Second annual VIPER Ride to make halfway stop in East Troy
By Meghan Griffin
Correspondent
The VIPER Ride will stop in East Troy at the Village Hall, 2015 Energy Drive, on Sunday, Aug. 20. The ride allows blind and visually impaired veterans to experience over 100 miles of road via motorcycle.
VIPER stands for Visually Impaired Patriots Experiencing the Road and the riders, known as ‘tailgunners’ and their drivers, known as ‘pilots,’ will begin their ride at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center at 10 a.m. and arrive in East Troy at about 11:45 a.m. The ride will conclude back in Milwaukee at about 5 p.m.
Nearly 100 motorcycles and their passengers will parade up to the East Troy Village Hall to enjoy rest, sustenance, and socialization. Escorting them will be 15 motorcycle-mounted members of law enforcement dedicated to ensuring the safety of all participants.
The East Troy portion of the ride will kick off by the posting of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance. Food and beverages will be available on site from LD’s BBQ, Gus’s Drive-In, Ivan’s on the Square, the American Legion and Pepsi. Musicians will play during the event. The public is encouraged to join the veterans and their pilots during the stop.
“If people don’t come out and talk to these guys, they’re missing some amazing stories,” VIPER Ride co-founder T.J. Oman said.
He described the veterans as “living history” and encouraged people to spend time talking with them at the event.
Oman, a retired U.S. Naval officer, founded the event with his friend, John Carter, a blind, former Marine. It all started over lunch in the summer of 2015. Oman, a long-time motorcycle enthusiast who had experience riding with blind riders was trying to convince Carter to attend a cycling event with him. Cater had recently taken a position with the Blinded Veterans Association of Wisconsin, and thought that a cycling event might be just the thing members of the organization needed.
The duo pitched their idea to the board of the association, then to the American Legion Riders, and finally consulted Operation HighGround for advice on becoming a registered nonprofit. With Carter acting as the conduit to visually impaired veterans, and Oman organizing the motorcycles and the social aspects of the event, the VIPER Ride was born.
Now in its second year, the VIPER Ride aims to help visually impaired veterans by giving them a chance to connect and socialize with other veterans who understand the challenges of being blind in a sighted world.
“Their world gets really small, really fast,” said Oman as he described the social and emotional impact of losing sight.
The government estimates that 22 veterans commit suicide every day, and the VIPER Ride is trying to do their part to make a positive change.
“What we are trying to do is to throw in something to break that spiral by getting them out into a social environment with other veterans who have gone through the same thing,” Oman said.
As part of the continuing effort to allow blind and visually impaired veterans to socialize with each other, there will be a ham radio setup at the East Troy stop. Two participants in last year’s ride were involved with ham radio, which sparked the idea that it could be used as part of this year’s event. Ham radio will be used as a means of communication during the ride, as well as a means to connect the tailgunners to Blind Veterans UK’s Amateur Radio Club, and as an experience for the Boy Scouts who help with the event and have a ham radio merit badge.
VIPER Ride organizers are hoping to host more rides across the state of Wisconsin and throughout the region. A VIPER Ride in St. Paul, Minn. is being organized for next summer.
Immediately after this year’s ride, applications will be opened for tailgunners, pilots, and groundcrew volunteers wanting to participate in next year’s ride. Any U.S. Military veteran who qualifies for vision-related benefits through the VA may apply to be a tailgunner. Anyone who owns and is licensed to drive a qualifying motorcycle may apply to be a pilot. Those who want to be a part of the ride off the road should apply to be a member of the groundcrew. Applications for the 2018 VIPER Ride will close in mid-July of 2018.
The 2017 VIPER Ride will be held rain or shine.
The VIPER Ride is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. To make a donation, or for more information on the ride, visit www.theviperride.org.
