Their young faces and energetic voices belie the catastrophic wounds they carry.
The half-dozen young men talk about the grueling 4,200-mile cross-country bicycle ride they've started, how they've muscled the treacherous Baker Grade between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and how their next leg will take them to Colorado.
They pedal and pump all in the name of the wounded warriors they've become and those they want to help.
For Heath Calhoun, a 25-year-old Army veteran of the Iraq war, the journey is as much about recovery as it is about the mission -- raising awareness and money for wounded military men and women returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Calhoun rides in a specially fitted bicycle he pedals with his hands. He lost both legs above the knee in 2003 after a rocket-propelled grenade hit the truck he was riding in.
"I've been home for almost two years," said Calhoun, a Tennessee native. "Sometimes I feel like I'm fully recovered, but other times I feel like every day is part of my recovery. This ride is going to help a lot. It's building my upper body and is making me stronger every day."
The Soldier Ride is a fund-raiser for the Wounded Warrior Project. The project aims to boost the morale of U.S. military personnel who have suffered catastrophic injuries, help them with medical expenses, and provide transportation and lodging for family members who want to be with them while they recover at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center near Bethesda, Md.
Ryan Kelly, 24, was in the Army Reserves when he was deployed to Iraq. He was on his way to a conference on rebuilding the country's schools and hospitals when his convoy was ambushed. An explosive device destroyed his right leg.
"In doing this ride, we're trying to help our buddies get the benefits in care and opportunity like we had," said Kelly, a Virginia native.
Chris Carney, who made the first cross-country ride for the cause last year, said he became involved in the Wounded Warrior Project after meeting its founder, John Melia, at Walter Reed. Carney said he has never been in the military but wanted to do something to show his appreciation to the veterans who literally had given so much of themselves for this nation's security.
Carney, 35, said that while visiting the medical center, he learned that the military pays only for one relative to visit the injured soldier for one week every six months.
"We don't think that's enough of a support system for a kid who just lost a leg," Carney said.
The money raised also pays for care packages that include comfort items such as phone cards and T-shirts and shorts so that the injured soldiers don't have to be in hospital gowns during their entire stay.
The group hopes to raise $5 million.
Carney said that during his ride last year, wounded soldiers started joining him and encouraged him to do the ride again.
"For a lot of these guys, this is the first time they're doing anything physical after being in the hospital," Carney said. "It's the first time they get out and sweat and be guys again."
The wounded warriors started this year's long ride Saturday in Los Angeles and arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. The group met with Mayor Oscar Goodman during his Thursday news conference.
Goodman lauded their efforts, calling them the men "who put themselves in harm's way and were harmed."
Melia, a Marine who suffered severe burns in a midair helicopter explosion over Somalia in 1992, started the Wounded Warrior Project after seeing images on TV of injured soldiers returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
"There are still more and more coming," he said. "And when they're home, they still need the support of the American people. They need to know they're appreciated."
For more information about the Soldier Ride, to join the ride or to make a donation, log onto www.soldierride.com, or call 1-866-743-3441.
