Be Afraid, Cancer! Riders Mean Serious Business at Closer To Free Ride.
The fact is, everyone, at some point in their life will become familiar with cancer; it is not discriminatory. Whether is it is a personal diagnosis, a family or friend that falls ill, or even a friend of a friend that you learn is struggling, it's close enough. At that point, cancer has reached your circle and you are now aware. This is not meant to scare our readers, but rather sound the alarm that the fight against cancer is personal for all of us; it is everyone's fight, not just the afflicted. On September 9, 2023, Michelle and I volunteered at the 13th annual Closer To Free Ride in New Haven, CT. This is where some serious fundraising against cancer takes form. Groups such as Six Pack Strong, pictured above, have participated for years and this year raised 46K bringing their total contribution to the fight nearly to 200K. Those are some impressive numbers!
Michelle and I had a shift that started in the morning and as usual we drove to the event separately. Hang in there, there is a reason for this mundane info! We were given a parking lot to park in and a parking pass so the plan was to meet in the lot once we parked. Well, an event that includes over 2,000 bike riders and half as many volunteers does something to the streets of New Haven!
Before long I was re-routed and denied, yes, denied access to my assigned parking lot. I frantically waved my parking pass out the window, only to be yelled at and moved along. I reluctantly followed direction and found myself pushed into another parking lot. The thought that it would take forever to find Michelle crossed my mind as I pulled in.
Now I kid you not when I say that Michelle literally pulled in right next to me! We both had the same deflated thought of not locating one another while parking and therefore both found the extreme humor in the fact we ended up right next to one another!! The surprise parking lot was closer to the event so we lucked out and quickly found ourselves on the field of excitement.
We first crossed over the finish line where the 10-mile riders were already returning to the cheers of supporters. Michelle was hoping to find her friend, Patti, that was riding her beloved beach bike in support of a family member! Not long after we arrived, we ran into her friend taking a rest after an impressive ride on her beach bike!! Great job Patti - so proud of you!
Time to work! We were assigned to the beer and wine tent that was supplied by New England Brewing Co. We had a couple hours before the tent opened for business so were assigned with another task for a while. This is an important aspect of volunteering and therefore a characteristic of a Give Back Girl, flexibility! So our task? We were led to a tent where volunteers were cutting lengths of food tickets to 15 count. We were all getting the job done, but what I found interesting was the many ways to get the same task accomplished! Of course some folks were determined that their way was superior as they tried to get everyone else to comply, while an extremely focused individual carefully lined up each strip next to her template before freeing the tickets from the roll. And then there was Michelle, happily chatting away while cutting her strips of tickets and learning about her new friend! Me, I took it all in and found the people watching fascinating and fun.
Soon it was time to head to the beer tent. We said goodbye to our new friends and headed across the field. Honestly, it took a good 1/2 hour or more to organize opening the tent because we did not have the supplies we were supposed to have. But we had the beer and we had the wine! So the New England Brewery guys educated us on pouring a good beer with just the right amount of foam and starting setting up cups of ice cold beer.
We met some new friends and made a good team as some poured from the tap and others kept moving the cups forward for riders to help themselves. There was a special beer that was a joint venture with TwoRoads Brewing, a Hazy IPA, Closer to Free; it was delicious. We almost were unable to provide the wine since they did not provide a wine opener. A volunteer saved the day when she ran to her car to pull out her emergency cork screw! We were in business. Michelle slid over to serve the more refined crowd a proper glass of wine, while I stayed lining up cups of brew.
Being in the beer tent has its advantages. You're a welcomed sight to thirsty riders, the beer and wine are free , and you meet a very large number of the attendees and even see some familiar faces. I was so incredibly touched and proud of my friend, and fellow worker, Hunter as she completed her ride for her baby girl warrior. She announced happily that her little girl is doing well and she felt great being able to do the ride. When some members from Yale leadership showed up, I almost had the guys convinced to tap the Fuzzy Duck keg early; I said "almost". It was still great to see Krista and Liz make their way to the tent. Krista completed her ride and Liz was an early bird volunteer from the morning. Her shift was ending as ours began.
The afternoon came quick because we stayed busy while having fun giving back. It was soon time to get our complimentary lunch and glass of beer! We said good-bye to our new friends and disappeared into the field to find something yummy.
Food Trucks lined the field and vendors popped up all throughout with information to share and swag to give away. Michelle and I visited some vendors including one that had me doing parlor tricks to earn a bicycle keychain! Yes, I got the keychain along with a rubber ducky while Michelle got a good laugh!
We settled on BBQ from Bears Smokehouse. It was amazing! We look forward to visiting there soon for dinner along with our men! Thank you for following along! Up next, a can drive to fight brain cancer and Push against Cancer, A push-up event hosted by The Hole in the Wall Gang. Michelle will be attending both as I convalesce from Covid! Its back! Get your vaccine!
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