D.C.’s Jodie Knox nearly lost her life in a bicycle crash, now she’s planning a 2,000‑mile ride to raise awareness and money for groups that support disabled veterans.
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DC woman uses brush with death to benefit disabled veterans
A Southwest D.C. woman who nearly lost her life in a bicycle crash is now planning a 2,000‑mile ride to raise awareness and money for organizations that support disabled veterans.
Jodie Knox was riding her bike along South Capitol Street in 2022 when she was struck by a car. The crash left her with multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury.
She spent the next six months at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, recovering from her injuries. While there, Knox said she was inspired by other patients and decided she wanted to find a way to support organizations that help disabled veterans.
Knox reached out to the Wounded Warriors Project and Achilles International to ask how she could raise awareness and funds for groups that serve injured veterans. That outreach led to the creation of Wheels of Grit, a 2,000-mile solo cycling journey that will take her from Key West, Florida, north to Kittery, Maine.
“This trip, for me, is about turning ‘I can’t’ into ‘I can try.’ I’ve never done anything like this,” said Knox, 44, who is retired from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Knox told WTOP she expects the ride to take between 42 and 50 days, depending weather conditions. Along the route, she plans to stop at American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, both of which are providing some funding for her trip.
“I plan to ride about 60 to 80 miles a day on my bicycle by myself,” Knox said. “But I do have a support driver, Kathy Ellingsworth, who’s one of my neighbors.”
Ellingsworth will carry supplies and help coordinate nightly hotel stays during the journey.
More information about Wheels of Grit and how to support the effort is available on the organization’s website.
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