Calgary's Veterans Transition Network bike ride raises $11,000 for veteran mental health
The Sunday ride through downtown Calgary marked seven years of advocacy, with an anonymous military family matching donations up to $10,000.
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Cyclists rode from the George C. King Bridge along the Bow River pathway to Edworthy Park and back on Sunday, raising over $11,000 for the Veterans Transition Network. An anonymous military family has offered to match every donation up to $10,000, so each dollar given toward that cap is doubled until it is reached.
The Canada-wide non-profit runs group counselling for veterans led by fellow veterans and mental health professionals, and its programs also support RCMP members. The ride marks seven years of its advocacy for veteran mental health.
Tegh Singh, a U.S. combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, organized the ride with co-organizer Rusveer Jones. Singh lives with PTSD and says the network's program saved his life after he reached out just before COVID. "Year one, I was alone on the ride and it was a metaphor, I think, for how I felt living with PTSD," he said. He framed the event as a way to "rally around veterans and support them through their darker times." Jones said the focus is awareness of mental health programming for veterans. Singh and Jones co-founded the ride in 2020, and turnout more than doubled in 2024 from the year before. Singh pointed to the tragedy at CFB Wainwright last month as affecting many veterans and families.
Another ride is Saturday. Details are at 2026rideforvtn.eventbrite.com, and donation and involvement information is at vtncanada.org/rideforvtn.
