Greg Lehr, chief operations officer at Oceanside Glasstile in Carlsbad, recently completed a bike ride across the United States. In total, he rode for 2,904 miles over 27 days, traveling from Costa Mesa, Calif. to Savannah, Ga. He traveled an average of 115 miles a day.
Lehr, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after a wakeboarding accident in 2009, wanted to raise awareness for the cause of traumatic brain injuries. Before his trip, he collected money through a website, www.bikingforbrains.com, and raised more than $26,000 for the Wounded Warriors Project.
He also wanted to inspire others, primarily the employees of Glasstile as well students at the Old Town Academy, to get out and lead more active lifestyles. Lehr challenged them to compete against him, and match his mileage by walking, running, biking or taking part in other forms of exercise.
"They absolutely showed me," Lehr said. "We had a bunch of people who were walking, running, and one 11-year-old boy at the Old Town Academy even rode a pogo stick for three miles."
Lehr said it wasn't hard to encourage employees at his company to be active, since Oceanside Glasstile's employee wellness plan is well-implemented.
The company plays sports regularly, offers free on site access to cholesterol, weight and BMI screenings and the company has gotten rid of junk food in its vending machines and at monthly birthday celebrations, which now eschew cake in favor of fresh fruits.
In fact, Lehr said, from noon to 1 p.m. each day, employees at Oceanside Glasstile are not allowed to schedule meetings so that they can play sports and exercise.
"Essentially, our work culture is one where our chief objective and culture focuses on employee wellness," Lehr said. "I think overall, when people end up getting up and moving, they end up a lot happier, more rational in their decision-making and get a lot more enjoyment."
Lehr said he's led a very active lifestyle, even before joining the Oceanside-based company in 2006. He ran a couple of triathlons as well as several other runs and cycling events.
Then in 2009, his life changed completely.
He fell off his wakeboard while in the waters of Solana Beach, but Lehr didn't think it was a big deal. He brushed off this mishap, went home to Coronado and the next day ran the Solana Beach Triathlon. The day after the marathon, things went bad quickly.
"I had a bit of a headache, then my wife asked me a question and I couldn't get the words out," Lehr said. "I was completely numb. I checked my pulse, thinking I had low blood pressure or something, and in a second I was on the ground and my wife called 9-1-1."
He flat-lined in the ambulance twice and had to be resuscitated on the way to the hospital.
"After that, every aspect of my life changed," Lehr said. The recovery lasted 18 months, and while physically it was a challenge, the hardest struggles were with a more volatile, less-rational personality, some memory loss and trouble with visual stimulus.
During his recovery, he met service members who had undergone brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, and decided he wanted to do more for them, and that's how to idea of the ride came about.
"It really was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Lehr said.
Lehr, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after a wakeboarding accident in 2009, wanted to raise awareness for the cause of traumatic brain injuries. Before his trip, he collected money through a website, www.bikingforbrains.com, and raised more than $26,000 for the Wounded Warriors Project.
He also wanted to inspire others, primarily the employees of Glasstile as well students at the Old Town Academy, to get out and lead more active lifestyles. Lehr challenged them to compete against him, and match his mileage by walking, running, biking or taking part in other forms of exercise.
"They absolutely showed me," Lehr said. "We had a bunch of people who were walking, running, and one 11-year-old boy at the Old Town Academy even rode a pogo stick for three miles."
Lehr said it wasn't hard to encourage employees at his company to be active, since Oceanside Glasstile's employee wellness plan is well-implemented.
The company plays sports regularly, offers free on site access to cholesterol, weight and BMI screenings and the company has gotten rid of junk food in its vending machines and at monthly birthday celebrations, which now eschew cake in favor of fresh fruits.
In fact, Lehr said, from noon to 1 p.m. each day, employees at Oceanside Glasstile are not allowed to schedule meetings so that they can play sports and exercise.
"Essentially, our work culture is one where our chief objective and culture focuses on employee wellness," Lehr said. "I think overall, when people end up getting up and moving, they end up a lot happier, more rational in their decision-making and get a lot more enjoyment."
Lehr said he's led a very active lifestyle, even before joining the Oceanside-based company in 2006. He ran a couple of triathlons as well as several other runs and cycling events.
Then in 2009, his life changed completely.
He fell off his wakeboard while in the waters of Solana Beach, but Lehr didn't think it was a big deal. He brushed off this mishap, went home to Coronado and the next day ran the Solana Beach Triathlon. The day after the marathon, things went bad quickly.
"I had a bit of a headache, then my wife asked me a question and I couldn't get the words out," Lehr said. "I was completely numb. I checked my pulse, thinking I had low blood pressure or something, and in a second I was on the ground and my wife called 9-1-1."
He flat-lined in the ambulance twice and had to be resuscitated on the way to the hospital.
"After that, every aspect of my life changed," Lehr said. The recovery lasted 18 months, and while physically it was a challenge, the hardest struggles were with a more volatile, less-rational personality, some memory loss and trouble with visual stimulus.
During his recovery, he met service members who had undergone brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, and decided he wanted to do more for them, and that's how to idea of the ride came about.
"It really was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Lehr said.