Refreshed after several days of travel and leading Newtown's Team 26 activist cycling contingent on its fourth ride from Sandy Hook to Washington, DC, organizer Monte Frank reflected on the growing number of special friends he met along the way.The Newtown Bee. "And it wasn't too long into the ride that I was thinking, I'm getting way too many hugs."

"During the ride, from Newtown, to Philadelphia, to Washington, I got a lot of hugs from moms who lost children to gun violence. And you could feel that raw emotion in every one of them," Mr Frank told

The group completed its fourth annual ride since the 12/14 tragedy, departing from the steps of Edmond Town Hall April 9 for the four-day trip, hoping to raise further awareness about gun violence, advocate for universal background checks, and deliver a petition calling for federal laws to better protect students and others on American college campuses from gun violence.

Throughout the ride, as he and Team 26 members were meeting and interacting with supporters and others who approached them along their route, Mr Frank said the messages he was hearing were consistent with polling data he had reviewed.

"Polling data on universal background checks finds that 85 to 92 percent of people are in favor of performing them on all firearms sales," Mr Frank said. "That is consistent with what we heard from small towns to big cities, and on college campuses. Nearly everyone said they were in favor of what we were riding for."

Opening day of the ride started off brisk and turned miserable shortly after the riders departed from Edmond Town Hall.

"I remember pulling off for a rest stop in New Jersey later that day, and I looked up and down the line of riders and everybody was shivering," Mr Frank said. "We were riding through rain, then snow squalls, and I don't think the temperature ever got much above 30 degrees.

"But for the cause, I can't imagine any of us would have been out on bikes for an hour - never mind eight," he added.

For approximately a third of the team who have ridden all four years, the 2016 route was different. And Mr Frank noted that this year saw significantly more support from government officials who joined with supporters and curious onlookers as the green-suited contingent rolled southward toward Washington.

Following a rousing reception upon their arrival April 12 at the US Capitol building, all 26 riders had an opportunity to experience another famous capitol landmark for the first time.

"This was the first time we were ever invited to the White House," Mr Frank said. "We were guests of one of President Obama's senior advisors, right there in the West Wing."

Mr Frank learned that top government officials were impressed with the dedication of the annual group of riders toward promoting common sense gun laws. They even got to meet one of them.

"We were in the Roosevelt Room just wrapping up our visit, when we were told to wait for a moment," Mr Frank recalled. "Then Vice President Joe Biden comes walking through the door."

The vice president spent more than 15 minutes meeting and greeting each rider, reiterating his commitment to support reducing gun violence across the nation.

The unique effort to focus on eliminating firearms dangers on college campuses was driven home by Team 26, after it delivered to Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty a petition with almost 40,000 signatures in support of laws restricting firearms on college campuses.

The day after its arrival, Team 26 stood in the congressional gallery to see the Connecticut delegation present that petition. But one of the most memorable moments of the entire ride came when the two youngest Team 26 members stood in the West Wing of the White House, explaining why they chose to ride.

"These two said they were riding for their future," Mr Frank recalled. "They said that they just wanted to be able to go off to college next year, and to go out to places like public movie theaters and not live in fear."

Another highpoint was after Team 26 arrived on the University of Delaware Campus, where the members were welcomed by Newtowner Eliza Eggleston, who heads up a campus gun safety movement.

"Eliza only spoke for a few minutes, but she had some powerful things to say," Mr Frank said. "It was pretty emotional - I think she had us all welling up by the time she was done. I mean, she's one of ours."

He said the same for Georgetown University students and transplanted Newtowners Sara Clements and Emma Ianini.

"They are both such passionate, articulate ambassadors of our community. I couldn't be more proud of them," Mr Frank said.

Among the newest riders to this year's Team 26 were participants from Canada and South Carolina. And as the effort continues, Mr Frank is planning to broaden his recruitment, so the bicycle team that first rolled out of Sandy Hook months after the 12/14 tragedy with mostly Newtown riders would be representative of the entire country.