Eighteen disabled veterans will stop in Pittsburgh this week as they enter the home stretch of a 3,700-mile bicycle ride across the United States.

The riders began in San Francisco May 21 and will finish in Virginia Beach July 24. They are raising money for World T.E.A.M Sports and trying to bring attention to the athletic potential of people with disabilities.

In Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Thursday, they will stop for a welcoming ceremony and a tour of the regenerative medicine institute at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC.

World T.E.A.M. Sports, a nonprofit that provides athletic opportunities to disabled people, organized the ride, called "Sea to Shining Sea." Paul Bremer, the former chief administrator of Iraq who oversaw the U.S. occupation from 2003 to 2004, will lead the ride.

Many of the veterans fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They come from all military branches and live across the country. Their injuries vary; some are physical, others are emotional. One veteran, 27-year-old Eric Frazier, is originally from Pittsburgh.

They'll stop in Pittsburgh at 3 p.m. Wednesday for a public welcoming ceremony at the Great Lawn on the northeast side of Heinz Field. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, City Council President Darlene Harris and County Council President Rich Fitzgerald will speak, and former Steelers linebacker Robin Cole will be master of ceremonies.

On Thursday, they will visit Pitt's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which develops ways to repair damaged or diseased tissues and organs. Then on Friday, the veterans will leave for Somerset and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville.

After leaving San Francisco May 21, the veterans biked through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. They will leave Pittsburgh and spend their final 10 days with stops in McConnellsburg, Washington, D.C., Richmond and Virginia Beach.

The trip schedules biking increments ranging from 35 to 120 miles per day over 64 days, including 11 rest days. The average increment is 70 miles a day.

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