LYNNFIELD — Zapatos Blancos, a cycling team consisting mostly of Lynnfield fathers, is doing its best to make a difference for families affected by cystic fibrosis (CF).
The team recently reached its 10th year pedaling together to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s (CFF) annual Cycle for Life, an event involving thousands of cyclists across the nation who put the pedal to the metal every year to raise awareness of the disease and help fund research.
Zapatos Blancos has already raised $42,392 toward its final goal of $50,000. Team founder Joel Steiner is one of 16 riders who participated in the Seacoast Safari Cycle for Life ride on July 15, which was CFF’s top cycling fundraiser this year. He said the ride has turned out to be a family affair with most of the team members’ families staying the weekend in Maine.
“Most of us stay over and try to make a nice weekend of it, so it’s a really special family event while raising funds for cystic fibrosis,” Steiner said. “We’ve really come a long way in 10 years. Our first year we only had five, maybe six riders and now have 16 this year. But now, it’s just remarkable that there is such a commitment.”
The Seacoast event was staged at the Tributary Brewing Company in Kittery, Maine. The event is closing in on its goal of $156,000 with nearly $138,000 pledged to date. It is the top Cycle for Life fundraising event in the nation with Zapatos Blancos ranked No. 2 on the top fundraising teams list for 2023.
Participants had the option of choosing the number of miles they wanted to cycle up to 100. Steiner said most cyclists ride 65 miles. Donations are still being accepted. To donate to a team member, go to https://fightcf.cff.org/.
Steiner, who is director of marketing for a pharmaceutical company in Princeton, NJ, said he was at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire 10 years ago when he stopped by the CF clinic to see “what was going on.” He spoke to an administrator, Sharon Littlefield, who told him about the CF Cycle for Life and invited Steiner to join in, saying the event’s mission was to change “cystic fibrosis” to “cure found.”
“That’s how the team started. Over the years, it morphed into individual riders and more of a family event. The community really rallied around it and committed to making a weekend out of it,” Steiner said. “It’s really good to teach the kids that you can do good things while getting stronger while also raising funds for other people. Helping other people out is such a great message for kids.”
Steiner said this year the team made a “special push” to dedicate its funds to Dr. Steven D. Freedman, MD, PhD research, a worldwide leading expert on CF pancreatic and gastrointestinal-related issues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
“He is world renowned, particularly in CF GI. It’s an underserved area. While you’re seeing more longevity, people don’t realize this but folks with CF are 25 times more likely to have colon cancer than members of the general public,” Steiner said. “He’s right in our backyard so we really want to drive Dr. Freedman’s research.”
While it’s the dads who log the mileage on the road, Steiner said it’s the moms and the kids who are front and center doing everything else.
“They are definitely a big part of this picture and what we do,” Steiner said. “They support our training, which is time consuming and hard. You can’t just go out and do 65 miles without training. Our spouses are incredibly supportive and they do so much more, and the kids are in on it. A couple of years ago, they raised a couple of hundred dollars selling bracelets they made, so it truly is a family-driven initiative. People are passionate [about] this. When you look at the fundraising, that speaks for itself, for the team.”
Steiner was not into cycling at the time he first learned about Cycle for Life and did not own any equipment.
“I’m still not into it!” he laughed. “I had to go out and buy a bike, which is quite an investment, and then you have to ride it.”
As far as the team name goes, Steiner said Zapatos Blancos means “White Shoes” in Spanish.
“When the team got together prior to its first ride, Matt Ricci had white shoes on,” Steiner said. “So we started calling him Zapotos Blancos. The next year, we were wondering what our team name should be so we named it after him because it was such a ridiculous name and it all came out of one place, so it works.”*
Other team members from Lynnfield are Jason Davis, Don Gentile, Brian Haney, Daniel Hansen, Christopher Kelley, Guy Lombardo, Brian Moreira, Mark Preston, David Rogers, Louis Tramontozzi, Curtis Underwood, Michael Weiss, and Bobby Williams.
