One hundred eighty five bicycle riders left Fenway Park after an opening ceremony in Boston last Sunday, when the First Responder Ride for Resilience got underway. The first annual fundraiser honors the 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks 25 years ago, while raising awareness of the occupational cancer and mental health challenges first responders continue to face.
The 343-mile trek will end at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City on Thursday afternoon. But before that, the procession for the LiveStrong sponsored ride left from the Omni New Haven Hotel in Connecticut at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning with a police and firefighter escort.
“Today was the roughest start … the hills,” said Kyle Coffman, a participant from Colorado. “As soon as we left New Haven it was up and down. So far, the entire ride out of Fenway has been great. We’re rolling through towns. I jumped into Long Island Sound at one stop. We’re taking it all in.”…