Can-Am and the Road Warrior Foundation (RWF) recently came together to host an unforgettable “adventure therapy” ride that covered nearly 2,000 miles aboard Can-Am Spyder three-wheel vehicles. This year marked the 10th Annual Road Warrior Ride, which gives veterans the opportunity to disconnect from their day-to-day life and experience the incredible healing power of riding the open road, all completely free of charge.
The veterans were selected by RWF from a pool of hundreds of applicants, and as is the focus of every RWF adventure, they were all post-9/11 veterans with various injuries, both physical and mental. Something else they all shared: a craving for adventure and a need to inject some excitement in their lives. Riding is a perfect recipe for a group of likeminded strangers with so much in common.
“Can-Am has been the title sponsor of the Road Warrior Foundation since it was established in 2013, proudly helping to enable its mission to provide adventure therapy to U.S. military veterans,” said Martin Ethier, global marketing director, Can-Am. “We firmly believe that the open road is open to all, and through this sponsorship, we are able to bring that to life for a group of incredibly deserving riders.”
Prior to hitting the road, the group gathered in Lake George, New York, where they spent time getting to know each other and received a hero’s welcome from more than 300 Can-Am owners at SpyderQuest, an annual Can-Am owners event in beautiful upstate New York. Several of the riders had only recently acquired their motorcycle licenses, and most had very little experience riding in a group, so prior to the main event, Can-Am and RWF representatives did some closed-course and classroom training on the fleet of vehicles provided by Can-Am. Then it was time to hit the open road.
“Can-Am three-wheel vehicles are the only vehicles that allow us to do what we do because it’s so easy to learn to ride,” said Stephen Berger, co-founder of the Road Warrior Foundation and U.S. Air Force veteran. “BRP provides us a fleet of vehicles that we keep all over the country, so for this ride and other smaller ones we have throughout the year, we’re able to get veterans of all skill levels out riding quickly by putting them through the Can-Am Rider Education Program.”
As always, once the wheels were rolling, the excitement was undeniable from all. The veterans experienced amazing views, great roads and landmarks such as the National Baseball Hall of Fame in New York, the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania and the National Museum of the Inited States Air Force (USAF) in Ohio. Undoubtedly, though, one of the biggest highlights was a Can-Am off-road experience at Badlands Off-Road Park in Attica, Indiana, where Can-Am dealer, Attica Motorsports, hosted the group while they enjoyed riding Can-Am Maverick, Defender and Commander off-road vehicles through the park’s 1,400-plus acres.
In addition to providing the fleet of vehicles, Can-Am also gave the riders a full suite of riding gear to cover the various climates they covered on their way from New York, through Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois and ultimately concluding at a Can-Am owners’ event called “Spyders in the Ozarks,” with more than 300 Can-Am riders welcoming them as they rode into Nixa, Missouri.
