By Ryan Palencer

CNHI News Service

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Concerns of Police Survivors (Indiana COPS) is once again hosting its annual charity bicycle ride across Indiana.

“The ride is to raise awareness for fallen officers,” Committee Chairman Rich Crawford said. “I have done this for six years. A lot of guys are very excited about it.”

The ride began Monday at the Police and Fire Memorial between the Indiana Statehouse and the Indiana Government Center in downtown Indianapolis. It will conclude at about 4 p.m. Aug. 1 at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. In between, participants will ride for 878 miles in a span of 13 consecutive days.

More than 40 police officers from agencies across the state will participate, with 13 of them riding the entire distance.

Crawford said he enjoys seeing and meeting the survivors of the fallen officers and letting them know that they are still in his thoughts.

“We are greeted with survivors of the family,” he said. “It’s very moving. It lets people know that we have not forgotten about them and about the fallen officer’s sacrifice.”

In 2008, Indiana lost two law enforcement officers -- Indiana State Trooper Daniel Barrett and Monroe County Deputy Sheriff Sarah Jones. Both were killed in traffic crashes.

As an addition to this year’s ride, Dee Poer, who is one of the participants, has set up a Twitter account. This allows individuals to follow the riders from their computer.

“(The Twitter account) allows people to follow us pretty easy,” Poer said. “It allows us to be interactive from the road.”

Poer is planning to ride all 13 days.

“It’s a very admirable cause,” she said. “Law enforcement officials put their lives on the line and this is a way to show gratitude.”

The name for the Twitter account is INcopscycling and the password is dudley.

In addition, GPS tracking support of the bicycle riders has been provided by Verizon. The site for this is www.fieldforcemanager.com. The user name is indianacops and the password is ride2009. The company Id is 86614.

For more information, visit the Web site at www.indianacops.org.



COPS Cycling for Indiana route:

- Day 1, July 20 -- Indianapolis-Bloomington, 65 miles. The group took city streets to southbound Indiana 37, stopping in Martinsville for lunch, and then continued on Ind. 37 to Bloomington, exiting at College Street and going to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department for a memorial service.

- Day 2, July 21 -- Bloomington-Madison, 83 miles. The group left Bloomington via Ind. 446 South to U.S. 50, continued east on U.S. 50 to Brownstown for lunch, then took Ind. 39 south to Ind. 250 East to Ind. 7 into Madison.

- Day 3, July 22 -- Madison-Jeffersonville, 50 miles. The group will take Ind. 62 from Madison to New Washington, have lunch, and continue south to Jeffersonville, where they will spend the night at the Jeffersonville FOP Lodge.

- Day 4, July 23 -- Jeffersonville-Huntingburg, 76 miles. The group will take Ind. 64 west, stopping for lunch at a location yet to be determined, and continue on to Ind. 231 north to Huntingburg.

- Day 5, July 24 -- Huntingburg-Vincennes, 62 miles. The group will leave Huntington on Ind. 64 West, have lunch in Princeton, and continue on to U.S. 41 North to Vincennes.

- Day 6, July 25 -- Vincennes-Terre Haute, 60 miles. The group will take Ind. 41 North to Sullivan, have lunch, and continue north to Terre Haute.

- Day 7, July 26 -- Terre Haute-Kentland, 97 miles. The group will take Ind. 63 North, have lunch at the intersection of Ind. 63 and I-74, and continue on to Ind. 41 to Kentland.

- Day 8, July 27 -- Kentland-Merrillville, 64 miles. The group will leave Kentland on Ind. 41 North, have lunch in Lowell, and continue on to Merrillville.

- Day 9, July 28 -- Merrillville-South Bend, 70 miles. The group will take U.S. 30 East to Ind. 2 East to LaPorte, have lunch there, and continue on Ind. 2 to South Bend.

- Day 10, July 29 -- South Bend-Angola, 70 miles. The group will take county roads that parallel U.S. 20 to Middlebury, have lunch there, and continue on to Angola.

- Day 11, July 30 -- Angola-Bluffton, 83 miles. The group will take Old U.S. 27 South to County Road 39, to Ind. 427, to Tonkel Road and have lunch at Fort Wayne Headwaters Park, then continue on Fort Wayne city streets to Ind. 27, take that into Decatur, and then go west on Ind. 224 to Ind. 1 South into Bluffton.

- Day 12, July 31 -- Bluffton-Richmond, 90 miles. The group will take Ind. 1 South to Ind. 67 South into downtown Muncie for lunch, then take a bike path on Ind. 35 for about 20 miles, and continue on Ind. 25 South to Richmond.

- Day 13, Aug. 1 -- Richmond-Indianapolis, 73 miles. The group will take U.S. 40 West to Knightstown, have lunch there, continue on to the Indianapolis city limits, and then take city streets to Butler University before moving on to Crown Hill Cemetery.