On April 29th Hans Welch of Leonardtown will be cycling his second day of the 2007 Face of America Bike Ride. World T.E.A.M. Sports puts on this two-day inclusive 110 mile bike ride from Gettysburg to the National Naval Medical Center “to honor and assist disabled servicemen and women returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan”. Riders form teams who raise funds for military servicemen & women injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. Several of those veterans will participate in the bike ride as well.
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Hans Freitag, |
The ironic part of the story is that on April 29, 1915 Welch’s grandfather, Hans Freitag, was wounded in World War I. Freitag lost an eye and leg during the Battle of Verdun when an enemy hand grenade exploded in his trench.
Welch will have this grandfather, whom he was named after, in mind while he cycles the second half of the Face of America Bike Ride along side veterans of recent wars who have lost arms and legs, themselves.
Welch, the Business Development Manager in the Dept. Of Economic & Community Development for St. Mary’s County, is part of the fourteen member Pax Rats cycling team. The team has raised a over $9,000, of which Welch has raised $1,175.
Two years ago, Welch began bike riding to lose weight. He discovered that he loved cycling and joined Pax Velo a bike racing Club in St. Mary’s County.
Welch can’t say enough good things about Pax Velo and its Sunday ride lead by Capt. Tom Huff, Commanding Officer of the Navy Test Pilot’s School at NAS Pax River. Welch credits Huff and others in the group for helping hone his cycling skills and fitness during those Sunday rides.
“Patuxent Adventure Center (PAC) owner, Dave Lane, and head mechanic/shop manager, Drew Walton, helped me out very much too. Great guys and big supporters of Pax Velo,” Welch told The Bay Net.
“Cycling can be done by anyone at just about any age,” Welch told The Bay Net. “There are riders in Pax Velo who are 71 and 76 years old. They are fast and really good riders.”
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David Welch, WWII GI |
Welch has done several other hundred mile bike rides locally, but 2007 Face of America Bike Ride seemed particularly attractive to him because of its focus on wounded veterans. Originally from Bloomington, Indiana, Welch was able to get his degree from Indiana University with help from a “child of a disabled veteran” scholarship. Welch’s father’s disability resulted from his tour of duty in Munich at the end of World War II. The 2007 Face of America Bike Ride gives Welch the chance to honor both his father and grandfather’s sacrifices.
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