LYNNFIELD — Stronger together while we’re apart.
That’s the theme of this year’s Reid’s Ride which concludes Sunday.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, ride organizers modified the format. Normally it is a one-day, 28-mile bike trek from Lynnfield High School to Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, instead, the event was virtual with participants able to choose any activity to their liking to complete the 28-mile event.
The event, which began in late April, is the 16th annual and raises money for the Reid R. Sacco Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Alliance in memory of Sacco, a 2003 graduate of Lynnfield High School who was diagnosed with cancer shortly before graduation. After battling the disease for two years, he died at the age of 20 in April of 2015.
Sacco’s mother Lorraine Sacco, the founder and executive director of the Alliance, said, “This year is the best ever.
“I am just totally shocked by the response this year as, incredible as it sounds, the participation has been phenomenal,” she said. “We expected to have a lull year and thought we’d be telling people that we just need to get through to next year. But I think that with all that’s going on with the COVID crisis, it has brought out the best in people. Sometimes, when you are hurting like so many people are today, the way you get through it is to help others.”
For this year’s ride, anything goes. Participants can choose any activity, such as biking, spinning, walking, exercising, surfing, skateboarding or swimming to name just a few. Sacco said some participants even resorted to doing headstands and hopscotch.
There is no limit on how to reach the 28-mile goal. It could be biking the traditional route or completing four miles of activity over seven days, or two miles of activity over 14 days.
Registration is free and the fundraising minimum has been waived. Participants are asked to make a donation of any amount. Participants making donations of $50 or more will receive a Reid’s Ride T-shirt.
The all-volunteer Alliance, through Reid’s Ride and other fundraisers, has raised more than $2 million since its founding. The funds have been used to establish two Reid R. Sacco AYA Cancer programs; the Reid R Sacco AYA Clinic For Cancer & Blood Diseases at Tufts Medical Center and the Reid R Sacco AYA Cancer Care Program at Connecticut Children’s Hospital. Both programs are focused on making new clinical trials available to youths battling cancer. Sacco said the Alliance is working on bringing an AYA clinic to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
For Sacco, who has completed seven 28-mile rides this year, the event has been full of emotion. She dedicated her first ride to Reid and also rode for another family member who recently died.
“We had more participants than ever and It’s also been my best year as I was able to ride for so many young people, not just my son.” she said. “Reid’s Ride is for the cause, not any one person, so it was great to be involved with so many young adults fighting cancer. It’s been emotional, personally, riding for them with all my heart, not as the director and founder, but as a person.”
Sacco gave a shout out to the Alliance Advisory Board.
“They are an incredible group of mostly young people who just took this on this year and never stopped. I’d have been lost without them,” said Sacco. “The only reason we are here today and able to do what we did is because of my young adults, they have taken over and have worked tirelessly and endlessly in difficult times. What they are doing is just amazing.”
For more information or to make a donation, go to www.https://www.cancerinyoungadults.org/.
