Do you know..... Kendra Howell?

Do You Know?

Pedaling.  It’s what you do when you're riding a bike -- pushing those pedals round and round, transferring power from your legs to the wheels.  Over a billion people worldwide ride bicycles.  Kendra Howell is one.

Each spring for the past decade, Kendra, a retired major with the Wilson Police Department, has put her legs to work, joining Law Enforcement United (LEU) for a ride to Washington, D.C., where they meet a survivor of a fallen officer at a predetermined location. Riders find their way to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, two elegant 304-foot-long marble walls on the National Mall that display the names of more than 24,000 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty dating back to 1791. 

The annual cycling-for-survivors and fallen officers ride unites LEU chapters from across the country as more than 700 riders pedal their way to a ceremony at the memorial.  Riders include active and retired law enforcement officers and members of survivor families.  The NC bike delegation typically numbers about 60 riders.

Each year, Team Carolina's ride begins in the hometown of a fallen officer, this year in Shelby.  The route to the nation’s capital travels through other hometowns where the ride pauses to honor a fallen officer. 

“I am committed to taking this ride for myself and others,” says Kendra.  “I’m riding in a professional way to represent the person for whom I am riding.  I recognize that God’s spirit is riding with me.”
Kendra rides her bike year-round but ramps up her training for the long journey the month before the ride begins.  “I know what to expect,” Kendra says.  “The month before, I get my mind right.”

Pedaling up to 530 miles in little more than a week isn’t easy travel.  A caravan of support vehicles follows the riders to provide mechanical, medical, and nutritional support.  At the end of every long day of riding, the group stops at a prearranged hotel for rest and nourishment – all at riders’ expense. 

First Christian Church has been a mid-day stop on the tour, furnishing biker-appropriate meals, an hour of comfort and conversation, and an opportunity for riders to honor local fallen officers and their survivors. 

For more than three decades, C.O.P.S. has provided comprehensive Survivor Weekends and Camps that cater to more than 80,000 survivors and their families across 50 chapters nationwide.  Whether it is offering grief counseling to participants or providing peer support and additional resources, C.O.P.S.’s objective is to support each survivor in their journey to recovery. C.O.P.S. is the major charity that LEU supports each year. 

That’s why Kendra pedals. 
 

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