The vests sported road names like Iceman, Ultimatum, Roach and Troublemaker. The patches on the backs showed the names of the countries where the biker has served, like Afghanistan and Iraq.
The people gathered used to wear a different sort of uniform. Most of them are veterans or the spouses of veterans. Today, they are members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, a national organization.
“When I served, I felt a lot of pride in wearing that uniform,” John Higgins, the chapter’s commander, said. “It showed that I had an important purpose of protecting my country. When I got back and started a mundane 9-to-5 job, I didn’t feel that anymore. With this group, we help ourselves by giving ourselves a bigger purpose.”
Their purpose, Higgins said, is to reduce the daily number of veteran suicides from 22, where it now stands, to zero. Their plan involves motorcycles.
“A lot of people who own motorcycles are veterans,” Phillip Penn, the chapter’s treasurer, said. “It keeps you active. It keeps your mind active. It does different things to motivate you. Not all bikers are in gangs; we’re an association.”
The chapter of 65 members rides together and raises funds to support veteran care facilities.
On Saturday, one of Indiana’s two chapters hosted the second annual “Taste of Freedom Ride” to raise funds for VETMotorsports, a nonprofit which helps wounded veterans by having them participate in motor sports as pit-crew members or behind the wheel as competitors.
“The idea is to empower post-9/11 vets,” Erin Higinbotham, the nonprofit’s vice president, said. “They get to be a part of a team again when they’re collectively looking out for the welfare of the racer.”
The bikers rode from Harley-Davidson to Nashville, Indiana, where they shopped and visited a brewery before returning to Bloomington for a raffle drawing.
“When we stick together, it gives us an outlet,” Higgens said. “A means of sharing what we endured with a group of friends who genuinely care. With a shrink, they’re paid to care. That sense of actually caring is gone when they’re looking at their watch making sure you’re not going over their time limit.”
The idea of riding motorcycles to heal after war is not new, according to Mark Land, the general manager of the Harley-Davidson store.
“When motorcycles started being used, they were about transportation,” Land said. “This isn’t transportation: this is escapism. The veterans came back from World War II, and they were bored as hell. They needed something to get rid of that tension, to get that adrenaline back. That’s when motorcycling became more than transportation. It’s a lifestyle.”
For some of the group’s members, riding motorcycles provides both physical and mental relief.
“I have nerve damage, so when I walk I don’t have that balance I used to,” Higgins said. “It’s very therapeutic for me to get on the motorcycle and lean into turns and get that sense of balance back.”
