Biking across the USA, without legs. Vet of the Afghanistan morass(definition #2), he lost both legs to an IED

Gaal was a corporal infantry rifleman in 15 Charlie Company with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, was chosen to serve as a member of the Presidential Guard and was the second Marine to stand behind President Barack Obama during his inauguration. It was on Gaal’s second deployment to Afghanistan that the blast occurred; the night before the explosion, he had announced his intention to re-enlist.

Following the explosion, Gaal was comatose for two months and lost both legs and part of his hip.

Gaal’s trip started June 1 in San Diego, an almost-4,000 mile ride done entirely on a hand-cycle.
Gaal embarked on the journey to raise money and awareness for the Semper Fi Fund, the charity that helped him recover after he was severely injured in an IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2011, which to date has given 63,900 grants worth $107 million.

“[The Semper Fi Fund] is doing so much good for every branch,” said Gaal. “I wanted to pay it forward to the next generation.”
The Semper Fi Fund provides immediate financial assistance and lifetime support to post-9/11 wounded, critically ill, and injured members of all branches of the armed forces. It also provides resources to the families of those injured.
http://freebeacon.com/culture/double-amputee-veteran-cycling-from-california-to-arlington-to-raise-money-for-semper-fi-fund/

(on crossing the country in one of the hottest summers on record)

“We’re trying to beat the heat,” Riley said. “We started that in Arizona, where it would climb to 100 or more during the day. We started getting up at 3 a.m., then eventually it just became easy to get up at midnight and get on the road.”

In Girard Pennsylvania, they were met by a law enforcement escort, two cyclists and several motorcyclists from the Pittsburg American Legion, who led them into Pittsburg. There, a contingent from Pittsburg Police Department and Fire Department greeted them with an American flag flying from an aerial truck, then toured them through the Beard-Shanks Law Enforcement Center.

On August 2, 2015, Toran Gaal completed his journey of hand-cycling more than 4,000 miles to a warm reception of more than 100 supporters in Washington, DC. Assisted by his friend and fellow wounded Marine, Brian Riley, the 63 day trip raised incredible awareness for the Semper Fi Fund and the challenges all Veterans face. The ceremonies for the day continued with Toran and Brian placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns

https://semperfifund.org/updates/toran-brians-ride-across-america/#more-32871

https://semperfifund.org/donate/

(on meeting his fiancee)

“It’s a blessing,” Gaal said of where he’s at in life now. “It’s how I met an amazing woman, Lisa Graves, who is now my fiancee. She interviewed me for a book she was writing, and we fell in love.”
She is a driving force behind his trip, he said, and is the point person for media, accommodations, cities they’re passing through, website updates and emails.

 He’s proud to have raised $12,000 of his $40,000 goal, but he wants to raise more.

“I challenge every person in each city we visit to donate $1,” Gaal said. “Not just for us — for the next generation of warriors who are going to have to endure the hardships we did for recovery.”

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ride-Across-America/491661300991852

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/injured-marine-hand-pedaling-cross-country-to-raise-funds-for/article_4c0a482f-44f3-5c62-8573-fbd7668ba997.html
http://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/double-amputee-single-amputee-make-cross-country-ride-to-benefit/article_4380976b-7c74-5b42-a5f0-7496f0afe56c.html