Deputy Prepares for Memorial Bike Ride

Stafford, Va. — Stafford Sheriff’s Deputy James “Jimmy” Kingman will ride his bike this spring to honor fellow fallen law enforcement officers.

Kingman is one of 300 or more officers who will bike the 240-mile distance from Chesapeake, Va. to Washington in the “Road to Hope Memorial Ride” starting May 10th. The three-day ride has stops in Richmond and in Stafford County and will end at Washington’s National Law Enforcement Memorial, where officers will remember the fallen at a candlelight vigil.

“Every officer who rides is supporting another fallen officer and their family,” said Kingman. “I know from the past, when we pull into Stafford and we are cheered on by those in our hometown that stand along Route 1 who come out to support us, there’s no better feeling.”

The riders will end the second day in Stafford on Friday, May 11. Many of the riders say it’s here where the terrain is moderately hilly, a contrast from the mostly flat terrain between Chesapeake and Richmond.

The bicyclists like to average about 15 mph along the route. That requires some training and conditioning, which has prompted 29-year-old Kingman to ride his bike near his home in south Stafford 15 to 30 miles a day, three days a week to prepare for the event.

It’s not his first time participating in the ride, and he said it never gets easier leaving behind his wife and kids for the three days on the road. But raising money for fallen officers’ families is worth it.

“My wife understood it at first, but once she came and saw us when we rode into town, it’s a powerful sight, and then she knew the ride was worth it,” said Kingman.