As a part of their 15,500-mile national relay, Carry the Load, walked, and then cycled out of Woodland on Wednesday morning.
The relay is a part of the Carry the Load organization, a nonprofit mission aimed at and dedicated to restoring the true meaning of Memorial Day.
“We are out here raising awareness for our fallen heroes, veterans, first responders active duty, and otherwise,” said relay captain Michael Garlock. “We are just trying to let people know that Memorial Day is more than just a day off work. It’s also about the people that allowed us to have the freedoms we do.”
According to the group’s website, Carry the Load was formed in 2011 after veteran U.S. Navy SEALs returned from post 9/11 active duty. At a BBQ on Memorial Day, they saw all their friends and family enjoying the day off work but noticed that nobody was paying attention to the sacrifices that they had made, and the brothers lost.
That feeling led the veterans to embark on a 24-hour march around Dallas, which eventually led to a national relay that culminates in Dallas on Memorial Day.
According to Garlock, the relay part sprouted up around five or six years ago, beginning on the East Coast. The West Coast relay, which began in Seattle on April 28, and passes through Woodland, began in 2016.
Since then, the organization added a midwest and mountain area relay.
Members of Carry the Load spent the night at Woodland Fire Station #3 before a relay captain, representing the group, walked from there to the Raley’s parking lot. From there, cyclist Brandon Asberry took over.
Asberry, the west coast relay cycling captain and a firefighter and paramedic in his native Dallas has been involved with Carry the Load for three years. This is his second year cycling and his first time on the west coast route.
“I’m a cyclist at heart. I have been since college,” said Asberry. “It was a way I could give back. They need people to walk and cycle across the country, and I found out a guy from my department in Dallas was doing it. I asked him how to get involved, and he connected me with the national relay director, and the rest is history.”
Asberry estimates that he’s ridden around 280 miles the past few days and is expected to log nearly 60 miles Wednesday. He plans to leave the group and head back to Dallas right before the group reaches San Francisco.
He aims to be back out for the last leg of the relay.
“Today is the most exciting day because I get to ride through Napa Valley,” Asberry said. “Thats kind of the highlight of the trip for me as well as climbing up through Oregon. On this trip, I have been on a bike and seen places I have never seen before. That’s the benefit for me. It’s all for a good cause.”
The west coast rally will stop at the Sacramento National Cemetary before ending up just outside of San Francisco Wednesday night. From there, they plan to reach Santa Barbra, San Diego, cut over into Las Vegas, Arizona, New Mexico before reaching Dallas, Texas for the finale.
More information about this mission can be found at carrytheload.org.
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‘Carry the Load’ relay cruises through Woodland - Woodland Daily Democrat
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