Full Notification

Yesterday, Monday, July 14th, Cops Cycling for Survivors started their 12th annual bicycle ride around Indiana. A departure ceremony was held at 8:30 a.m. EDT at the Law Enforcement/Firefighter Memorial, adjacent to the State Capitol, in downtown Indianapolis. Shortly after 9:00 a.m. the bicyclists departed on the ride that will last 13 days and cover nearly 1,000 miles around the perimeter of Indiana.

The 66 riders are expected to arrive in the Lowell District on Friday, July 18th and will begin their trek through the district through Saturday, July 19th. Their stops along the way on July 18th will include:

 Lunch at LaPorte County Fairgrounds Training Building at approximately 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
 Porter County Sheriff’s Department S.R. 49 Valparaiso at approximately 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
 Graceland Cemetery 1505 Morthland Drive Valparaiso at approximately 2:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
 Overnight at the Radisson Star Plaza U.S. 30 Merrillville

Stops on Saturday, July 19th will include:

 Saint John Police Department 11033 W 93rd Avenue Saint John at approximately 9 a.m.-10 a.m.
 Lunch at Schoops 151 Deanna Drive Lowell 11 a.m.-12 pm.
 Oakland Cemetery US 41 Morocco 2 pm.-2:30 p.m.
 Dinner and overnight at Kentland Community Center 405 N 4th Street Kentland at approximately 6 pm.-7:30 p.m.

Cops Cycling for Survivors Foundation, Inc., are made up of active and retired police officers, law enforcement survivors, law enforcement family members and friends riding their bicycles around the perimeter of Indiana to raise money and awareness about the sacrifices made by Hoosier law enforcement families. Funds raised from this event are used to aid surviving family members and co-workers of officers killed in the line-of-duty.

To date, the cycling event has raised over $300,000 for IN Concerns of Police Survivors and now other survivor funds and organizations Previously raised funds have been directly donated to 20 different survivor support organizations, scholarships and camps held in memory of Indiana Law Enforcement Officers who have been killed in the line of duty (see link: http://www.copscycling4survivors.org/about-us.html).

The ride is scheduled to conclude on the afternoon of Saturday, July 26, 2014, at Crown Hill Cemetery, Heroes of Public Safety Section, where the riders will reunite with their families and other law enforcement survivors. There will be a short closing ceremony beginning at 2:30 p.m. To see the route the cyclists will follow, please visit their website and click on the route or calendar tabs.

In 2001 a group of police officers decided to support survivors by riding their bicycles from Indianapolis, Indiana to Washington, D.C. to honor officers who had been killed in the line of duty and to support their survivors. The ride has gone through many changes over the years, but one thing has remained constant…the cyclists’ dedication to honoring fallen law enforcement heroes and supporting their survivors left behind.

Two people who were integral to the success of Cops Cycling were Lt. Gary Dudley of the Indiana State Police and Retired Chief Gary Martin of the Lake County Police Department. Lt. Dudley took the organizational and emotional lead by keeping the wheels rolling after the first two years of riding to Washington, D.C. He brought the ride home to Indiana in order to provide more support to survivors on a local level.

On August 22, 2006, Lt. Dudley and Chief Martin were both killed during the ride when a large box truck struck the rear of the support truck, pushing the support truck into the cyclists. Several of the cyclists who had participated in the ride for many years, and were cycling the day of that crash, have remained determined to keep Lt. Dudley and Chief Martin’s memories and motivation alive.

For more information on the ride please visit the Cops Cycling for Survivors Foundation web-site at: http://www.copscycling4survivors.org/ or Rich Crawford, President of Cops Cycling for Survivors Foundation, Inc. at 317-650-8961.