{"id":314,"date":"2026-05-25T10:02:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T10:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=314"},"modified":"2026-05-25T10:02:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T10:02:58","slug":"a-colorado-springs-army-veteran-pushes-off-on-a-bike-ride-that-could-save-a-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=314","title":{"rendered":"A Colorado Springs Army veteran pushes off on a bike ride that could save a life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It wasn\u2019t long ago that Army veteran James Bauer could climb a 14er, stand victorious at the summit, and think the one thought that had defined the last dozen years of his life: I am a failure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The vast beauty that stretched beneath him did nothing to pierce the mindset he had cultivated since returning from Afghanistan in 2011: that he was broken, that his life was a disaster, and that it was all his fault.<\/p>\n

But 45-year-old Bauer has traveled a great distance since then, undertaking a mental health journey that has transformed him into someone who knows his strength and cherishes his one shot at life.<\/p>\n

Now, he\u2019ll be undertaking a physical journey. After months of training and at least 800 practice miles this year around his home in Colorado Springs, Bauer is heading to Washington, D.C., to begin his 250-mile leg of a 1,000-mile bike ride in celebration of America\u2019s 250th birthday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bauer is one of three Colorado veterans participating in the Wounded Warrior Project\u2019s Soldier Ride, an epic bike journey split among four groups of 20 veterans. The first group took off under a bluebird sky on May 14 from Jacksonville, Florida, and the Colorado veterans will see the ride to its conclusion as they pedal from D.C. to Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.<\/p>\n

The ride honors service and sacrifice. But for wounded warriors like Bauer, it\u2019s also a hard-won celebration of life, and of wanting to live it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lost more friends now to suicide or drugs and alcohol than we did during our deployments,\u201d Bauer said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful that I was able to get help, and I\u2019m grateful that I\u2019m still here, and I\u2019m grateful that I feel like I have a purpose again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bike ride that could save a life<\/h2>\n

Wounded Warrior Project leads more than 50 soldier rides each year across the country, but the veterans service organization wanted to do something big for America\u2019s 250th birthday. Beyond marking the occasion, a grand ride like Soldier Ride 250 sends a powerful message to wounded veterans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to show them that they can live a rad life,\u201d said Jonas Harmon, associate director of the Soldier Ride program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is meant to be lived, and we want to show them that, regardless of (their) injury, illness, that they can get out there, do fun things, do hard things, add value to their life, (and) motivate others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jeff Flight, a 39-year Air Force veteran joining Soldier Ride 250 from Colorado Springs, hopes that while he\u2019s riding, he can serve as a cheerleader for the other wounded warriors on his team. Training for the journey in the gym and on the trails has helped him get stronger physically and mentally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just that sense of purpose of doing something, and if I can pass that on to any of these guys or gals, that\u2019s great,\u201d Flight said.<\/p>\n

For Marine Corps veteran Zach Tidwell in Castle Rock, adaptive sports including biking brought a sense of normalcy back after a suicide attempt cost him his eyesight. He\u2019ll be completing Soldier Ride 250 on a tandem bike he says will be a treat compared with the training hours he spent on a Peloton \u2014 for the sensory experience of riding outside, and for the camaraderie of riding with other wounded warriors.<\/p>\n

Along with sleep problems, depression, anxiety, headaches and PTSD, a majority of post-9\/11 wounded veterans struggle with loneliness. More than three-quarters of them \u00a0<\/p>\n

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How to ask for help<\/h4>\n