By Bill Bradley, contributing editor
Hank Baskett is trying to help retired NFL players two wheels at a time.
The former wide receiver recently participated in a bicycle ride in Texas known as the "Ride 2 Recovery" that melded ex-NFL players and military veterans. Working with former professional cyclist John Wordin, Baskett wants to make the event part of every NFL team.
"There was just no way to describe how amazing that was," said Baskett, who rode the last 45 miles with Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett and the rest of the group. "Just no way."
"Ride 2 Recovery" is a multi-day cycling ride that wounded veterans use as a way to heal and recover both physically and emotionally alongside others who have served in the military. In late March, these soldiers -- some severely wounded in either Iraq or Afghanistan -- rode 40 miles alongside NFL players such as Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett and Hank Baskett, who rode to show their thanks and support.
The ride was featured on "NFL Total Access" on Memorial Day. A group of more than 200 men and women veterans rode 450 miles from Houston to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Baskett is not advocating 400-mile rides each week, but he thinks he has found a great way for former NFL players and military veterans to stay active while bonding over similar successes and struggles.
"I think this is a great thing for former NFL players to get into when they're done," he said. "It's a way to stay involved like the way that Tony was.
"He was nervous. He said, 'Man I ain't never done this before.' But then he got out there and he got to see what it was like and just how amazing it is. ... It was a great way for veterans with PTSD or former NFL players to bond after their NFL career. It's so powerful, I guarantee that once a couple of former players did it, they'll want to do more."
The sport of road cycling is relatively new to Baskett, who retired in 2010 after playing six seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings. He was introduced to it at a veterans' golf event last year. There he met Wordin, who is in charge of the "Ride 2 Recovery" group.
"I found out that their headquarters was like two miles from my house," he said. "Wordin said, 'Come ride with us sometime.' I tried by myself before and it wasn't the easiest thing. Even after going conditioning tests in the NFL, (long-distance) cycling is not the easiest thing.
"One day they talked me into going out there and I got hooked on it. It was so much fun in riding as a group. It's a way to feel like you're a part of a team. And, yes, I even bought my own spandex outfit."
Wordin had a long stint as a professional cyclist and has run a professional cycling team since 1986. Wordin started a "Road 2 Recovery" program in October 2007 when he got a call from a Veterans Administration office in Southern California.
"One of the therapists was interested in setting up a cycling program because he thought cycling would be a good rehab for trauma center that was helping the guys with traumatic brain injury and PTSD," Wordin said.
Wordin said the then-Dallas veterans came to him, suggesting the "Ride 2 Recovery" program.
"A lot of them had suffered debilitating injuries, whether it's mental or physical," Wordin said. "At a certain point you get enough depression and enough despair that you're willing to try anything.
"So we've built up a pretty big system and network through word of mouth through the military community. ... We've serviced plus-or-minus 10,000 soldiers through the program over the last couple of years."
John sought out Baskett and Dorsett to be part of the "Ride 2 Recovery" in Texas after getting to know them. He thought the NFL players had a lot in common with the veterans.
Baskett found inspiration in the "Ride 2 Recovery" because he was a military child and knew the struggles of veterans.
"Each in their own way, they were all amazing. I am forever grateful for what they do," Baskett said. "My brother might be getting the word to go overseas any day, so I'm always appreciative of the freedoms the military brings us.
Baskett already has had bonding moments with veterans during his frequent rides during the past year. He said he's sure that those who would get involved in cycling -- whether they played in the NFL or served in the military -- will have less problem with suicide or depression.
"If you've played in the NFL, everybody assumes everything is perfect for you," he said. "You know the misconception, 'Oh, you played in the NFL; you're rich; you don't have any problems. You're retired and you're living on a yacht.' I wanted to prove that not all of us that played in the NFL just retired and live on a yacht. You've got to find things to do.
"Being able to feel like you're a part of something is great, because most people who are professional athletes -- whatever sport that may be -- or in the military have been a part of a team their entire life. So having that team feeling, when you're done, it gives you a sense of you're not alone. The most important thing is it makes you feel like you have a family."
He remembered cycling with a former Navy SEAL who was a stroke victim during the March event.
"He could only use one arm," Baskett said "He hand-cycled over 400 miles. You heard Tony Dorsett say how he was cramping? But yet he just saw those guys and it just pushes you to want to go harder and harder because you feel like you're going to let them down."
Baskett says NFL players and military veterans also share some of the same mental pressures.
"The hardest thing about being military or an athlete is you're holding things in," he said. "When you're holding everything in, you just feel like it's all against you. At some point it just builds up on you and there's nothing you can do."
Wordin hopes to talk to NFL officials soon about expanding the program throughout the league. He met recently with Tennessee Titans executives about involving their former personnel.
"We are super-interested in a pipeline to players who have suffered traumatic brain injury and getting them involved in our program," Wordin said. "It changes lives and makes a real difference.
"It's not a distraction program. In terms of really taking someone from the wrong path and putting them on the right track, this program has proved highly successful."
Wordin, like Baskett, thinks every NFL team should have a "Ride 2 Recovery" program.
"It can dovetail with some of the military projects that NFL teams are doing," Wordin said. "Military veterans, players, other people in the community can benefit from the services that this can do.
"It's a community program that puts a community health benefit that each NFL team could put a mark on."
