Bike ride benefits kids in Southern Nevada by helping them get bikes

Chet Buchanan waves to supports while broadcasting live during the 18th Annual Chet Buchanan & The Morning Zoo Toy Drive on Thursday, Dec. 08, 2016. He camps out for 12 days from a 30 foot scaffolding at the Nevada Energy parking lot. Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @jeffscheid

A man pushes a donated bicycle during the 18th Annual Chet Buchanan & The Morning Zoo Toy Drive outside Nevada Energy, 6226 W. Sahara Ave, on Thursday, Dec. 08, 2016. Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @jeffscheid

A 10-mile round-trip bike ride could make a major difference in the life of a Southern Nevada child this year.

Las Vegas Mayor Pro-Tem Lois Tarkanian will lead the annual Holiday Bike Ride on Saturday morning. The event, run by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, benefits the annual Chet Buchanan Show Toy Drive by encouraging cyclists to donate a new, unwrapped item.

The midway point of the ride, which begins and ends at the Westcliff Transit Center on Durango Drive, is the NV Energy parking lot, where Buchanan is staked out on a 3o-foot high platform in the air collecting toys with 98.5 KLUC until Dec. 10.

In all, Buchanan hopes to raise more than $450,000 and gather more than 8,100 bikes for kids.

Beginning at 8 a.m., rides will move at a leisurely pace through a bike-friendly area of Las Vegas (bike lanes included). Decked out bikes and festive costumes for riders are encouraged.

If you want to help the kids, but don’t have a bike of your own, the RTC has partnered with the Southern Nevada Bicycle Coalition, Las Vegas Cyclery and Pro Cyclery for the bike ride. Las Vegas Cyclery will provide a limited amount of complimentary bicycle rentals for the ride. If you need a ride, register before Thursday by visiting rtcsnv.com/cycling/holiday-bike-ride/.

Hoover Dam Marathon

If your legs are still feeling limber after the ride, consider a last-minute entry into the Hoover Dam marathon. Entries are 10 percent off until midnight Tuesday. The event features a marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K race. Use the code “HDM10” to save.

The marathon begins at 8 a.m., with the other races starting shortly afterward.

Depending on which race you choose, you’ll run along the Historic Railroad Trail, part of the Rail-to-Trails Conservancy and within the national park. The finish line is at Boulder Beach.

Similar to the Turkey Trot out in the area, part of the Historic Railroad Trail is closed because of construction, only three of the six tunnels are open right . The 5K route is not affected, but the others were changed slightly to accommodate the ongoing work.

A tip: If you purchase a $5 round-trip shuttle ticket from the Hoover Dam Lodge to the starting line you won’t have to pay the entry fee into Lake Mead. You can also purchase a $30 round-trip shuttle ticket, and get picked up at Bally’s on the Las Vegas Strip.

Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.