Retired SEALs biking 1,000 miles for the disabled roll into Wilmington

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) -One group of retired military members continue to serve their country, this time by rallying for people who live with disabilities.

Beyond the Teams is a group made up of ex-Navy SEALS who graduated training together.

They’re setting off on a 1,000 mile, 11-day bike ride down the east coast to raise money for people with neuromuscular illnesses and help them regain mobility and have a better quality of life. The ride will start in Virginia Beach, Va., and finish at the birthplace of Navy Frogmen/SEALS in Ft. Pierce, Fla.

On Wednesday, they arrived in Wilmington with another 100 miles under their belts.

“Beyond the Teams grew out of a partnership between five classmates. We all graduated from SEAL training in 1978. Last November we had a 40 year reunion and when they heard about a bike ride I did to raise money for the clinic, they wanted to join in and do what they can so that is where is where this 1,000 mile bike ride came in,” said group founder Mike Charbonnet.

The cause is personal to Charbonnet: his son was paralyzed in a skydiving accident. The ride benefits the rehabilitation center that treated his son in California. The facility cares for military veterans, children and works with those who have difficulty moving due to stroke, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, and multiple traumas.

“We bring the same passion and purpose to our fund-raising missions as we did to our SEAL missions,” Charbonnet wrote in a press release. “Our military training and service taught us we are stronger as a team than as individuals, so we pool our resources to serve."

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