When 55-year-old Michael Donahue was working as a military policeman in Virginia Beach 30 years ago, he was accidentally shot, paralyzed from the waist down and told that he would never ride a motorcycle again. He had been riding bikes since he was 16.
Last year, however, Donahue became the first Californian to buy a Mobility Conquest motorcycle, a trike that costs around $57,000. Only 29 exist in the country, and Donahue thinks the investment was worth every penny. "It cost as much as a car but I already have a car," he said said. "I wanted that feeling again."
To celebrate his recent purchase, Donahue is participating in the cross-country Run for the Wall event, which starts in Rancho Cucamonga, California, on Wednesday and ends in Washington, D.C., collecting additional riders along the way. The event raises awareness of soldiers missing in action and veterans, and two other men on Mobility Conquest trikes will be participating, and will join up with Donahue and the other riders in Ohio.
Donahue has been itching to participate in the Run for the Wall since he first found out about the event. "People keep telling me it's an experience that can't be explained, that it's something you have to just wait and see," he said. "I'm tired of waiting. I want to see."
