WAUSAUKEE, WI — Longtime Wausaukee-area EMT Jim Brien marked the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 by joining a memorial bicycle ride to New York City and Ground Zero. At 79, he rode alongside hundreds of participants and New York City firefighters to honor the first responders who died that day.
Brien said the experience was about being part of a larger tribute rather than drawing attention to his own effort. He described the ride as a chance to share the moment with firefighters and people who came from across the country for the commemoration.
He reached New York for the ceremony, though he had to finish the final stretch in a support vehicle because of traffic and timing. Even so, he said he was proud to take part and to see the support lining the route.
How the Ride for Resilience reached New York City
The Ride for Resilience followed a multi-day route from Boston to New York, with the final miles carrying cyclists from the suburbs into the city under police escort. Fire engines and firefighters lined the route, while sirens and cheers greeted the riders as they approached Ground Zero.
The ride had a carefully chosen symbolic measure: the total mileage matched the number of New York City firefighters who died at Ground Zero. That detail gave the event a specific memorial purpose, tying each mile to the lives lost in the attacks and the rescue effort that followed.
Brien completed the first several miles into New York before getting into a SAG vehicle for the last part of the journey. He still arrived in time for the Ground Zero ceremony and said the atmosphere moved him deeply, especially because he believed he was likely the oldest rider actively taking part.
A memorial ride with roots in Ireland
Brien said the ride has international roots, beginning as a 9/11 memorial in Ireland. He noted that it was one of the few memorials outside the United States tied to the attacks, and riders connected to that effort helped inspire and join this year’s American tribute.
That connection added another layer to the event, linking a Wisconsin EMT’s participation to a wider remembrance that crossed borders. For Brien, the experience was not just about endurance cycling, but about helping carry a message of remembrance into a place shaped forever by the attacks.
He said the presence of firefighters, cyclists and supporters from around the country made the ride feel like a shared act of respect. The final approach into Manhattan, with emergency vehicles and crowds on the roadside, reinforced the memorial tone of the journey.
More than five decades in rescue work shaped his motivation
Brien’s decision to join the tribute was rooted in a career that spans more than 50 years with the Wausaukee Rescue Squad. He has spent 51 years as a licensed EMT and worked several more years before the squad was formally recognized.
He said that long service made the 9/11 observances personal as well as professional. During the ride, he carried the memory of fallen firefighters, including John Marshall, a New York firefighter whose photo he first received during a memorial walk five years earlier.
For Brien, honoring the dead was tied to a lifetime spent helping others in emergency medicine. The memorial ride gave him a way to connect that history to the people and agencies whose losses on Sept. 11 remain central to national remembrance.
A second memorial journey to the Flight 93 National Memorial
Brien’s 9/11 commemoration did not end in New York. On Sept. 12, he joined a separate memorial ride to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, where passengers overpowered hijackers and brought the plane down before it could reach Washington, D.C.
He spent about three hours at the memorial taking in tributes that included wreaths, personal notes and recorded phone calls from passengers to loved ones. He said listening to those final messages was a very emotional experience and left a strong impression on him.
Brien called the passengers the real heroes, saying their actions prevented even greater loss. He said he wanted people to remember both the first responders who died and the passengers whose courage changed the course of the day.
Training, cycling and a long athletic record kept him ready
Brien arrived prepared for the rides. He is an avid cyclist and distance walker who continues to train and compete in his late 70s, and he has maintained a regular route out of Wausaukee for years.
In the weeks before the 9/11 events, he completed a 55-mile Make-A-Wish Foundation ride starting in Marinette and also took part in rides with the Fuller Center. He said he is even considering an electric-assist bike, not to avoid effort, but to keep riding longer.
His athletic background is wide-ranging. He has competed in the Wisconsin Senior Games, participated in the Transplant Games after living 44 years with a kidney transplant, earned medals in track and cycling, and worked toward a goal of running a 5K in every state, with about 24 states complete.
Funding, first responder health and what he wants people to remember
The Ride for Resilience also raised money for groups including Friends of Firefighters and Livestrong, which supports first responders dealing with occupational cancer and cumulative trauma. Brien said conversations about first responder health have changed slowly over the decades he has been in service.
He pointed to a recently passed state law that expands support for EMS, fire and law enforcement personnel facing long-term health issues, including cancer and mental health struggles. He said the change took too long, but he welcomed the broader recognition of those risks.
Looking back on Sept. 11, Brien said one of the most powerful effects was the brief sense of national unity that followed the attacks. He said he wishes that feeling had lasted and said Americans need a way to come together again, while remembering the first responders and passengers he called the real heroes.
