Welcome,
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the Ride Against Suicide, a four-day cycling tour raising awareness for mental health in our military, first responders, frontline healthcare workers and normalizing this conversation we seem to shy away from.
I began my public safety career in 2001 as a member of a Police Explorer Post, becoming a licensed peace officer in 2006, and being fortunate to continue doing what I love as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office. The path of my career has not been the most conventional, but it has led me on a trail where I am able to share my story, one pedal stroke at a time, throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin each September.
Beginning my law enforcement career in 2006 at the young green age of 21, I experienced that after a tough call or day at work you didn’t talk about it, instead you were told to move on, be tough, and not let it show that it affected you. Furthermore, if you needed to seek help though a therapist, you ran the risk of being considered not “Fit for Duty” and being stripped of your badge. This stigma surrounding mental health ended many careers, both from retiring early because of “burnout” and the unfortunate ultimate resolution, suicide.
In the late 2010’s, the public safety field started realizing things needed to change pertaining to mental health and agencies began fostering it, but it was still a new and taboo way of thinking. Following 2020 and the mass exodus of law enforcement both locally and throughout the nation, the light was shining ever brighter on the topic and slowly conversations started; however, they were still conducted in the dungeons of our homes, and we sought therapy offices an hour away so none of our co-workers would see our vehicles parked in the therapist parking lots.
In March, 2024, the first Invisible Wounds Project “Meaningful Connections” was held. In a local church in Zumbrota, MN, approximately fifty local law enforcement, EMS, firefighters, military veterans, dispatchers, and correctional staff met in a circle, and without saying a word you could feel the heaviness of the air. This was the first monthly gathering held, but it was special as we collected to talk and remember one of our own who lost their battle against PTSD, Gary Schroeder Jr. Gary recently medically retired from the Zumbrota Police Department and Zumbrota Fire Department, and on an afternoon in April, 2023, Gary decided it was too much to live with anymore.
On my way home that evening, I reflected on what I just experienced in conjuncture with the Burnsville Tragedy just one month prior (two police officers and a firefighter/paramedic were murdered during a domestic violence call), and the suicides of a young Minnesota State Trooper and a retired Police Chief. I thought about the families and co-workers affected by these acts, finding a way to reach out to them, letting them know they were not alone. At this time, I knew what needed to be done. Whether it was God himself, or my late father who never backed down from an idea he had, the need of a multi-day cycling tour to raise awareness/funds about mental health and reduce the stigma surrounding this was necessary. I called up the one guy who has been there for me through the past 20 years of my life, Austin, and told him my idea. All he said in return was, “let me know the dates and I’ll be there.” The “Ride Against Suicide” was born.
I spoke with Invisible Wounds Project Founder, Russ Hanes, and pitched my idea explaining that we would like to partner with IWP and any funds raised will benefit his organization. Russ gave us his blessing, and for that we are forever grateful. I chose to partner with IWP not just because they had been there for me when I needed it, but for their mission. IWP understands the family element involved in these careers, a welcoming I would want for my wife if she should ever need it.
From September 3 to September 6, 2024, Austin and I bicycled 230-miles from Glenwood, MN to Red Wing, MN executing our mission in the inaugural Ride Against Suicide. Our rest stops were multi-purpose, as we used them to speak with local military and first responders about our mission and make them aware of the resources provided by the Invisible Wounds Project. Driving our Support and Gear vehicle, fielding calls from agencies waiting to escort us, was my wife, Nicole. To this day, Nicole has never asked why we are doing this, she just knows and has used her position as a First Responder spouse to connect with family members.
As year two came close and a new route was needed to be decided on, where we began and ended each day was important to us. One thing was for sure, we would end the four-day journey at the new Invisible Wounds Project Support Center in Forest Lake, MN, and we would begin at a location that was significant to IWP and the cause.
In early September, 2025, the Zumbrota Police Department held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Gary Schroeder Jr Memorial, a $50,000 community funded project. Gary was an advocate for mental health awareness and worked with IWP. There was no doubt that this is where we would start year two, and each subsequent year after that in Gary’s honor.
Each year our mission remains the same, and we hope the faces that we greet along the way change as we meet with current/former first responders, military, frontline healthcare workers, and their families as we bring awareness to mental health, remind those struggling they are not alone, and stand with those families whose lives have been forever changed.
Thank you,
Brandon
Founder/Coordinator of the Ride Against Suicide
Active Law Enforcement
