Bush finishes ride in Big Bend
April 27, 2011 10:51 AM
BY GEOFF FOLSOM
TERLINGUA - Dressed in black and gray Warrior 100 T-shirt and shorts, former President George W. Bush walked delicately along the rocky road to the rear of the Barton Warnock Visitor Center for a news conference Wednesday morning.
While mountain biking more than 60 miles since Monday took its toll, Bush said the 14 former military members who lost limbs or suffered other serious injuries while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan were the ones who deserved to be praised for their efforts.
"I'm riding as hard as I can possibly ride, and I look over my shoulder and there's a one-legged guy, barely breathing," Bush recalled. "And I am in awe of our troops and what they have done for our country — and how they have recovered from their injuries."
"If you're having a problem out there, just think about some of these guys who have real problems, and decided to do something about it," he said.
Standing like a statue just to the 64-year-old Bush’s left was seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, wearing his trademark Livestrong cycling apparel. Armstrong said this was quite a different trip than his first visit to the Big Bend region for a 1991 race.
"Some things have changed, not much though," the cancer survivor said. "But very different…back then you're racing with a bunch of cyclists, today you’re out here with, as I told 'em last night, with true heroes.
"It's often times in sports, somebody makes a great catch or somebody hits a home run or wins a bike race and they say 'That was a heroic effort.' Or they survive a disease or they survive a car crash or they come back from something and they say 'That was a heroic effort,'" Armstrong said. "I met a soldier who said, 'I'm gonna break the record for getting back up,' that’s what he said. He lost his leg and that’s what he said.”
"Those are heroes, and those are heroic acts and so we throw that word around a little too loosely sometimes," Armstrong said. "Regardless of your political views on anything, what is most important is that you support and encourage and absolutely welcome home these great men and women that served our country."
Bush called Armstrong a great supporter of the service members, who has toured the world with the United Service Organizations.
On Bush’s cycling efforts, which wrapped up in Big Bend Ranch State Park, Armstrong said the former president and Texas governor started off fast Wednesday and "kind of blew a gasket at the end."
Bush joked that he did well for someone who will be eligible for Medicare this year. The 100-kilometer ride concluded with 22 miles Wednesday morning, after starting with 12 miles Monday and 28 miles on Tuesday.
"I was riding as strong as I’ve ever ridden," Bush said.
Since it was his decision to put the troopers in harm's way, Bush said he felt a "special bond" with the 13 men and one woman.
"I feel like I’m a part of their family, and I just want them to know that I’ll never forget ‘em,” he said.
Bush called riding across the desert with the sun coming up a "spectacular feeling." The former Midland resident, who lived briefly in Odessa while growing up, said he had only visited Big Bend once before on a rafting trip in Boquillas Canyon.
Along with raising awareness of the injuries the former soldiers are dealing with, Bush hoped the trip would help promote tourism in the Big Bend region. He said the area was great for both road and mountain biking, as well as golf.
"I think people ought to come down here," he said. "It's a great part of our state."
Bush, who now lives in Dallas, praised the Lajitas resort, which hosted the riders.
"They've got great service, great food, it's a great place for people to stay," Bush said.
Bush said that next week he planned to announce a Warrior Open golf tournament, with qualifiers being required to have lost a limb in the War on Terror. The tournament, to be held in the fall in Dallas, will work with the PGA of America to qualify golfers.
And Bush said he is already talking about another bike ride in 2012.
Bush took four questions at the news conference, but warned that reporters would be "wasting their breath" to ask about "current events," because he wouldn't answer.
The ride promoted the Wounded Warrior Project, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, World T.E.A.M. Sports and Ride 2 Recovery.
Former U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kenneth Butler of Braintree, Mass., who lost his arm to an improvised explosive device in 2007 in Iraq, said he hopes the ride will encourage people to learn about the organizations.
"They help a lot of wounded men and women get back in the saddle and do sports oriented activities," he said.
Along with Bush and Armstrong, former Army Sgt. Dillon Behr, a Washington resident, said the riders got to meet illusionist David Blaine, who visited them, though Blaine didn’t ride a bike.
"It was a challenge for one, it was a lot of cycling through some pretty rough terrain," Behr, who has a prosthetic hip after being shot in Afghanistan in 2008, said. “It was a great chance to get together with some friends, meet some new friends and hang out with the President."
While he was initially "voluntold" to participate in the event by Keith Hensley with the Wounded Warrior Project, former Army Specialist Jacob Learner of Jacksonville, Fla., said it didn’t take much prodding.
"It was great once it really set in that I was going to get the opportunity to ride with the President,” Learner, who lost his left leg to a land mine in Afghanistan in 2008, said. "It was game time for sure."
Behr encouraged anyone who has gone through hard times to get active.
“My message is if you’re still alive and you’re still breathing, you can get out and do something to improve your life,” he said. “Cycling is a great way to do it, but there are a million different sports you can do.”
