By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
In July, local veteran Mike Buckley embarked on a mission to bicycle 3,745 miles to raise money for Warrior Expeditions — a nonprofit outdoor therapy program designed to help veterans “transition from their wartime experiences through long distance outdoor expeditions.”
Buckley retired from the United States Army in 2017 after more than 32 years of active duty, six deployments, and three combat tours.
Colonel (Ret) Buckley’s military experience includes time as an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) battalion commander in Afghanistan, a base commander in Iraq, an assistant professor in the department of physical education at West Point, and a U.S. Army War College Fellow in the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, Syracuse University.
Transitioning from military to civilian life has been a fairly significant and difficult process, Buckley said.
“Beyond the issues of returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the process is made more difficult by the loss of social identity,” he said. “Spending more than three decades immersed in, and identifying with, a vocation and then [having] it withdrawn can make for a difficult transition. What’s worse is that if you reach out and ask for help, the response will often be ‘will you take medication?’ I have seen this play out multiple times, often with disastrous results.”
Buckley moved to Cazenovia with his family in 2014 while completing a yearlong academic fellowship at Syracuse University.
While researching alternative treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, he discovered the therapeutic potential of the outdoors.
“[I found] that nature and outdoor therapy often have a better impact and effect on improving mental health than several of the flag ship pharmaceuticals commonly prescribed, and with none of the side effects,” Buckley said. “Of note, it has been shown that 20 minutes a day surrounded by nature can have great impact on your daily well-being, but this is rarely prescribed.”
According to Buckley, there are more than 500 peer-reviewed studies demonstrating the efficacy of nature as therapy. He pointed specifically to those findings discussed in “The Nature Fix” — an investigation into the connections between the brain and nature by a prize-winning author Florence Williams.
“As of a couple months ago, there are only 19 programs that promote [nature/outdoor therapy],” Buckley said. “Why? The answer goes back to my reference to flag ship pharmaceuticals.”
In 2018, Buckley hiked the entirety of the backcountry 800-mile Arizona Trail through six mountain ranges.
The veteran hoped that the expedition would help him heal after losing nine fellow soldiers during combat operations and four more to suicide after returning home.
Buckley described his Arizona Trail journey as “life-shaping.”
Since then, he has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, completed the strenuous Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, climbed Mount Wheeler near Taos, New Mexico, and biked 1,000 miles in 27 days just to see if he could.
This past spring, the “Warrior Expeditions” program invited Buckley to join a select group of veterans taking part in a “proto-type” ride of the Great American Rail Trail (GART) — a 3,745 mile rail trail/bike path that, once completed, will extend from the Capitol in Washington D.C. to Olympia, Washington.
According to Buckley, the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the start of the ride until next year.
In lieu of cycling the planned route, Buckley intends to ride the same distance, 3,745 miles, on roads in and around Cazenovia.
“I’ve ridden in a large part of Europe and most of the U.S., and I think it is the best road cycling area in the world — for nine months a year,” he said.
Buckley started his ride on July 4.
As of Aug. 18, he had completed 1,525 miles, riding five to six days a week and averaging about 270 miles per week
“The first two weeks after the Fourth I was recovering from hernia surgery, so didn’t ride much,” Buckley said. “[I’ve] been consistently at 250-plus miles for the last five weeks . . . Generally, I get up early in the morning and ride two to three hours and do one long ride of 50-plus miles once a week. It actually doesn’t take that much time . . . By next week I will be at 1,750 [miles] since July 4th and over 4,000 for the year.”
To avoid injury, he alternates challenging climbs with “easy days” along the lakefront or the Erie Canal to give his legs a rest.
Although most of his rides have been in Madison and Onondaga Counties, Buckley has also ridden “up north” and is planning a long ride in September on the St. Lawrence Seaway.
The athlete hopes to achieve his goal before the snow falls.
“I generally ride outside about 10 months a year, but once the ice is on the road, I just won’t risk it,” he said. “I will ride down into the mid 20s if the roads are clear. If all goes well, I think I can finish by mid November.”
Warrior Expeditions is accepting donations in honor of Buckley’s fundraiser ride at warriorexpeditions.org/fundraisers/mike-buckley/.
“Every dollar donated goes toward allowing another person to be able to go on one of these expeditions…” said Buckley. “If I can do anything at all to help raise awareness that there is a different path than a pistol or a bottle of pills, every mile is worth it.”
Follow Buckley’s rides on STRAVA at Clyde “Mike” Buckley and on Instagram at Rouleur_Colonel.
To read his article “’Walk Easy; Hike Strong’: A Veteran’s Journey of Discovery on the Arizona Trail,” visit americantrails.org.
