Closer to Free 2021
March 17, 2021Information
On September 11, 2021 we will Ride Closer to Free. We will ride to deliver hope. We will ride to celebrate and remember. We will ride because we must.
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To CiteDCA Citation Guide
- 00:00Hello everyone, I'm Taylor Kinzler,
- 00:02the host of NBC, Connecticut City Live
- 00:05and I'm really excited to talk to you
- 00:07about the closer to free ride for Smilow
- 00:09Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center
- 00:10coming up this year on September 11th.
- 00:12After all we've been through,
- 00:13maybe you're looking for a way to
- 00:15stay connected to your community.
- 00:17Maybe you want to meet some new friends.
- 00:19And as the weather starts to get better,
- 00:21maybe you want to get outside and stay
- 00:23in shape while the closer to free ride,
- 00:25Connecticut's best ride can help you
- 00:27to do all of those things and even
- 00:29better give you the chance to change and
- 00:31save the lives of people in our area.
- 00:33For battling cancer now in its 11th year,
- 00:35the closer to free Ride has become
- 00:37a favorite day of the year for
- 00:39thousands in our area.
- 00:40And that includes the team here at NBC,
- 00:42Connecticut.
- 00:43We've been proud to not only
- 00:44spread the word and share great
- 00:46stories about the ride community,
- 00:47but our NBC,
- 00:48Connecticut Ride team also gets out
- 00:50there each year to ride for those in
- 00:52our lives have been touched by cancer.
- 00:54My family personally has been
- 00:55impacted by breast cancer,
- 00:56so this ride is important to me as I know
- 00:59it's important to so many of you out there.
- 01:02So what will the 2021 I've looked like?
- 01:04Well,
- 01:04let's start with this on September 11th.
- 01:07We will be riding closer to free no
- 01:09matter what kind of bike you have,
- 01:11no matter how far you'd like to ride,
- 01:14even if it's on your spin bike at home,
- 01:17you have a place in the closer to free ride,
- 01:20and this year's ride is open to
- 01:22registration as a virtual program.
- 01:23The closer to free ride really hopes to
- 01:26be able to include a safe and memorable
- 01:28in person community experience as well.
- 01:30That will really depend on uncertain factors.
- 01:32Most importantly,
- 01:33public health and local regulations, so.
- 01:35No matter what, you all do out there.
- 01:38Know that the ride virtual or in
- 01:40person will be a best in class
- 01:43experience on ride deck.
- 01:45The closer to free ride family has
- 01:47really been filled with so many stories,
- 01:50stories of courage, perseverance,
- 01:51love and sometimes heartbreak.
- 01:52We want to share one of those stories
- 01:55now where a man took his heartbreak
- 01:57and turned it into determination.
- 02:03We were so excited to become parents.
- 02:08So Mia was our first born.
- 02:12I wish she was spunky, little kid.
- 02:14First five years of life were amazing.
- 02:17We're giving her a bath.
- 02:19My wife notice something on Neil's cheek.
- 02:21We were recommended for my auntie to
- 02:24go to Smilow Cancer Center and that's
- 02:27really where things you know got serious.
- 02:30Her official diagnosis was
- 02:31that it was Rhabdomyosarcoma.
- 02:32My wife and I just looked into each
- 02:35other's eyes and knew that we were
- 02:37going to do everything we could to
- 02:39make her laugh as much as possible.
- 02:41Maker as comfortable as possible.
- 02:43Seeing how vicious she was and.
- 02:46And how happy she was like those were
- 02:48the things that really stuck with us.
- 02:53Grief is like an article
- 02:55of clothing that you have
- 02:57to put on every single day.
- 03:00But there are opportunities.
- 03:02To take the memory that you
- 03:05have of that child.
- 03:07And use it as a mechanism
- 03:10for hope for other people.
- 03:15I started reading closer to
- 03:17free in 2016 while my daughter
- 03:20was in treatment at Smilow Cancer Center.
- 03:23This year I will continue to rad.
- 03:25I plan on doing the 100 mile ride
- 03:27and this will be my sixth ride.
- 03:28Raised a lot of money and
- 03:30did a lot of good to me. If
- 03:32it's virtual, you know I
- 03:33get to do the same thing.
- 03:37And for me I ride for my daughter,
- 03:40right for my family and I ride for myself. I
- 03:44got the call in November 19th,
- 03:462020 that I had stage one adenocarcinoma.
- 03:49The first thing I thought of immediately
- 03:52when I was told that it was going to
- 03:54be a surgery on my right upper lobe.
- 03:57That's exactly where Mia's first spread was.
- 04:00Knowing how that little girl thought made
- 04:03me kind of remember that I needed to be
- 04:06tough to get myself back to being who I was.
- 04:10You know, to fight this straight
- 04:12on to not be scared of the things
- 04:15that I couldn't control and.
- 04:17To just work on recovery.
- 04:21Her name was Mia Mia.
- 04:26And just like what we did is we try
- 04:29to make it amazing every day and.
- 04:31You know, she taught us that,
- 04:33and that's what we try to do.
- 04:38What an incredible story.
- 04:39That's the power of the closer
- 04:41to free family, and that's the
- 04:43power of Connecticut's best ride.
- 04:44A ride experience that
- 04:46you need to be apart of.
- 04:48Whether you're an experienced cyclist
- 04:49ready to take on the closer to free
- 04:52century or just off training wheels
- 04:53ready for a neighborhood spin,
- 04:55this is your ride.
- 04:56So how do you get on board?
- 04:58It's easy,
- 04:59simply head to rideclosertofree.org
- 05:00and hit the register button up top.
- 05:02Registration is simple and there
- 05:04are tons of resources to help you
- 05:06get started on your fund raising.
- 05:08100% of the dollars that you raise,
- 05:10go to research and care
- 05:12at Smilow Cancer Hospital
- 05:13in Yale Cancer Center.
- 05:14So the more friends and family
- 05:16you encouraged to donate,
- 05:17the more lives that you improve seem.
- 05:20NBC Connecticut is riding closer to
- 05:21free along with so many others who
- 05:24want to let you know that they're into.
- 05:26So be safe,
- 05:27take care and ride closer to free.