‘Bike to the Beach’ cyclists make city stop
Trek from Boston to Newport helps raise money for autism
WOONSOCKET — Pawtucket resident Erik Berrio has dropped 40 pounds since April as he’s been preparing his body for a grueling 101-mile bicycle ride from Boston to Newport in an effort to raise funds and awareness for autism research.
Berrio, who works as a support employment and education specialist at Woonsocket’s Community Care Alliance, said that he’s worked with children on the autism spectrum and he finds it “sad that there’s not too much funding” available for them. But when he became aware of the annual “Bike to the Beach” ride, he saw it as an opportunity to raise funds while getting fit.
Berrio’s trek began before sunrise Saturday at Boston’s Nickerson Field and stopped at the Rivers Edge checkpoint on Davison Avenue in Woonsocket before continuing south through the Blackstone Valley’s bike path to the conclusion at Hibernian Hall in Newport. It’s all in the name of raising funds for research and to increase awareness of autism.
Robby Walsh, Bike to the Beach’s executive director, said more than 150 riders were making the 101-mile trek from Boston to Newport, joined by about 50 additional riders who picked up the ride at its midway point in Woonsocket, then biked the final 60 miles from the Blackstone Valley to Newport.
This year’s ride raised about $180,000 as of this weekend, with a final total projection of about $205,000 expected, Walsh said. The average, he noted, usually ends up with each rider raising about $1,000 individually. Nationwide, the six Bike to the Beach rides have raised about $1.6 million this year and approximately $6 million over its 10-year history.
“It’s pretty amazing that we started this to raise a couple thousand dollars and make an
impact. To look back on those numbers, $6 million is so much more than I ever could have imagined,” Walsh said. “It continues to inspire us.”
“It’s great, we’re really excited about the growth, it means a lot that people are coming back and they really enjoy it,” he said. “They’re bringing friends to keep that number growing. The more riders means more fundraising. The more fundraising, the bigger impact we can make.”
Berrio said that he had a homefield advantage of sorts in Saturday’s journey, as he’s rode the bike paths of the Blackstone Valley and southern Rhode Island as a member of the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen recreational cycling club.
“I’ve lost 40 pounds since signing up in April,” Berrio said. “Eating right and hitting the bike, getting in shape … I’m kind of nervous, I’ve been looking at the jersey since April and it seemed so far from now, but now it’s (Saturday).”
Berrio said he’s raised close to $1,000, primarily through social media, noting he’d never before tried to raise that kind of money on his own but it was “crazy to see how willing people are to donate … It feels good to donate to a good cause.”
He also said he’ll consider organizing a team of riders for next year’s Bike to the Beach, as it could lead to more money raised for autism research.
There were several teams of riders participating this year. Among them were a group of bicyclists riding on behalf of The Muse Foundation, a Boston-based nonprofit music program for adults with disabilities. Ryan Johnstone of Newton and Brett Lukaszek of Chelsea were stretching at the Woonsocket checkpoint on Saturday morning, as they were readying for the 60-mile ride to Newport.
“It’s awesome,” Lukaszek said. “The students (from The Muse Foundation) will play music in Newport, I’m excited to see all my friends and musicians.”
Johnstone, meanwhile, said as a cyclist in his first year with Bike to the Beach, he jumped at the opportunity to ride while raising money. As a former Rhode Islander, having lived in Coventry, he said he’s familiar with many of Rhode Island’s trails through Barrington or Bristol.
“You get that Rhode Island air in you, you go back to your roots...” Johnstone said. “I just want to finish, that’s about it.”
“I ride as much as I can,” he later said. “I bike to work, it’s about 25 miles a day, and I’ve been taking advantage of the 100-degree weather. If I can do that, riding 25 miles in 100 degrees, I can ride 50 (miles) in 75 degrees.”
The annual ride started 10 years ago when a group of friends got together in Washington, D.C. and rode their bikes about 100 miles into Delaware as a simple mode of transportation to get from their homes to the shoreline. The next year, another friend joined, and as the years pro- gressed, more began to participate in the ride.
Bike to the Beach now has six yearly rides across the United States – New England, New York, Washington, D.C., Florida, Baltimore, and Houston. This year represented the seventh year in which bicyclists rode through Massachusetts and Rhode Island to raise money for the worthy cause.
The New England ride, Walsh said, is routinely regarded by riders as “the most beautiful ride we have.”
“Even compared to the Florida Keys, they say this is the most beautiful ride,” he said. “The rolling hills, the bike path, the scenery that’s maintained … We ride from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. It’s a long day but I think the natural beauty that we go through breaks up the ride.”
“It’s awesome,” Walsh said. “I tell our riders all the time I’m lucky, I get to see the impact we get to make. Anytime I go to a partner organization and see the services they’re providing, the technology that’s evolving, it’s humbling and inspiring.”
“It’s literally changing lives and taking people to their potential and reaching that max both in abilities but also in happiness and engagement in the community and their lives,” Walsh said of the evolution and growth of autism research. “To be in a position to put that money to good use is inspiring and humbling. To see the numbers grow, we’re going to be a reliable funding stream for these organizations, to keep pushing that envelope.”
“It shows the best in our community and our individuals and citizens, that from a diversity of backgrounds, people all stepping up and saying there’s a need in the community...” Walsh said. “For most, this is their first endurance run. Getting over that fear, it’s inspiring on a personal level, a community level, with the impact we can make. It’s stunning, everyone is inspiring.”