Raising suicide prevention awareness

A Red Oak man has completed a major journey to raise suicide prevention awareness.
September is Suicide Prevention month.  To help spread the word, Red Oak’s Nate Payne embarked on the “Kicks” Memorial bike ride. Payne said his goal was to keep the memory of his brother alive and raise awareness for mental health.
Payne, who has lived in Red Oak for the past 25 years, works as a production manager at Fres-co. He started his ride in Spirit Lake. His route included Okiboji, Spencer, Sioux Rapids, Storm Lake, Walnut, Griswold, and everything in between before his final stop in Red Oak.
For Payne, he said the decision to do the ride was in the spur of the moment.
“I made the decision to do it about three weeks before I went. I’m not really a cyclist, and this is just something I chose to do. This is the very first time I’ve done the ride. I just started riding a bike about a week before RAGBRAI. I decided then that I was going to do the first day of RAGBRAI, and I thought that would be it, but then I decided to do it all the way across Iowa,” Payne said. “When it comes to suicide prevention and mental health awareness, there’s not much you can do but show that you care. We’ve lost too many people, even in Red Oak, to all that kind of stuff.”
As for the route itself, he said that was also a spur of the moment, simply being dropped off and coming back home in the same direction.
“I always go out to Spirit Lake. I’ve got a lot of family out there. I didn’t want to take the same way I always drive it, which is through Atlantic. I took a different way through Walnut and Spencer and all that,” stated Payne.
The ride started for Payne on Sunday morning, and he finished the journey back to Red Oak at around 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 3. For the last 56 miles, Payne dedicated the ride to one of his friends, Jay Douglas Woodward, who passed away from an ATV accident while he was away.
Payne said overall the experience was a very positive one for him.
“It was extremely humbling physically and emotionally. I’m resting up from the ride and I’ve been talking to a lot of people. I feel the trip was worth it,” advised Payne.
With this ride being successful, Payne said he’s pondering whether he will do the ride in the future.
“I may make this an annual ride. I haven’t committed to it yet as I’ve only been back for a short while, but I think I may do the same thing next year, either the same route or a different route, and doing some more planning beforehand, rather than just hopping on and going.”
Payne admitted there was a mixed reaction of impatient drivers and supporters.
“I got a lot of waves and honks. Two people stopped me for hugs, and I got hugs from people at gas stations where I would sit and rest. They were extremely nice to me,” Payne commented.
The weather also cooperated. Payne had warm temperatures and cool nights. Payne issued a final message to everyone in the community.
“People need to call their family members, no matter how recently they’ve talked to them, and tell them they love them. Everyone is stuggling, or everyone knows someone that is struggling. All they have to do is talk to each other. I hope my message was received. My intention was to reach out to at least one person, either on my trip or through word of mouth,” explained Payne.