One Man, 449 Miles

Jason Simons is the one man between a flat tire and the road on the Tour de Kota. Simons serves as mechanical support on the annual ride which took riders on a 449 mile loop beginning and ending in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

For Injured Vet, Ride is About Camaraderie

Using crutches and a prosthetic left leg, 46-year-old Tom Carpenter was standing in line inside the Chester Fire Department to get a barbecue sandwich and a bottle of water.
Carpenter needed energy; he was about to embark on the last, windy phase of the 2008 Tour de Kota, a final push of about 38 miles to Falls Park in Sioux Falls.

By Patrick L. Delabrue

CHESTER, S.D.— Using crutches and a prosthetic left leg, 46-year-old Tom Carpenter was standing in line inside the Chester Fire Department to get a barbecue sandwich and a bottle of water.

Carpenter needed energy; he was about to embark on the last, windy phase of the 2008 Tour de Kota, a final push of about 38 miles to Falls Park in Sioux Falls.

Although all riders faced the challenges of avoiding cars and semi trucks, riding up hills and into strong headwinds, Carpenter’s challenges were unique – he was using a hand-cranked bicycle to ride the annual six-day trek through South Dakota’s countryside.

Carpenter lost his legs while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq. In May 2005, while on security patrol outside the city of Ramadi, he was riding in a humvee that drove across a land mine.

“I woke up in the VA hospital in San Antonio, Texas,” he said.

As part of his physical rehabilitation, he got into hand cycling. That’s when he saw advertisements for the Tour de Kota.

“I talked about it with my wife, and I let the VA people know I was interested in doing it,” he said.

Around the same time, Jathan Chicoine, executive director of The Veterans Resource Center in Vermillion, was contacting VA hospitals asking for injured veterans who might be interested in participating in the Tour de Kota. Carpenter said people in San Antonio asked him whether they could give Chicoine his contact information.

“Jay got my number and invited me to ride.”

Carpenter said camaraderie keeps him going despite the challenges of only using his upper body strength to propel him.

He starts slow, Carpenter said, but gradually warms up over the first few miles.

“The longer I go on I lose strength,” he said. “My triceps burn, and it takes more effort to keep going. Last year I would do 100 miles a day, but my pace depends on the course and the winds.”

If the course is hilly he rests his arms when his bike goes downhill, he said, but on the flat courses the pace gets monotonous.

“I pretty much have to crank it out all the time,” he said. “There is no downhill. I get sore between my shoulder blades and on the back of my neck. I get stiff and sore but it goes away after a couple days.”

This was Carpenter’s second year riding in the tour, but he could only participate three days because he’s also a full-time student at South Dakota State University and taking summer classes toward a degree in geographic information systems.

Carpenter, his wife and Chicoine rode together the first day. On Thursday, after he finished classes at SDSU, he and Chicoine rode from DeSmet to Brookings.

Carpenter said he, his wife and Chicoine try to finish each day together but because he’s in a hand-cranked bike, he goes slower than the pack.

“They get a bigger workout than I do because my pace is slower,” he said.

At the end of each day’s ride, Carpenter’s upper body muscles burn, he said, but he perseveres because he know his mission and is inspired by the American Flag Chicoine carries on the back of his bike.

“The good part of riding with Jay and his group is when they’re pulling those flags,” Carpenter said. “It’s reminding people about the service men and women who are serving everywhere. The flags bring out a lot of emotion.”

Carpenter joined the Marine Corps in back 1980 and was active for four years. After he left the Marines, he went to work in his native Michigan with his best friend drilling and repairing water wells, but he missed the camaraderie of military life. In 1986, he joined the Army and stayed for 21 years.

“I did a lot of things in the Army,” Carpenter said. “I was a drill sergeant for awhile, I was a Ranger and jumped into Panama in 1989 as a part of Operation Just Cause.”

After his service in Panama, Carpenter came to teach ROTC at South Dakota State University in Brookings.

Chicoine was a Navy SEAL for six years. He now heads The Veterans Resource Center in Vermillion. This was the fourth year Chicoine participated in the tour to raise awareness of veterans’ issues.

“That first year we went through three reservations,” he said. “The Crow Creek, Lower Brule and Yankton Sioux Reservations. We provided some plaques and wanted to connect with our brothers and sisters there and honor and recognize them for their service and sacrifice for all of us.”

By participating in Tour de Kota, Chicoine himself has been overwhelmed when he meets veterans and their families along the ride.

“We’re all a part of the sacrifice that our veterans and their families make,” he said. “It has an effect on the very fabric of our society. And so I think it’s really important we connect and have deeper empathy and understanding for those sacrifices.”

Chicoine recalled the 2007 Tour de Kota and his meeting with a Korean War veteran in Salem.

The veteran extended his hand to Chicoine in brotherhood. They traded stories of similar experiences and fraternity with his fellow veterans and the emotions he experienced when he saw Chicoine flying a POW flag on the back of his bike.

“He said it was really a good feeling to see that flag flying,” Chicoine said, “and he wanted to thank us for that.”

The Korean War veteran told Chicoine about the first time he came home and saw a POW flag and how he had been moved by the sight. “That’s what this about,” Chicoine said. “It’s about connecting with one another.”
Steve Feimer, director of criminal justice Studies at the University of South Dakota, is the owner of the SAG (support and gear) wagon, a truck that carries bike gear to riders who need mechanical help, or to pick up riders who can’t finish.

“My dad and uncle are vets, so we’re also doing this to support the veterans,” Feimer said. “A lot of these folks coming back from Afghanistan or Iraq, especially the ones who have severe injuries, really need a lot of help trying to transition themselves back. The cycling, doing it with a hand-cranked bike like Tom’s riding, is a wonderful way to get them out here, get them involved again and get them feeling whole again.”

The best part of the Tour de Kota, Feimer said, has been watching Carpenter riding his hand-cranked bike.

“He gives us a lot of inspiration,” Feimer said. “We talk about how our seats are sore from sitting so long and how our legs ache, and we take a look at Tom and what he’s doing using nothing but his arms to power himself down the road. It’s a tremendous inspiration for all of us. There are a lot of good lessons in courage to be taken from him.”

Carpenter’s perseverance paid off at the finish line in Sioux Falls.

“I’m proof,” he said, “that if you do it long enough, no matter how slow you go, you’ll get to where you’re going.”

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