NEWPORT BEACH : Cyclist Rides Again for a Good Cause

Twenty-nine hours is the time Bill Harney hopes to beat.

On Saturday at 2 p.m., Harney, 30, will pedal out of Hard Rock Cafe’s parking lot on his third annual ride to Las Vegas to raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Irvine. The 310-mile route will take him and his van crew across the desert via a riverbed trail, back roads, surface streets and parts of an interstate freeway to Nevada.

The first year of his ride Harney fought a tough head wind most of the way, arriving in Las Vegas after 33 hours. Last year, he made it in 29 hours, minus the head wind.

“Between three and six in the morning is the toughest part,” he said. “You just don’t want to go any farther (after) staring at that white line for so long.”

Harney will be accompanied on the hilly and sometimes windy ride by several of his friends in a van. They will supply him with water, bananas, peanut butter and company.

About six years ago, Harney, who was working as a limousine driver, drove a 4-year-old girl who needed a bone marrow transplant from Children’s Hospital of Orange County to the airport. A donor was never found, and the girl eventually died.

That inspired him to organize his one-man ride for charity. He handles all the publicity and has signed up 10 sponsors this year.

“I just kind of realized there was things happening to children that they have no control over,” said Harney, of Santa Ana. “It is a heartbreaker. I will never forget the look on that girl’s face.”

Last year’s ride raised $800 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which is dedicated to making the wishes of terminally ill children come true.

Harney has been riding about 200 miles a week in preparation for Saturday’s event.