While on active duty in October 2004, I was sexually assaulted by my commander.  Unbeknownst to my command, I’d also been raped in 2003 and was living in virtual captivity at the hands of a man, who worked in my office. After taking psychotropic medicines and talking to hundreds of counselors, therapists and healers, I felt helpless and broken.

After being labeled with an an errant personality disorder by a military psychologist, overmedicated to the point of suicidality, and involuntarily retired to homelessness after military service, I was struggling with major depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2010, I lost custody of my children because of that label, to their grandmother who’d been caring for them while I sought treatment. I was at a loss for how to regain my dignity.

I’d read that physical exercise actually stimulated the brain and promoted the production of endorphins, which elevated mood. And certainly, losing the 40 pounds I’d gained since reportingthe sexual assault, would benefit my health.

I came across an inspiring American pioneer in my reading and searching for answers on how to maintain my motivation to better health. Hulda Crooks, the American mountaineer also known as "Grandma Whitney,” was in her sixties when she decided to use physical activity to improve quality of life and extend life expectancy. She started to train by scaling the back steps of her apartment building. Between the ages of 65 and 91, she successfully scaled the amazing 14,505-ft Mt. Whitney 23 times. 

With her as my inspiration, I decided to train for a bike ride across the nation. I desperately needed to find a way out of seclusion, and I was fueled by my deep desire to be part of a solution for other women veterans.

I’ve been building on my skills every day while preparing for this cross-country cycling adventure with four other veterans. I began conditioning several months ago by walking from my front door to the top of a nearby park I frequented as a child. Once I’d worked up to walking ten miles every other day, I rode a mountain bike around the neighborhoods where I grew up. Last week, I graduated to a touring bike. 

The Long Road Home Project will raise awareness across the nation for women veterans and all victims of military sexual trauma. Beginning July 14, we will unite across 4,200 miles of terrain, past cities, military bases, and some 40 planned events, to help us heal our war wounds. One survivor recently thanked me in an e-mail stating that this ride will restore dignity to so many survivors like me. I couldn’t feel more honored.

So now, the challenge is this: How can we help people understand injuries they can’t see, feel, hear or touch? I’m sure some people will wonder, how can someone capable of riding a bicycle across the country be sick?

I don’t know how to convey the pain, loss and disability that veterans suffer due to traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder. But I do know that it is a question all veterans struggle with as they seek help.

My hope is that our ride inspires more of the 25 million veterans across America to unite in support of each other. We have to start somewhere. We need to have this collective discussion, and get to the business of finding solutions. We can’t ask our veterans and their families to suffer any longer.  The outcome of these debates will determine the character, and destiny of our nation, as a whole.

I hope every single American takes notice of what we are trying to do for our brother and sister warriors, who are in service, and readjusting after service. This is our chance to focus, adapt and overcome. In choosing to support one another, we can define ourselves, in history, as a grateful nation.

This summer, five U.S. veterans will bicycle across our great nation to heal their war wounds. This group of former service people includes men and women of diverse ages, backgrounds, and interests. 

Empowered by their differences, these five veterans are united.

United in their effort to heal their wounds from war via a long distance ride.

United to bring awareness to the fact that hundreds of thousands of service people often face  difficulty returning home and,

United to raise money to help other veterans live more fulfilling and meaningful lives. We are raising $75,000 to accomplish this year’s ride.  Monies above and beyond this threshold will go towards supporting future rides and other non-profits that serve our veterans.

The 4,200 mile journey begins July 15th near Tacoma and ends 90 days later in Washington D.C. 

By the end of these 90 days:

1,500 vets will have committed suicide.

270,000 cases of PTSD, some due to MST, will have been reported since the inception of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

50,000 veterans will have returned home physically wounded since 2001, and

300,000 vets will spend a night on the street. 

With your help, we can make the Long Road Home a lot easier for our troops.