Gabby Giffords completes 12-mile bicycle ride

Former Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords, critically wounded in a 2011 mass shooting, took another step in her recovery by completing a 12-mile bicycle ride Saturday.

Giffords, who trained for the El Tour de Tucson for six months, rode a recumbent bike and crossed the finish line Saturday alongside her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly.

Kelly said his wife trained on a bike, treadmill and rowing machine.

"It's important to stay active, and she wants to do everything she used to do before," he told KGUN-TV.

Giffords, a Tucson native, was a cycling enthusiast and athlete before she was critically wounded by a shot to the head in January 2011. Jared Loughner opened fire at a Giffords meet-and-greet outside a supermarket near Tucson, killing six people and injuring 17 others. He pleaded guilty in 2012 and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

More than 8,000 riders attended the event, KGUN reported. Kelly told the television station his wife wants to complete the El Tour 40-mile ride next year.

Participants cheered and applauded as Giffords crossed the finish line.