The Ohio Honor Ride passes through London
By Dean Shipley
Staff Writer
It will take more than railroad tracks to “derail” the Ohio Honor Ride.
Though some railroad tracks on Alkire Road near Georgesville literally threw all five riders on the North-South Buckeye state ride, it carried on and passed through London, Tuesday, July 3. All five bear some evidence of their unexpected encounter with the ground. Three of them, Todd Reigle, Matt Miller and Daniel Hutchinson, sustained injuries serious enough to be not only hospitalized, but also be forced to discontinue the Sylvania-to-Cincinnati trek.
[/media-credit] Adrienne Corna, Todd Reigle and Matt Karp, pause Tuesday before proceeding down the Prairie Grass Trail toward South Charleston. They are part of the Ohio Honor Ride team which is bicycling through Ohio North to South and raising funds for veteran related organizations along the way.
Two riders, Adrienne Corna and Mick Karp literally soldiered on. Karp, an army veteran, said his right hand sustained a broken bone, but it was not enough to keep him from pedalling his state-of-the-art bicycle on to the Hope Hotel at Wright-Patterson AFB in Riverside (near Dayton). Corna, the only female drill sargent in the National Guard, said she had a bit of road rash, which was nothing to prevent her from riding on toward South Charleston.
The smooth, asphalt-paved trail was a welcome path which freed them from the road hazards of surface streets.
Karp said the goal was “to finish the mission.” The mission is to raise $100,000 for a number of causes related to military veterans. One of Karp’s favorites is the Ohio Warrior Scholarship Fund. It provides help with college tuition for the children of military personnel who died in the line of duty while serving overseas.
Corna said riding the 400-mile trip was a way to give back “to all the veterans.”
“A lot have helped me along the way. It’s my way of giving back,” Corna said.
