Arlington Officers to Bike 250 Miles for Fallen Officers

Three Arlington County Police officers will make a 250-mile bike trek in May to honor fallen law enforcement officers. 

“No matter how tired are, you always think about the officer killed in the line of duty,” said Arlington County Corporal Tom Jessup. “They made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Jessup has ridden in the three-day long “Road to Hope” Law Enforcement United (LEU) bicycle trek from Chesapeake, Va. to D.C., several times along with Arlington County Corporal Bethany LeFrancois. Officer Jonathan Stanley is riding in the trek for the first time this year.

“John has been picking my brain pretty good. I told him it’s a ride not a race,” Jessup said. “We all stick together and if one of us falls back, we will push each other forward.”

Jessup, who is 52, trains for the race, but not by riding a bike outside.

“I don’t get on the bike until the day of the ride. I only get on the bike at the gym…I wouldn’t advise people to do something like that but for some reason it’s worked,” Jessup said.

During the ride itself, Jessup said that the best part of the ride is talking to the other bikers, which include law enforcement officers and family members of fallen officers.

“Meeting the people riding you and hearing their stories is just an incredible experience,” Jessup said, adding that he has met people from as far away as London and Michigan.  

Find out more about Law Enforcement United, a nonprofit group that supports law enforcement colleagues and family members of officers who have died in the line of duty, at www.lawenforcementunited.org. The ride also benefits Concerns of Police Survivors and the Officer Down Memorial Page.