Ahead of Remembrance Day, one veteran has led the charge for mental health for six years running.
U.S. Army airborne veteran Tegh Singh has been leading the annual Veterans Transition Network Ride for Mental Health for six years — this year on Nov. 9 — leaving from the Field of Crosses on Memorial Drive and touring various war memorial points through the city.
“It feels really surreal — I’m beyond grateful that we can give a voice to what a lot of veterans are experiencing and first responders are experiencing right now,” Singh said.
“This is making a huge difference around PTSD and treatment programs available to veterans and first responders.”
The first year, with COVID lockdowns, Singh rode alone in the snow.
The next year his effort began to snowball, with an acquaintance joining him, as well as some cyclists they met on the trail.
U.S. Army veteran Tegh Singh organized the sixth annual Veterans Transition Network’s Ride for Veteran Mental Health in Calgary on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.
Six years on is where rubber meets road for the bike rally.
“The next year, four more cyclists joined me, then the next up to 14, and then now about 20 people signed up ahead of the ride,” Singh said.
Singh served with the U.S. Army’s 509th Infantry Regiment and served two deployments: 15 months in Iraq and 12 months in Afghanistan.
That experience left the airborne veteran with the unseen scars of PTSD.
“I’m blessed that I came into treatment right before the COVID lockdowns, and at the time I was having nightmares five to six days a week, flashbacks two or three times a week,” Singh said.
“I could barely go into grocery stores, I could barely work, my marriage was failing.
“Six years later, here we are . . . my anxiety is way down, my ability to regulate my emotions is way up, I’m much more higher functioning, my marriage is stronger than ever, and look how much community I’ve been able to build just because I wanted to.”
More information about the Veteran’s Transition Network can be found at https://vtncanada.org.
Cyclists cross Memorial Drive for the sixth annual Veterans Transition Network’s Ride for Veteran Mental Health in Calgary on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. The ride was organized by U.S. Army veteran Tegh Singh after his own struggles following tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
U.S. Army veteran Tegh Singh speaks after laying wreaths mounted on bicycle wheels at Peacekeeper Park as part of the sixth annual Veterans Transition Network’s Ride for Veteran Mental Health in Calgary on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.
Cyclists arrive at Peacekeeper Park for the sixth annual Veterans Transition Network’s Ride for Veteran Mental Health in Calgary on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. The ride was organized by U.S. Army veteran Tegh Singh after his own struggles following tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
U.S. Army veteran Tegh Singh organized the sixth annual Veterans Transition Network’s Ride for Veteran Mental Health in Calgary on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.
U.S. Army veteran Tegh Singh (left) holds the flag of the 509th Infantry Regiment with fellow veteran Cody Littlefield at the sixth annual Veterans Transition Network Ride for Veteran Mental Health in Calgary on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.