The Tour de Valor bicycle ride has confirmed a route from Albany County to Long Island for Oct. 23-24, with stops where community members can add names to banners the riders will carry in support of veterans and military families.
The Dwyer Coalition for Military Veterans & Families plans to start the more than 200-mile ride at noon Oct. 23 from the Albany County Veterans Service Bureau at 112 State St. in Albany. The route ends the next morning at the Pfc. Joseph P. Dwyer Memorial in Rocky Point, Suffolk County, according to a Sept. 30 announcement distributed by the New York State Department of Veterans' Services.
The confirmed route does not list a stop in the Finger Lakes. It runs through Albany, Greene, Ulster, Orange, Westchester, New York City, Nassau and Suffolk counties. Organizers described the stop times as estimates, and one planned location in Greene County remains to be determined.
Where the ride is expected to stop
An Albany meet-and-greet is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon before the riders depart. The updated Sept. 30 release lists an estimated 5:10 p.m. arrival at Ulster Hose Co. No. 5, 2333 U.S. Route 9W in Lake Katrine, followed by an 8:30 p.m. stop at the Middle Hope Fire District, 5172 U.S. Route 9W in Newburgh.
The riders are then expected near Fort Montgomery and West Point at 10:45 p.m. and at the Buchanan Fire Department, 3159 Albany Post Road in Westchester County, at 11:45 p.m. The earlier published itinerary listed a different time for the Fort Montgomery stop; organizers described all arrivals as estimates.
The riders are expected at FDNY Engine 95/Ladder 36, 29 Vermilyea Ave. in Manhattan, at 3:10 a.m. Oct. 24. Later estimates put them at Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department Company 4, 97 Jayson Ave. in Great Neck, at 5:40 a.m., and the Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department, 2 Main St., at 7:40 a.m. The finish and ceremony at the Dwyer memorial, 621 Route 25A in Rocky Point, are planned for 10 a.m.
At each stop, organizers invite people to write the name of someone important to them on Tour de Valor banners. Fire departments and other community partners are supporting the route, while law enforcement agencies will provide escorts, the coalition said.
Riders and purpose
The coalition now identifies the two riders as Gavin Walters, its executive director and an Air Force veteran, and Todd Dorris, a Navy and Army veteran who manages the Putnam County Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Project. An earlier announcement identified a different second rider; the Sept. 30 release names Dorris for the confirmed route.
Two other veterans will travel behind them in a support vehicle. Organizers say the ride is intended to promote peer support, connection and mental wellness among veterans, service members, National Guard members, reservists, military families and caregivers.
The state Department of Veterans' Services is supporting the initiative. Commissioner Viviana DeCohen said wellness includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, and the ride offers another way to encourage military-connected New Yorkers to seek support when they need it.
New York's Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program connects veterans with fellow veterans for confidential, nonclinical support. It was named for an Army combat medic from Long Island who served in Iraq and died in 2008. The coalition said the program's statewide network and community partners will be highlighted along the route.
More information about the ride is available from the Dwyer Coalition. Veterans and families seeking benefits or services can contact the state Department of Veterans' Services at 888-838-7697.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.
