Sea to Shining Sea Bike Team Rides Across Country - WTRF 7 News Sports Weather - Wheeling Steubenville

An amazing group of bikers are now 700 miles away from their goal of riding across the country.

From sea to shining sea they travel, a total of 3,820 miles, it's hard to imagine doing it in a car, let alone on a bike.

On some days, it hit 114 degrees, when others, they rode through snow.

So what made these men and women, some disabled veterans, want to strap on a helmet and bike across the country?                                       

World T.E.A.M. Sports Senior Event Manager Kim Warpinski said it's a challenge. 

"I think it just appealed to them. A challenge in their life that they could overcome, and kind of inspire other people, so that's why they're here and doing this ride," she said. 

The members of the World T.E.A.M. start each morning with a ceremony, where they each reach out to touch the American flag, a reminder of why they're doing this.

Then they start their trek, sometimes 35 miles a day, others up to 120, stopping every ten miles for water. They have nine vehicles in their fleet, one is an RV that folds out with a cover so they can eat lunch and dinner.

For the members of the Sea to Shining Sea team, the ride is more about the people they meet along the way than anything else.

Tom Riley is from England and is riding his bicycle around the world, and met up with the group in Nevada.

"That's the reason why I do this trip, to meet as many people as I can, to see how many people live their lives around the world, and that's the most exciting part for me, is I don't know who I am going to meet, who I am going to run into. These guys have made my experience in America something that I will never forget," Riley said.

He said one of the best parts about the ride is the slow pace, allowing time to really take in his surroundings as he travels across the country.

Amazingly, two of the riders are blind and rely on their pilots to guide them on tandem bikes.

"They put a lot of trust in their pilots, it shows what kind of trust and what kind of camaraderie they have with their pilots. And I know when they're on their bikes their pilots will describe to them what it's like around them as they're biking and that helps with the sensory perceptions," Warpinski said.

Rachel Rosen is an intern with World T.E.A.M. from Seattle. She has worked in the group in the past and jumped at the chance to do it again.

"So yeah, it's interesting, the different dynamics between the groups and seeing the riders grow and progress. It's great, it's fantastic. We had some riders who when they started couldn't even do 20 miles when they got here, and now they're doing 100 to 120 miles in a day," she said.

While the ride is described as enjoyable, challenging and painful, it is something they're all proud of, and they have one major goal in mind.

"So it's nice to see that and to meet other people out on the road and see what their message is and our message is for the veterans who are out there, that if we can get up every day and do this ride, as painful as it is, that they can do something positive in their life to move forward," said John Malkin, a member of the group.

Monday morning the team departed Weirton for their ride to Pittsburgh. They will wrap up their journey on July 28 in Virginia Beach.

For more information on the team and their mission, visit http://worldteamsports.org/events/sea-to-shining-sea/.