Richard M. "Dick" Cole, a 72-year-old member of The American Legion, Sons of The American Legion and American Legion Riders, was moved to write a song after participating in June's Virginia Legacy Run.

"I thought a rock song about participating in motorcycle rides with my Legion brothers and sisters would be a great way to bring attention to ALR and the efforts of the organization, nationwide, in fundraising for veterans' causes." Cole has been a musician since high school and is a veteran of performing with several Virginia rock bands including "Point Blank," "OTR," "Riptide," "Fastrac" and "Four of a Kind."

The song is being distributed by CD Baby and was made available to YouTube Music and Apple iTunes over this past weekend. It will shortly be posted to Spotify and numerous other services.

"I thought it would be something great that could be used under videos from ALR events. Any monetization that comes from playing or downloading the song will be donated to the American Legion Veterans & Children Foundation through the Southern Virginia American Legion Riders," Cole said.

Cole has been a musician, photographer and writer since high school. He served 20 years in the Air Force in a variety of jobs, retiring as a major in 1992. He also served as a government supervisory public affairs specialist, retiring in 2013 as a GS-15.

"Writing music and serving as my post's public relations officer and historian allow me to continue to be creative and keep me pretty busy," Cole said. "I'm not in gigging bands any longer but do get together weekly to jam with friends in the Richmond area, and they assisted with getting this song recorded."

The song, "Ride with the Wind," can be heard at the following link on YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kw_AFSDWk_Rk_ACUE1PXDwr4...