New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Thousands expected to join CT United Ride
There’s a reason why CT United Ride — the 60-milelong motorcycle 9/11 tribute ride — has withstood the test of time.
“It’s lasted because of the people that support it — both those (who stand along) the route and the riders themselves,” said Trumbull resident Fred Garrity, Jr., the ride’s executive director. “People continuously say never forget. This is one of the ways you never forget.”
The event began a few weeks after the attacks in 2001, and is still going strong. The 2022 CT United Ride will take place Sept. 11. It will begin at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport at 11:30 a.m. The motorcade will then make its way to Seaside Park in Bridgeport, passing through multiple towns along the way, including Redding, Newtown, Monroe, Trumbull and Fairfield.
About 3,000 riders are expected to participate in the ride and at least 15,000 spectators are expected to line up along the route, many of them displaying and waving American flags.
On Aug. 29, $18,500 raised through last year’s CT United Ride were distributed to a variety of organizations, including the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County, the Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut, and several local police cadet and explorer programs.
In addition, three local sponsors last year donated to a separate fund to be awarded to the town with the most spectators along the route, combined with the most red, white and blue, patriotic support. The winning town was Trumbull, which received $2,500 to be donated to charity. The spectator program was sponsored by Wendy’s of Fairfield County, R Stone Co. in Bridgeport and Cardinale Auto Service in Bridgeport.
Registering for the event costs $30 per rider and $30 per passenger. Garrity recommends registering the day before the ride, Sept. 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Captain’s Cove Seaport in Bridgeport, but it’s also possible to register the day of the ride, from 8 to 10:15 a.m. at Sherwood Island.
The opening ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. the day of the event, and features a moment of silence and ringing the fire bell 11 times beneath two fire ladder trucks holding a 50-foot American flag.
Garrity said he hopes people turn out not just to ride, but to watch the event, and that they remember to wear their patriotic gear.
“On this day, we’re all red, white and blue and not just red and blue,” he said.