How Mountain Biking Is Helping Veterans Come Home
Everyone has their own unique reason to ride. Some do it for fitness, for others it’s an activity they can do all together with their friends or family, and for riders like U.S. Army Veteran Clayton Peterson he says it’s “the only reason why he’s still alive today.”
For many former service members, riding isn’t just recreation — it’s therapy. It’s a pressure release valve, and a way to reconnect with people who understand what they’ve been through. It gives them a sense of community and a physical outlet after they have given so much during their time serving. Perhaps more than anything for these riders, mountain biking has once again given them purpose. And that purpose was front and center this Veterans Day at Lake Leatherwood in Northwest Arkansas, where The Dirt Therapy Project hosted its annual Veterans Day Ride with support from D3O and its ballistic division, Delta Three Oscar.
The Dirt Therapy Project (TDTP) was founded by Jonathan Hagerman, a former U.S. Marine Corps utility engineer who served from 2009–2013. What started as a simple idea — get veterans outside and connected through riding — has evolved into a lifeline for many dealing with post-deployment stress, depression, and the difficult transition back into civilian life. “It’s more than a sport,” Hagerman says. “It’s a way to reconnect, to talk, to push through fear and stress, and to find purpose again.”
This year’s event brought veterans from across the region for a full day of shuttles, laps, conversation, and community. Delta Three Oscar helped make the ride possible, providing shuttles and alongside partners Troy Lee Designs and ODI Grips, they were able to supply protective gear and grips to every veteran who showed up. But beyond the product — it was about being seen, supported, and reminded that their homecoming matters.
Delta Three Oscar typically develops military-grade protective equipment — ballistic foams, helmet liners, HALO™ systems, and limb protection used by military and law-enforcement personnel worldwide. Supporting a mountain bike event might look like a departure, but according to D3O CEO Stuart Sawyer, it fits the mission perfectly. “Our job is to protect and support those who serve,” he said. “Extending that commitment to help their homecoming is an honor. Seeing how mountain biking helps veterans reconnect and regain confidence is truly inspiring.”
A short film produced for the event captures honest conversations with the veterans who attended. they are riders who’ve found clarity, community, and a sense of safety through time on the bike. Some talked about mountain biking as a tool for managing anxiety or PTSD. Others said it gave them back the adrenaline, focus, and camaraderie they missed from military life. Thanks to events like this and increasingly for a growing number of former service members, bikes aren’t just hobbies — they’re lifelines.