INDIANAPOLIS (Network Indiana): Dozens of active and retired police officers are pedaling their way from Indy to Richmond, on the first leg of a 13-day bike ride around Indiana.
The 15th annual “Cops Cycling for Survivors” ride is a fundraiser to help the survivors of officers killed in the line of duty. State Police Lieutenant Niki Crawford says the ride holds extra meaning coming days after the Dallas ambush, but she challenges suggestions that the sniper attack and the shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota reveal a racial divide in the U-S.
Governor Pence and his wife Karen joined in the first leg of the ride. The governor says the bike ride offers an opportunity for healing and encouragement to police in the aftermath of the Dallas ambush.
Riders will make their way around Indiana’s perimeter before cutting north from Madison to return to Indy. Here is the complete schedule.
The ride was the brainchild of State Police Lieutenant Gary Dudley, who died during the 2006 ride along with Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Gary Martin when their bikes were hit by a car. Riders’ jerseys this year feature a drawing of a bicycle, with the wheels rendered as two G’s, for Gary and Gary.
