Team 26 cyclists at the start of their four-day ride to Washington in 2014. Photo: Tyler Sizemore
NEWTOWN – For a team of 26 bicyclists who will ride from Town Hall to Washington, D.C., on Saturday to honor victims of the Sandy Hook massacre and to call on lawmakers to reduce gun violence, the annual event has become less about their own healing and more about the bigger picture.
“Now we ride to honor all the victims of gun violence, to build bridges, and to unite Americans in this movement,” says Monte Frank, the founder of the ride and a Sandy Hook resident.
Monte Frank, a Sandy Hook bicyclist, and founder of Team 26 ride on Washington
He adds the mission includes “doing nothing to negatively impact hunters or sportsmen or to erode the Second Amendment as written and interpreted by the Supreme Court.”
The 300-mile ride, which will take the team through the Bronx, Harlem, New Jersey and Baltimore on its way to the Capitol on March 31, will start with a series of local rallies Saturday.
Bicyclists will leave Newtown at 8 a.m. after an early morning rally. They’ll arrive in Ridgefield at 10:30 a.m. and in Greenwich at noon.
Among the speakers at the Ridgefield rally will be First Selectman Rudy Marconi.
For more details about the ride and the rallies visit http://www.sandyhookrideonwashington.com.