{"id":60467,"date":"2014-02-20T22:59:04","date_gmt":"2014-02-21T05:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vet-rides-through-obstacle-of-injury\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T23:03:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T23:03:25","slug":"vet-rides-through-obstacle-of-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vet-rides-through-obstacle-of-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Vet rides through obstacle of injury"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Rob
Rob Jones is riding his bike across the country.<\/span>Sam Green\/Dolores Star<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A war veteran with a hard-core attitude rode into Dolores Tuesday, and his story captured the hearts of a group of fellow veterans and locals who met him at the Rio Grande Southern Bed and Breakfast.<\/p>\n

Marine Rob Jones was severely injured during the war in Afghanistan in 2010 while pushing into Taliban territory with his unit. He was nearly killed when an improvised explosive device detonated, and had to have both his legs amputated, one above the knee.<\/p>\n

During his year-and-a-half in military hospitals, Jones learned how to walk on prosthetics, then began training on a bike. Restless, he soon got an idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided to ride across America, then I figured why not raise money for veterans charities while I\u2019m at it,\u201d said Jones, 25, after resting up and devouring a meal of chicken-fried steak courtesy of the Ponderosa Restaurant.<\/p>\n

Beginning in Bar Harbor, Maine, he\u2019s gone 6,335 miles so far, and has raised more than $91,305 for three charities: Ride2Recovery, Coalition to Salute America\u2019s Heroes, and the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty fatigued from Colorado mountain passes, and I\u2019m looking forward to some nice straightaways in Utah before the next round of passes,\u201d Jones said. \u201cDonate to may cause of helping injured veterans; that is what I urge people to do along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit robjonesjourney.com to learn about Rob\u2019s epic journey and how to donate to the cause.<\/p>\n

The fresh-faced Jones has a steely look of determination about him, an attitude that serves him well climbing the mountains of the West on a standard road bike with prosthetic legs. He covers 30 plus miles per day and is traveling with his brother Steve Miller, who escorts him in a modified U-haul truck they both live out of when not staying in hotels.<\/p>\n

Miller says they\u2019ve angered some drivers, \u201cbut once they realize the cause they chill out. I\u2019ve learned a lot about bike repair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones shrugs off perceived difficulty of the trip by his audience. \u201cIt is just a regular bike. It has not been too much, and the weather has held out nicely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of his injured legs, he has adjusted to using his gluteus maximus muscles to power the bike. A barrel-chested core with arms the size of tree-trunks work in tandem with prosthetic legs as he powers down the road.<\/p>\n

David Johnson, commander with the Montezuma County VFW Post 5231 recognizes the imperturbable attitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe toughness and strength of this Marine will carry him throughout his life. His severe injury will not slow him down,\u201d he said. \u201cWhatever community he ends up with will be blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local banks donated to the cause. Susi Sieber, owner of the Rio Grande Southern B&B donated two rooms for Rob and his brother, Lizardhead Cyclery gave Rob\u2019s bike a tune-up, and the Pony Espresso provided food and coffee.<\/p>\n

Jones is not sure what he plans to do after the trip, perhaps becoming a comedian, or return to competition rowing.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Jones and his partner Oksana brought home the bronze medal for rowing during the 2012 Paralympics in London, England.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really love rowing, the competition, the training,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With 3,500 more miles to go, Jones will continue to amaze residents with his story of perseverance and service to country.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy message to veterans is to set a goal and commit to it until it is complete. You will find success,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThe generosity and support I\u2019ve had across the country has been impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marine\u2019s charity ride passes through area<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-60467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-frontpage-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60467"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60494,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60467\/revisions\/60494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60467"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=60467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}