The 10th annual “Cops Cycling for Survivors” bicycle ride began in Indianapolis yesterday. More than 50 police officers are participating in a 13-day, 1000-mile ride throughout Indiana.

This year’s ride is in memory of Terre Haute Police Officer Brent Long who was shot and killed on July 11, 2011 as he and other officers served an arrest warrant. The purpose of the ride is to support survivors and to promote the Indiana Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors.

The journey will take the riders to New Carlisle on Friday, July 13 at the New Carlisle Cemetery in LaPorte County. While there, a ceremony to honor the memory of Neil Thompson will be conducted. Thompson was a LaPorte County Sheriff’s Deputy who was killed in the line of duty on September 21, 1980. After the ceremony, the entourage will travel to the LaPorte County Fire Department for lunch at around 10:30 a.m. CT.

A LaPorte County Sheriff’s Deputy is participating in this year’s ride. Sergeant Michael Kellems will be biking along the route which winds through Indiana and ends in Indianapolis.