Sirens and flashing emergency vehicle lights were the first hint that more than 2,000 motorcycles were about to raise a long rumble past bystanders Sunday, August 30, for the 15th Annual CT United Ride. The ride, which started after 9/11, is both a tribute and fundraiser for family emergency relief funds for state police and firefighters and two local United Way agencies.

Emma Guilfoil, 7, sat on a truck tailgate, waving a small American flag. She looked overhead where the Newtown Hook & Ladder Co. #1 and Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company had used their ladder trucks to suspend a large American flag over South Main Street, near Amaral Motors. Joining Emma and her grandmother Debbie Aurelia Halstead was Marcella Stapleton, who also wore a festive headband in her hair. Ms Halstead raised her own handheld flag, saying she was out to show her support “every year. I wave the flag the entire time.”

It took roughly 30 minutes for all riders to pass, from the lead multi-town police motorcycle units to the ambulance following the parade of bikes.

A few yards up the road was another pickup truck carrying another American flag. Scott Runkle of Newtown also goes out every year with his flag, he said. He believes in “cheering them on.”

Liz Correa of Wilton, and her son Jack, almost 3, had been passing through town and decided to stop to see the ride. Her uncle, Ken Shillinglau, rode in the pack of bikes that started in Norwalk and meandered through ten towns, to arrive in Bridgeport.

Flying above the fire trucks on South Main Street was a drone/camera device capturing a bird’s-eye view of riders passing beneath the red and white stripes on their way from Route 302, where they turned right onto Route 25 near Ram Pasture, then followed Route 25 into Monroe and beyond. Brothers Mike and Steve Tracz, both of Derby, flew their remote controlled drone camera in the sky and recorded the ride.

Large flags for riders to pass under were also displayed on Sunday at Dodgingtown and Botsford fire stations.  

Once the roar of exhaust pipes faded, firefighters quickly lowered their ladders and brought down the flag. Spectators soon moved away, and traffic — which had been prevented by the police escort from accessing the route as the motorcycles passed through — slowly returned to normal for a Sunday afternoon.