Group of wounded veterans to bicycle through Summerlin

By Paul Takahashi

Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 | 5:15 p.m.

Twenty-six injured veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will participate in a bicycling ride event in Summerlin on Wednesday.

The riders are members of the Wounded Warrior Project’s national Soldier Ride, a rehabilitative cycling program that helps veterans find support and inspiration from their fellow injured soldiers. The local Soldier Ride event is part of a five-day journey that will take the veterans from Las Vegas to a stop at Lake Havasu, Ariz., and finally to their final destination in Phoenix on Dec. 3.

“The men and women represented by the Wounded Warrior Project are true American heroes,” the Wounded Warrior Project’s executive director Steve Nardizzi said in a statement. “We are excited for them to enjoy the tremendous community support in Nevada and Arizona and be honored in the way they deserve.”

The veterans will be staying as guests in the J.W. Marriott Resort and Spa in Summerlin, where they will be given complimentary guest rooms and breakfast before their Las Vegas portion of the Soldier Ride.

Wednesday’s 17-mile bike ride will begin at 9 a.m. at the Marriott. The Wounded Warriors – outfitted in upright, recumbent or hand-crank cycles, depending on their injuries – will make a loop through Summerlin, starting from the hotel down Rampart Boulevard and Fort Apache Road, meandering through Town Center Drive and ending at the TPC Summerlin golf course.

After the ride, the bikers will receive lunch and participate in a presentation by the Quilting Guild.

“To see a guy who lost their legs biking, it means a lot to the newly injured (soldiers,” said Nick Kraus, a Soldier Ride organizer. “It proves to them they can do it too.”

The bike ride is the second Soldier Ride event in Las Vegas. The Wounded Warrior Project – a national, nonpartisan organization that seeks to honor and empower injured service members – has been operating the Solider Ride program nationally since 2004.