Wounded soldiers cycle to recovery in 7-day bike trip

Wounded soldiers cycle to recovery in 7-day bike trip
By Kristina Peterson
Bay Area News Group
Article Launched: 02/21/2008 01:34:42 AM PST



An hour before the first Soldier Ride in California departed from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Palo Alto Wednesday, Army Spc. Saul Martinez explained his basic hand-cycle strategy.

"You just sit down and start cranking. It's a good workout, needless to say," said Martinez, 23, a double amputee who traveled from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego to participate in the seven-day cycling trip.

Sponsored by the Wounded Warriors Project, the first regional Soldier Ride in California kicked off at the VA hospital and will finish next Tuesday in San Diego. A total of 25 veterans, including six from the Palo Alto hospital's brain trauma unit, are making the trek. Many are on bicycles adapted to their war injuries.