CLEVELAND — Bike riders traveling from Virginia to the coast made a pit stop in Cleveland this week.

In an email, Novant Health Rowan Medical Center Community Engagement Director Kristen Trexler Reavis said, “Rowan County EMS and Novant Health were truly honored to host the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride (Tuesday) for a rest/lunch stop at Station 88.”

Reavis indicated that the the group is bicycling almost 500 miles from Roanoke, Virginia to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on a trip expected to take about a week.

The group pays homage to EMS personnel by organizing and implementing long-distance cycling events that memorialize and celebrate the lives of those who serve everyday, those who have become sick or injured while performing their duties and those who have died in the line of duty.