JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One veteran has traveled 3,000 miles to raise money and awareness for disabled veterans.
Randy Horton, 64, pedaled his way across the U.S. from California to Florida to raise money and awareness for the military men and military women who have made the ultimate sacrifice serving America.
"I am a partially disabled Vietnam veteran. I was in Quang Tri and Khe Sanh," Horton said. "And a thought came in my head to give back."
So he packed up some camping supplies and other necessities and hit the road, pedaling across America to support the Wounded Warrior Project.
"This front tire had to rotate 2,330,000 times for me to get to my destination," Horton said.
The 3,000-mile journey took about two weeks. Although he is a very active guy, he admitted the trip got rough at times.
"I've had four flat tires," Horton said.
But despite riding in temperatures over 125 degrees in some areas, uphill climbs and stormy weather, Horton never gave up.
"I never had a moment where I said 'I'm going to quit.' I did not allow that to enter into the process," Horton said. "When it gets really really hard, don't think, just pedal."
He said there were some memorable moments along the way.
"I've found wonderful, helpful people willing to engage in dialogue about what we're doing, about what the WWP is doing," Horton said. "I'm not an emotional person, but when I went into the WWP headquarters (in Jacksonville), and the whole staff from the whole building was downstairs lined up and applauding -- grown men do cry. It was one of those emotional moments that words can't express."
Horton raised nearly $7,000 with his journey. Many would call him a hero, but he doesn't consider himself to be one.
"I know that there's men and women out there that aren't giving 30 days out of their life, they're coming back from war zone areas of the world and they have a whole lifetime of readjusting based on what occurred to them in various areas of our world," Horton said. "They're the ones that are heroes."
ONLINE: Donate to Horton's Ride Across America fund-raising effort
Horton said that when he gets back home he's going to take some time to recover and then keep on giving back to the Wounded Warrior Project any way he can.
"I'm not done yet. This is one of a few things I've got in the back of my head that's gaining momentum," Horton said. "We cannot do everything as individuals, but every one of us can do one thing."