Ridgefield can support Team 26 this Saturday morning at The Community Center

Ridgefielders are needed to make some noise this Saturday, March 28, at 10:30 a.m., at The Community Center, to cheer on Team 26!

Team 26 are the cyclists who will be doing the 300-mile bike ride from Edmond Town Hall in Newtown. CT to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about the need for gun safety and control, as well as to honor the victims whose lives were lost in the Sandy Hook school shooting on December 14, 2012.

The 8 a.m. send-off rally before the 9 a.m. departure from Newtown will put the cyclists in Ridgefield at 10:00 a.m. Anyone who does not want to, or is unable to, ride the full 26 miles from Newtown to Ridgefield can join the bikers at 10 a.m. at Ballard Park (Main St., Ridgefield) on their bikes and join Team 26 for the ride down Main Street to the Community Center (316 Main St.), or just show up at the Community Center rally and cheer on the cyclists!

At 10:30 a.m., First Selectman Rudy Marconi will speak at the rally, along with other leaders. Everyone is encouraged to attend and cheer on the cyclists of not only Team 26, but also riders from Ridgefield Bicycle Sport Club and others.

It was two years ago that a group of 26 bicyclists aka Team 26, representing the 26 lives that were lost, left Newtown wearing their green and white jerseys, amid cheers and applause, to raise awareness about gun safety laws. This year, the cyclists will ride from Sandy Hook, Connecticut to the Capitol in Washington, D.C., from March 28 – 31 in the 3rd annual Sandy Hook Ride on Washington (“SHROW”).

Team 26 will stop along the way in big cities and one-traffic-light towns to build bridges and spread the message of peace, hope and love. The team consists of top amateur and masters cyclists from the Northeast. Five riders live in Newtown -- Monte Frank, Bill Muzzio, Chris Peck, Armand Daccache and Bill Begg. Two riders have children who went to the Sandy Hook School. Two riders, Omar Samaha and Tommy Fadoul, lost a family member in the Virginia Tech shooting. Team 26 includes high school and college students, parents, teachers, doctors, lawyers and other community members.

From Ridgefield, Team 26 will continue on to Greenwich and end Day 1 in Harlem at the National Action Network. From there, the itinerary takes the cyclists to Montclair, NJ, Ambler, PA and on to Delaware, Maryland and finally arriving in Washington D.C. and Arlington, VA on March 31. Team 26’s partners include community leaders and organizations, elected officials as well as grassroots and national gun violence prevention groups.

 “We all ride together because we care deeply about our children and seek to reduce gun violence, “said a spokesman for Team 26. For more information, visit Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandyHookRideOnWashington; www.sandyhookrideonwashington.com

R
Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

Become a Local Voice in Your Community!

HamletHub invites you to contribute stories, events, and more to keep your neighbors informed and connected.

Read Next