“I used to have to take a lot of pills,” he said. “Now the pills are gone, and I ride my bicycle.”

?Led by the East Lansing Police Department, Wermuth and 200 other injured veterans passed through East Lansing on Tuesday afternoon as a part of Ride 2 Recovery, a nationwide program for veterans that has offered rehabilitation through long-distance biking since 2008.?

Ride 2 Recovery accommodates veterans suffering from many kinds of injuries, including those with missing limbs and paraplegics. The group was a part of the Great Lakes Challenge, a route reaching from Chicago to Detroit.?

Ever since his own life was saved by medics, Wermuth said it’s been his duty to help others through the recovery experience. He’s ridden with the Ride 2 Recovery program seven times.

“I was dead for about four and a half minutes, and they brought me back,” he said. “Now, all these years later, with Ride 2 Recovery, we can help others.”

Barbara Springer, who served in the U.S. Army for 25 years, said it took some time to readjust to civilian life. Springer, the nationwide director of Ride 2 Recovery branch Project Hero, said veterans deserve the chance to start their lives over.

“They lay their life out for us and they make sacrifices, and we need to take care of them when they get back,” Springer said. “They find out they’re not alone in their symptoms.”