CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A tiring bike ride Thursday morning ended with an emotional welcome at the Brookfield Zoo for several dozen wounded veterans.
"I think it's really important to show them that we do appreciate their service in the past and currently," she said. "The public doesn't support them enough. It's just really important to show support."
Dr. Stuart Strahl is Director of the Brookfield Zoo, which took part in the 60-plus mile event for the fifth year in a row.
"It ensures that everyone is able to make the ride," she said. "We drove all the way through Rosemont and into the zoo today. Seeing the kids, the fire department, the police, it's just absolutely touching. But for the warriors, being able to go through and finish, to watch the people who are struggling make it through, that to me is the most touching thing I've ever been a part of."
Warriors were then served a private lunch and visited by some of the zoo's animal ambassadors, including reindeer and box turtles.
The 16.2-mile ride to Brookfield Zoo is the first of a three-day, 61.5-mile cycling event throughout the Chicagoland area. The Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride is a multi-day bicycling event, where injured veterans are challenged to push themselves physically and mentally as they manage visible and invisible wounds of war.