(top) Valerie Tornambe, Theresa Quadrozzi, Cynthia Gahan, Allison Moore, Gabriella Gaspar, Michael Loucas, (bottom) Elena Atkin, Tricia Hanley, Marguerite Loucas
“An awesome event” is how members of Team CMT described the 2012 TD Bank NY Five Boro Bike Tour, held on Sunday, May 6th. “It was a great day. There was music playing along the route, the weather was amazing and thanks to our wonderful riders, we raised $ 25,000 for CMT!” exclaimed Allison Moore, founder and director of HNF. “We are extremely grateful to the NY Bike Tour for the opportunity to participate in this ride.”
Among the fourteen Team CMT members was John White of Virginia. John drove to New York on Saturday with his friend and “cycling buddy” Dave McClure. After settling in a comfortable hotel in Chinatown they enjoyed touring the area, eventually meeting relatives for dinner in Greenwich Village.
Early Sunday morning John and Dave met the rest of the team in lower Manhattan, despite the enormous crowd. “There was a staggered start, which was incredible,” said Allison. “Because of that, there weren’t any bottlenecks.” With 32,000 cyclists riding that day, it was quite an accomplishment!
Over the next four hours, the members of Team CMT rode with an occasional break at one of the well-stocked rest stops. They appreciated the abundance of water, bananas, Lara Bars and other healthy snacks. Team CMT stayed near each other enjoying the sights of NY while they chatted with old friends and made new ones. “People were really interested to learn about CMT,” said Allison. “We talked about our dedication to making lives better, and the great strides our amazing researchers have made toward finding a cure one day.”
“What I found extraordinary about this ride,” commented John, “was how kind and encouraging everyone was. If there was a flat tire or if someone fell, the other riders stopped to help. The volunteers were terrific, and the fire and police personnel were exceedingly encouraging and helpful. This ride was truly fun!” John didn’t even mind the steep one mile ascent of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge which brought cyclists to a celebration at the finish line in Staten Island. Following a bit of partying, Team CMT rode three more miles to catch the Staten Island Ferry back to Manhattan.
The opportunity to have fun with friends while raising awareness and funds for CMT truly was an awesome way to spend the day!
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