Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride Traverses Monroe County Keys

On Jan. 9, 2026, roughly 45 participants in the Wounded Warrior Project’s annual Soldier Ride traveled through Monroe County, beginning in Key Largo and moving south through Islamorada, Marathon and Big Pine Key before receiving a community welcome in Key West. Riders used adaptive bicycles designed to accommodate a range of injuries, and the course included signature Keys infrastructure such as the Seven Mile Bridge. The multi-day event concluded in Marathon with a dolphin swim at the Dolphin Research Center and a community ride in Key West, accompanied by fundraising and local engagement activities.

Students and residents lined portions of the route to cheer riders, lending visible community support to an event organized around therapeutic movement, peer camaraderie and rehabilitation. Organizers designed the Soldier Ride to combine physical challenge, social support and fundraising; the presence of adaptive cycles underscored how recreation can be tailored to veterans with diverse mobility and medical needs.

For Monroe County, the ride delivered both symbolic and practical impacts. Symbolically, the event raised awareness of the challenges and resilience of wounded veterans and provided a public forum for community solidarity. Practically, it brought visiting riders, caregivers and supporters into local communities, offering a potential, if temporary, boost to businesses and nonprofit partners involved in hospitality and event support. The Marathon dolphin swim at the Dolphin Research Center and the Key West community ride created additional points of contact between veterans and residents.

The Soldier Ride also highlights policy and institutional questions that local officials and civic leaders should address. Adaptive recreation and peer-support programs require sustained funding, accessible facilities and coordinated logistics for road safety and emergency response. County government, municipal officials and local veterans service organizations can use events like this to evaluate gaps in support for adaptive equipment, rehabilitation services and volunteer mobilization. Tracking how fundraising dollars are deployed locally and assessing economic impacts on small businesses will help align public resources with community needs.

Looking ahead, Monroe County can build on the momentum by strengthening partnerships with veteran-serving organizations, expanding opportunities for adaptive sports, and ensuring transparent coordination for future multi-jurisdictional events. The Soldier Ride brought wounded veterans into public view and generated local goodwill; converting that visibility into durable services and policy commitments would extend the ride’s benefits beyond a single day on the Keys.