and a Retired US Army Sergeant Major. He has a passion for helping Veterans and their families.
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