Military Salute: 165th ANG Fire Department

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By Mike Manhatton - email | bio

POOLER, GA (WTOC) - What do you do to challenge your friends? Play golf? Tennis? Fish?

Some of our neighbors started with a challenge and now they're training for a huge challenge that just might help save lives.

"We ride, we start out with a little safety brief I like to call it," explained Sgt. Ian Montgomery of the 165th ANG Fire Department. "We do a prayer, ask the Lord to keep us all safe while we're riding, and we just kind of ride."

"Just kind of ride," turned into a challenge of sorts.

Another member of the 165th ANG Fire Department explained how the group got the idea.

"Actually, it was more of a self-challenge between myself and one of the fellow firefighters- Andy," said Sgt. Ray Sikes. "And we discussed riding from here to Jekyll Island and for some reason it has exploded into what you see today."

"We're actually going to ride, the bicycles, from Savannah to Brunswick. We're going to try to do it in about four and half to five hours and see if we can raise some money and some awareness for breast cancer."

To Sgt. Montgomery, it just made sense all around.

"You know, why just do it just to do it, why not do it for something else. I think it gives us more motivation to actually do it, and go out there and succeed, and make it a better ride."

For Sgt. Sikes, there's another reason.

"A very good friend of mine lost her mother in 2007 to breast cancer. And it just kind of comes full circle, and we went from there."

So how's it going?

"Very painfully," admitted Sikes. "We actually have started out doing about 15 miles at a time. We worked our way up to some 40-mile rides."

Sgt. Montgomery agreed.

"It's pretty difficult because you've got to get the people to learn how to ride in a group, and learn how to use the draft to their advantage," said Montgomery. "A lot of people are really scared to get their front tire a foot away from the guy in front of them's back tire, and that's understandable, it can be kind of nerve wracking."

"Yea, there's been some pain here and there," Sikes added. "There's been a lot of bio freeze applied to certain areas, especially the legs, but we're getting there, we're really getting there."