Inaugural Wounded Warriors Canada Highway of Heroes Bike Ride
September 26, 2016
TORONTO – This weekend, nearly 200 Canadians embarked on a two-day, 220km bike ride from Trenton, Ontario right into the heart of Toronto at Queen’s Park during the inaugural Wounded Warriors Canada Highway of Heroes Bike Ride. Participants were required to raise a minimum of $1000 in funds to support ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans, First Responders and their families, living with operational stress injuries like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. To date the ride has raised a total of $200,000.
Ontario’s Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, better known as Highway 401, crosses through some of the most densely populated areas in Canada. In 2007, a 170 kilometre portion of the highway stretching from CFB Trenton to the Don Valley Parkway (and later Keele Street) in Toronto was designated the Highway of Heroes, reflecting its use as the route for repatriation convoys carrying fallen Canadian Armed Forces service men and women from CFB Trenton to the coroner’s office in Toronto.
Scott Maxwell, Executive Director of Wounded Warriors Canada, commented, “We were honoured to host our inaugural Highway of Heroes Bike Ride. The Highway of Heroes is a sacred stretch of highway that connected Canadians to our Canadian Armed Forces members and their families in an unprecedented fashion. Like the highway itself, each year this ride will honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country while having a direct impact in supporting our ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans, First Responders and their families who are living with operational stress injuries like PTSD.”
Participants began their ride from the Afghanistan Repatriation Memorial in Trenton on Saturday. Along the way they witnessed the unveiling of two LAV III Monuments, visited the Wounded Warriors Park of Reflection in North Whitby, enjoyed a toast at the team dinner from the jersey sponsor at Glenfiddich®, and experienced three commemorative services, which culminated at the Queen’s Park Veterans Memorial.
For more information about the ride, visit https://woundedwarriors.ca/highway-of-heroes-ride/home/