Cyclists Roll 320 Miles for Wounded Warriors

What has 110 wheels, legs of steel and a heart of gold?

The group of cyclists participating in the 10th annual Ride Allegheny—a four-day, 320 mile ride from Pittsburgh to Gaithersburg.

That's right. Pittsburgh to Gaithersburg.

Between Oct. 6 and Oct. 9, a group of 55 cyclists will make their way along a series of trails and the C&O Canal, until they finally pull into Smokey Glen Farm in Gaithersburg.

Why would anyone undertake such a gruelling ride?

Kentlands resident Walt Ellenberger, the groups chairman and one of the original riders, said the idea came about simply enough.

"It started out as a small group of neighborhood friends that wanted to increase the adventure and be more than just weekend warriors," he said.

So he and five of his friends—Clark Wagner and Dave Baseheart among them—decided to ride their bikes along a network of railways converted into multi-use trails known as the Great Allegheny Passage.

The ride would take four days and cover 320 miles.

The original ride was supposed to start in September, but was delayed until mid-October because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Then about five years ago, the group decided that if they were going to be expending all this energy, it ought to benefit someone.

So through a meeting with Cindy McGrew, found of the non-profit group Operation Second Chance, Ride Allegheny began raising money to help injured veterans readjust to civilian life.

Up until last year, the group had raised about $280,000.

"This past year we decided to make it a much bigger event," Ellenberger said. "We invested some money with the help of Operation Second Chance in order to broaden our reach."

And grow they did. This year, instead of the normal 15 to 20 riders, they have 55 making the joining them on the journey. And more than half—34—will be doing the full 320 mile, four-day trip. The rest will join the main bunch in Cumberland and ride about half the distance.

Ride Allegheny set an ambitious fundraising goal this year as well: $150,000, or more than half of the total from the past 10 years.

As of Tuesday, they had raised about $120,000, and Ellenberger said he was confident they would reach their goal by ride time.

Each day on the trail, riders will cover about 75 miles, Ellenberger said. Most of the riders choose road bikes with wide tires, or cyclo-cross bikes, which resemble road bikes but are specially outfitted to go off-road.

Most of the ride will be on unpaved surfaces, like the dirt-pack C&O. Few sections are paved.

But that doesn't deter the riders, who have done long training rides in preparation.

"At the end of the day, it's all about efficiency," Ellenberger said.