Commentary: My first time riding the Memorial to Memorial Cycling Event

  • Published
  • By Mr. Patrick Johnston
  • 363d ISR Wing/A1
The Air Force Cycling Team along with its mission partners, the Air and Space Force Association and the Air Force Recruiting Service, held the third annual Air Force Heritage Memorial to Memorial (M2M) cycling event, Sept. 12-15, 2024. 
 
M2M is a four-day, roughly 338-mile ride starting at the Wright Brothers Memorial at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and ending at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. M2M is a ride geared towards celebrating Air Force heritage, promoting fitness and recruiting, and supporting our wounded. Among the over 220 cyclists that participated were Gen. (ret.) David Goldfein, the 21st Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, and Chief Master Sgt. (ret.) James Roy, the 16th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, along with a host of other active and retired AF leaders, and civilians. I was a participant as was former 17th Intelligence Squadron senior enlisted leader, Senior Master Sgt. Roderick Ledda.
 
The M2M event, which was a brainchild of retired Brig. Gen. Robert Beletic, former vice commander of 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern), and Goldfein, began in 2022 to celebrate the Air Force’s 75th anniversary.
 
I’m an avid cyclist who has been riding bikes since I was a kid. I generally commute to work on my bike and often participate in group rides on weekends or other organized events. I always considered taking part in a multi-day ride like this, but never committed. Some cyclists from one of my group rides who were registered for the M2M encouraged me to sign up and I took the plunge. Commuting and group rides helped get me ready, but next year I will plan to dedicate some focused training to increase readiness.
 
At 7 a.m. on September 12th, we formed up at the Wright Brother Memorial for the National Anthem, to receive a safety brief, and to establish rules of the road before heading out with a five or so mile police escort. The weather was great with plenty of sunshine, no rain, but a consistent headwind did take its toll later in the day. The distance for day one was approximately 93 miles ending in Chesapeake, Virginia. We concluded the day at the hotel with a pizza dinner and two powerful presentations from Wounded Warriors, both of whom were participating in this ride.
 
Day two was “Century Day” with 103 miles on tap.  The route took us from Chesapeake to Richmond, with a short transit on the Jamestown Ferry in the middle. After disembarking the ferry, we were provided lunch by the Jamestown Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) at the Jamestown Settlement. From there, we rode the entire length of the 51.7-mile Virginia Capital Trail into Richmond to our next hotel.
 
Richmond to Fredericksburg was the route for day three. The day started with a brief ceremony outside the hotel, with more than two dozen individuals taking their initial Oath of Enlistment, as we, with over a thousand years of combined military experience, served as witnesses.  It was pretty cool.  The route itself was shorter at 73 miles but had more climbing. The Richmond Police Department provided escort out of the city with sirens wailing and lights blazing. The final half mile was a challenge for already tired legs with the grade of the hills reaching nearly 9 percent before the summit. For dinner, we broke into two large groups and went to two pre-coordinated restaurants where we enjoyed some great food and shared some fun stories about experiences on the ride.
 
On Sunday, September 15th, route changes were required due to a host of factors, so the Fredericksburg PD gave us a 20-mile police escort. The long, two-by-two, line of cyclists was a sight to behold. Though the shortest route was 69 miles, it had the most climbing at just under 4,000 feet. The grades of some of the hills coupled with the fatigue from the previous three days of riding found even tight knit groups splintering by the top. We reformed in Pentagon City before the current Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin led the long train up AF Memorial Drive to the Memorial itself. 
 
Throughout the event and looking back upon it, I feel M2M is one of the more rewarding cycling events I’ve taken part in. I’m an annual participant in the Armed Forces Cycling Challenge which takes place in Arlington, Virginia. every June. That is a great event also with a large gathering of Active Duty, retirees, and civilian cyclists, but being a single day, three-hour speed event, it has a different dynamic than this multi-day endurance event. Riding for distance over multiple days gives a micro-scale perspective on what cyclists like those in the Tour de France endure. 
 
Next year’s M2M is scheduled for Sept. 18-21, 2025. 
 
The M2M ride has grown more and more each year. There is plenty of time between now and then for avid cyclists or rookies to get ready to participate in this awesome and worthy event. Organizers expect the field to be capped at around 300 riders next year. 
 
For more information on the M2M ride, please visit https://afcycling.com/m2m-ride/.