DAILY TOUR UPDATE

DAY 13: Saturday, August 1 (FINAL)

Richmond - Indianapolis (Crown Hill Cemetery), 73 miles, Depart Richmond at 7:00 am on US 40 west to the Knightstown Methodist Church for lunch. Continue west on US 40 to Indianapolis to Butler University’s Hinkle Field House via city streets. Stage at Hinkle at 3:30 pm (for those wanting to cycle to the ceremony with the group) for movement to Crown Hill Cemetery’s Heroes of Public Safety Memorial for 4:00 pm CLOSING CEREMONY.

RECAP

The day began outside the Richmond PD by reading the ODMPs of Richmond Officers Stevenson, Henningar, Markel, Little and Wayne Co Deputy Frame. We had a few new riders and headed west, toward home. We had a great lunch break in Knightstown where we met with Carolyn Grass, widow of Hancock Co Sheriff's Dept Captain Malcom Grass. Capt Grass was a former Sheriff and mom/dad spent a lot of time together with them over the years. We honored Capt Grass with an ODMP reading and rememberance, then it was on to our final destination. We arrived at Hinkle Fieldhouse on time and were greeted by many of the riders' friends and family. Stacey, Kristen, mom, Tara and Gayle were there and I was surprised by Fred & Debbie Golgart. Stacey and Kristen brought their bikes and rode the final leg to Crown Hill Cemetery with us. At the Heroes of Public Safety memorial, we were greeted by a large crowd and many media representatives. We had a short service, honoring those that we rode in support, including Gary Dudley, and a wrap-up of the ride. We presented our total check donation, $42,000, to Indiana C.O.P.S. and there were lots of photo-ops. We all said our good-byes and went our separate ways back to our families. With the generous contributions of all of those that supported my trek, we raised more than $2,800.00 for Indiana C.O.P.S. Great job and may thanks to all of you.

Final Thoughts: This was, once again, an incredible journey. It was long and arduous, yet I appreciate the opportunity to give back to the organization that was there for us when dad was killed and to support the Survivors of Indiana's Fallen Officers. If you noticed I was wearing a yellow jersey in a lot of the photos, there's a special reason for that: In honor of the four officers I rode for this year, I had five custom jerseys made bearing their names and wore them throughout the ride. It will be an honor to present one of these jerseys to each of the families of the fallen officers and keep one for myself.

Thank you again, to all of those that supported us in the 2009 Cops Cycling for Indiana C.O.P.S. Cycling Tour.

More media coverage of the tour: Indiana Daily Student, WBIW-TV, NWI.com, News & Tribune, Bluffton Blog, TribStar.

Distance Covered: 75.4 miles, Saddle Time: 5:03 hrs. Total tour: over 900 miles.

Thanks for checking in...Jason

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