UPDATE: After covering 107 miles today (in addition to the rallies), the Team will be spending the night at Exton, PA. Tomorrow they will ride on to Baltimore.
Getting started on day 1 of the Ride
Our mini-blogathon to cover the Sandy Hook Ride on Washington (SHRoW) was kicked off yesterday by
tytalus, followed up by
LilithGardener and wrapped up for the day by
Glen The Plumber. To say that it was an awesome day is an understatement.
While it is sure hard to pick a single moment that stands out among so much courage and so much love, for me it was Gabby Gifford's tweet:
If your legs get tired, remember we're in this together keep pedaling! Best wishes to our friends on #newtown2dc ride against gun violence.
— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) March 9, 2013
Today was off to a great start (thanks to
Dave in Northridge and
LilithGardener for their chronicles) with the cyclists cruising through New Jersey in the morning for a midday event at Frenchtown, NJ. They were seen off by Parsippany Mayor James Barberio, had a cheering section on the Morristown Green (arranged by Morristown councilwoman Rebecca Feldman), and were joined by other cyclists along the way.
Team 26 flying through the Garden State
Entering Pennsylvania
At mid-day they held a moving ceremony in Frenchtown, NJ featuring comments by Mayor Warren Cooper, Michael Pohlie (a man who lost his son at Virginia Tech) and our own Monte Frank. This was covered by the
Hunterdon County Democrat. After that they crossed into Pennsylvania where they continued to ride south and stop overnight.
Here is an excerpt from The Sandy Hook Ride On Washington Home Page:
We support measures to help curb gun violence:
• Requiring all gun buyers pass criminal background checks*
• a ban of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines*
• making gun trafficking a federal crime, including real penalties for “straw buyers”*
• strengthen gun ownership restrictions for people with severe mental illness
We understand this issue is complex; but together we can ensure that specific actions are taken to prevent tragedies like those in Newtown, CT. Keeping children safe is an obligation we all share.
*source: Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Team 26 Teddy Bear
Concurrent with The Ride on Washington, the
Newtown Action Alliance (NAA) is promoting the same mission by working in DC. Yesterday the NAA - including the Soto family and other family members of shooting victims, among them an Aurora mom - met with Senator Harry Reid and Rep. Eric Cantor in small group sessions. Today they attended a Gun Task Force meeting and the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing followed by more meetings with Senators and Representatives.
The NAA is united with Aurora, Virginia Tech and other communities striving for a more peaceful society and is working together with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the Mayors against Gun Violence, and the Brady group.
Team 26 Teddy Bear and information courtesy of remembrance who reported on the above.
Weather UPDATE: Touching to see this:
Meteorologist Joe Moravsky
*WEATHER UPDATE FOR Sandy Hook Ride on Washington!*
I am very moved knowing that there is so much support for the Ride on Washington. Being a part of Newtown and having experienced a personal loss from the tragedy brings me that much closer to the purpose of this ride.
I wrote up a forecast earlier this week for the ride, and for the most part it's been pretty good, so I don't have to edit too much for the rest of the ride.
Sunday: Mix of sun and clouds, high near 57 through upstate/central Jersey. BEAUTIFUL DAY, enjoy it!
Monday: Mostly cloudy, highs in the upper 50s and even 60 is possible... low chance for a few isolated showers in the afternoon (forecast for Central Jersey near Philly)
Tuesday: Better chance for some showers to be around on Tuesday, especially before noon (through Baltimore/DC area). Highs near 55.
Be safe and thank you for the hard work!
Sandy Hook Ride on Washington ~ March 9 - 12
Team 26 is a group of 26 elite cyclists who will ride from Newtown, CT to Washington, DC beginning on March 9 and arriving on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol on March 12. Along the way, we will stop in Ridgefield, CT, Frenchtown, NJ and Baltimore, MD. Our goal: to bring Newtown's message to Washington in support of common sense gun legislation.
Please join us as we follow Monte Frank, Peter Olson and the other members of Team 26 as they travel from Newtown, CT to Washington DC. Embedded blogger Becky Frank (Monte’s daughter) will be providing info and photos from the daily events.
Click here to visit Team 26's Facebook page
Facebook account not required
To add this series to your stream
follow the "Team 26" tag
or follow on Tweeter: SHRoW@SHRoW2013
Saturday 3/9
tytalus ~ Morning kick-off 5:30am EST
LilithGardener ~ "Meet the Crew"
Glen The Plumber ~ Evening Wrap-up
Sunday 3/10
Dave in Northridge ~ Morning kick-off
LilithGardener ~ "Meet the Riders"
Coming up:
Monday 3/11
LilithGardener ~ "Meet the Riders" 2pm EDT
TBD ~ Evening
Tuesday 3/12
Hey338Too ~ Morning
LilithGardener ~ "Meet the Riders" 2pm EDT
remembrance ~ Evening
Also:
glorificus
times to be determined
Last, but not least, we have an
ACTION ALERT REQUEST from Team 26:
Sandy Hook Ride on Washington
URGENT ACTION ALERT - TEAM 26 NEEDS YOUR HELP OVER THE NEXT 48 HOURS
Let's make a deal. While we ride you will 1) call members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee; and 2) share this post far and wide. How awesome would be for us to arrive at the Capitol with the news that the three bills are going to the floor of the Senate. We can make this happen. NOW IS THE TIME!!!
Here is the action alert from the Newtown Action Alliance:
The United States Senate Judiciary Committee will decide whether to send three bills on gun regulation to the floor of the Senate this Tuesday, March 12. This is the same day that Team 26 will arrive at the Capitol in DC from Sandy Hook, on their bikes. Please support these bills by contacting Judiciary Committee members Monday and Tuesday. Remind the Judiciary Committee that if our Team 26 can exhibit the courage and strength to ride their bikes 400 miles to ensure that what happened on 12/14 results in common sense gun legislation, that surely they can show some political courage and strength by doing what they know in their hearts is the right thing to do. More information on these bills and all of the contact info you need can be found here.
Thank You!