Former Marine Has Peddled Over 71,000 Miles For Deployed Troops And Will Continue Till They Come Home

I was on my way home from New Mexico Sunday while doing some soul searching and ran into Jim Ellison at a rest area.  What a great human being and what he is doing is just amazing considering Jim's frame was not made so much for bicycling.

Jim Ellison is a large man and not the type of person you would mentally visualize riding over 71,000 miles on a bike in the past 9 years but that is exactly what this former Marine is doing.

Jim spent 16 years in the Marine Corp serving with the Third Marine Division , Recon and Special Ops.  As a gunnery sergeant, he fought in Desert Storm, Desert Shield and some other classified locations and vowed 9 years ago to peddle till all our troops come home or he dies; he has no intention of quitting.

His nephew, 22 year old Austin Akin is taking Jim's lead and he too is peddling for our troops but his vow is to peddle 5 miles for every soldier killed in what is the longest running war now in American History.  Jim informed me yesterday that Austin was hit by a car and has spent the last 5 months in the hospital but is now ready to get back on the road.

If you see these two warriors peddling through your state, please make it a point to say hello and maybe donate a few bucks to help their cause.