More than 200 injured veterans set off on a 360-mile bike ride Monday.
The Ride 2 Recovery is a six-day challenge to raise money for cycling rehabilitation programs.
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For Staff Sgt. David Haggerty, setting off on this journey is like coming full circle.
"It's a little emotional for me, honestly. I didn't think that I'd be up walking around and riding a bike this quick," he said.
He woke up at San Antonio Military Medical Center about five months ago -- six days after being wounded in Afghanistan. The last time he was here, he said, he was using a wheelchair and a walker. But now he's on his own two feet.
But even the injured veterans who can't move around as well as Haggerty can ride.
"Cycling is a great exercise and a great way to set goals and challenge yourself and take a little control back," he said.
From hand cycles and recumbents to traditional bikes, there's a variety of ways to ride, and Ride 2 Recovery raises money so more wounded warriors can rehabilitate on a bike that matches their injuries.
"Whatever the injury is, a bicycle is one of the most adaptive machines to get somebody on that's been hurt," Lt. Col. David Haines said.
He said facing injuries is similar to facing the long road ahead over the next six days.
"You have to wake up in the morning. You have to get on the bike. Go as far as you can, make it to the lunch stop, then take a rest and finish the day. Then start the next day the exact same way," Haines said.