While Most Americans took time, last week, to honor those lost in the nine-eleven terrorist attacks; one KELOLAND man was on a very special mission to ground zero. 

Sergeant Pete Jaros of the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Department first noticed the Tour De Force event on a poster a few years ago. He immediately contacted the event organizers and was put on a waiting list. This past December, he again applied, and weeks later he learned he was accepted. 

Last week, he packed his bags and bike for the east coast, ready to take on four days of two wheel travel to honor law enforcement who've fallen in the line of duty. 

The 250 mile ride began at the Pentagon. About 140 bikers from law enforcement agencies across the country pedaled with a purpose. Each raised a minimum of $1,000 for the families of officers who've died while on duty over the past year. At one point, the group paused where an officer had recently been killed, and his wife shared her husband's story. 

Sergeant Pete Jaros says, "Obviously it was very touching. She was an officer herself, she's pregnant and she said some very nice things to all of us and about her husband." 

Jaros raised about $3,000 for his first Tour de Force. He spent several weeks preparing, riding his bike around KELOLAND. He said that helped, since the event covered 100 miles on the first day alone. 

Jaros says, “You're feeling tired or a little sore and you just think about why you're there and you're helping families our who lost officers, and you go on." 

The trek also included a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. Jaros was able to see the Manhattan skyline, and the statue of liberty. 

The final day of the ride was September eleventh. It's a location Jaros has never visited before and describes the sights as numbing, especially when surround by officers who lost co-workers at that sight just seven years ago. 

“It puts things into prospective, you kind of really take a back seat to the whole thing. It was really interesting and real touching to be there,” says Jaros. 

After that experience, Jaros is considering getting back on his bike again next year. 

The ride also included a stop at the New York Police Department's memorial wall, which lists all the NYPD officers killed on the job. The list grew significantly following the World Trade Center attacks. 

This year's Tour de Force raised $250,000.