Omar Duran learned the hard way this weekend how Barrington Hills got its name.
“Whoever called you all ‘flatlanders’ needs to take it away,” said Duran, a retired Army staff sergeant from Clearwater, Florida. He was one of more than 100 wounded military veterans who joined the Project Hero 2017 Barrington Honor Ride Sunday at the Barrington Hills Park District Riding Center.
Duran, who rides with a handcycle because of injuries suffered when a roadside bomb exploded in Afghanistan, was in the Northwest suburbs as part of the 500-mile UnitedHealthcare Great Lakes Challenge that began in Minnesota and ends Monday in Evanston.
On Sunday morning, the group pedaled from their hotel in Palatine to Barrington Hills to take part in the Honor Ride.
Organizer and Barrington Hills resident Colleen Konicek said the 7-year-old event benefits Honor Ride, a national nonprofit organization that helps veterans and first responders affected by injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. This year’s event has raised more than $30,000, she said.
This is the first year the Barrington Honor Ride teamed with the weeklong Great Lakes Challenge. Konicek said the Barrington and Barrington Hills community hosted the veterans Saturday night.
“I think it’s such a gift for our community, a great way for us to give back to people who have given everything in defense of this country,” she said. “I say to them always ‘We’re the ones who should be thanking you.'”
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