For the third consecutive year, a group of 26 hearty cyclists will pedal their way from Edmond Town Hall to the US Capital in Washington, DC, to support a number of what the team describes as “common sense legislation to reduce the epidemic of gun violence that plagues our nation.”

The group — dubbed Team 26, representing those killed on 12/14 — and their support team, is the brainchild of Sandy Hook resident and world-class competitive cyclist Monte Frank. Mr Frank is kicking off this third ride on the morning of March 28 along with fellow Newtowner Bill Muzzio. According to the cycling team’s website (sandyhookrideonwashington.com), the team continues to support the following measures:

*Requiring all gun buyers pass criminal background checks;

*A ban of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines;

*Making gun trafficking a federal crime, including real penalties for “straw buyers”; and

*Strengthening gun ownership restrictions for people with severe mental illness.

The site states that Team 26 consists of professional and top amateur and masters cyclists from the Northeast.

“Our team [has included] a former Junior World Championships National Team member, US National Team member, Canadian National Team member, Masters Silver Medalist, Maccabiah World Games Silver Medalist, and State and Regional Champions,” the site states. “We all care deeply about our children and seek reasonable gun violence prevention legislation.”

The Newtown riders will be joined this year by Stephen Badger, Matthew Emeott, Jeremy Brazeal, Eli Brazeal, Wayne Prescott, Jason Clark, Mike Andrews, Carl Reglar, Herb Jiménez, Megan Cea, John Ford, Katrina Niez, Omar Samaha, Tommy Fadoul, Armand Daccache, Dr Bill Begg, Dave Hoyle, Derek Cote, Sean Cavanaugh, Jordan Lynn, Greg Meghani, Peter Olson, Drew Cunningham, Andrea Myers, Nick Sabatelli, Mike Conlan, John Tomlinson, Dwayne Nosworthy, and film maker Sue Roman.

The riders invite all Newtown residents to join together sending off the team March 28 with an 8 am rally that will also welcome US Senator Richard Blumenthal and US Representative Elizabeth Esty.

Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) will not only attend, but will ride with the group to their last Connecticut stop in Greenwich.

Mr Frank told The Newtown Bee that this year’s ride is the most ambitious to date, as it will bring the team to new communities, and involve them in nearly twice as many events, meeting, and rallies along the way than the group attempted to attend on its first ride in 2013.

“That first year, we had about a half dozen stops,” Mr Frank said. “But this year, it’s crunch time. We’ve got 14 events planned jammed into the same amount of travel time.”

Upon leaving Connecticut on March 28 the cyclists plan a stop at two events in New York. One of those events, Mr Frank said, is at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx.

“Lincoln Hospital is one of the latest medical centers to join in a campaign called ‘Guns Down, Life Up,’” he said.

Guns Down, Life Up (GDLU) is an initiative of The Fund for HHC that brings together public health experts and community leaders around New York City to stop the cycle of gun violence. Using a community-centered public health approach, GDLU engages partners across all boroughs to prevent and interrupt violence and empower youth to fulfill their potential by leading safer, healthier lives.

GDLU organizers will then accompany the Newtown riders to Harlem where they will pass the historic Apollo Theater before arriving for a rally at the headquarters of the National Action Network.

“That’s going to be electrifying,” Mr Frank said. “Last year we experienced the energy of the Harlem community behind reducing gun violence in New York.”

For the first time, the team will be routing into Delaware, where they will join a rally sponsored by the Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence. Then it will be on to Baltimore, for a rally on the City Hall steps with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

The final stop before the Capitol rally will bring Team 26 into southeast Washington, D.C., where the riders will link arms with Nardyne Jefferies, the mother of 16-year-old Brishell Jones, at the site of a random drive-by shooting that claimed her life five years and one day earlier, Mr Frank said.

The journey will end on the steps of the US Capitol, where Team 26 will be welcomed by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, a celebrated civil rights leader from Washington, D.C.

Learn more, and keep tabs on Team 26 as they prepare and complete their third ride to Washington at the group’s Sandy Hook Ride on Washington Facebook page.

View a video of the group here.