Cyclist to pedal for wounded warriors

To Michael McGuinness, pedaling 62 miles is a small sacrifice.

The Havelock resident and retired U.S. Marine will gladly go the distance in the Soldiers Ride Carolinas Challenge, a cycling event created to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

“If it makes a difference, I can pedal anywhere for 62 miles,” he said. “It’s not about me. It’s not about the ride. It’s about the wounded warriors, these men and women who need our help.”

Planned for several consecutive days in mid-October, the Carolinas Challenge will comprise various cycling events in North and South Carolina. McGuinness said he chose the longest, the 100 kilometer, or “metric century” ride, planned for Oct. 21 in Spartansburg, S.C.

An avid cyclist who rides through Havelock nearly every weekend, McGuinness biked 500 miles through the Tar Heel State during last year’s Cycle North Carolina event, held the first weekend in October. He considered participating again this year, but decided to take part in the Soldiers Ride instead.

McGuinness set a goal to raise $20 per mile, or $1,240, but said he hopes donations greatly exceed his expectations.

“We’re in a military town,” McGuinness said. “I’d like to pull up in Spartanburg and say we really raised a lot, we take pride in our military. It doesn’t go to me, I don’t make a penny off this. I pay my own entry fee.”

McGuinness works for General Dynamics, a military contractor, and owns Indco Services, a commercial cleaning business. He has a daughter attending Meredith College in Raleigh and a son who is a freshman at Havelock High School.

Based in Jacksonville, Fla., the Wounded Warrior Project provides therapeutic and family services to severely injured military service members, many of whom lost limbs in armed conflict or had them amputated because of their injuries.

“These men and women have actually given a limb,” McGuinness said. “It doesn’t really matter if you’re a Democrat or Republican, if you’re for the war or against the war for us to support our servicemen and -women.”

An endurance athlete who favors distance rides over short sprints, McGuinness said he bikes between 85 to 116 miles every weekend.

“I do it because of fitness — I’ve lost probably about 30 pounds,” he said. “It’s an incredible release of stress for me. It just clears my mind and it’s very peaceful. I spend a lot of time on the bike.”

He said motorists in Havelock should be more aware of cyclists and pedestrians on the shoulder of the road. While riding through Tucker Creek, McGuinness was struck by the mirror of a Chevrolet cargo van in June, he said.

“I get in a close call every other ride. People cross the fog line. They’re not paying attention or they think it’s funny to get close,” he said. “I don’t ride at night because it’s too dangerous. There are a lot of people out there who just don’t pay attention.”

To date, McGuinness has received more than $941 in donations. He keeps a boot in his office for co-workers to donate their spare change and has encouraged friends and relatives to make a donation on his Soldiers Ride participant Web page.

He is asking those who visit the Web page to pledge $5 or $10 to his effort. To be counted toward his individual fundraising goal, all donations must be received by Oct. 15.

“I hope that I can raise the money, and I hope to God that it makes a difference, because these men and women did so much,” he said. “My legs are going to get sore because I’m climbing up a hill? Some of these men and women don’t have legs. That really puts it in perspective.”

To donate online, visit his participant Web page at http://carolinaschallenge.kintera.org/mcguinness?faf=1&e=1239196316. Donors can also send checks payable to the Wounded Warrior Project to Partners for Active Living, P.O. Box 6728, Spartansburg, SC 29304-6728.