Closer to Free 2021
March 17, 2021Closer to Free 2021
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Information
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.