On Sunday, September 10, thousands of motorcyclists again are planning to travel in a group through Newtown as part of a 60-mile-long fundraising ride through Fairfield County, known as the 2017 CT United Ride.ctunitedride.com. The event is on Facebook at The CT United Ride.

The event is sponsored by Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut. The motorcycle ride is a fundraiser to benefit the survivors of the law enforcement personnel and the firefighters who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorism of 2001.

The motorcade will be held rain or shine. The motorcyclists will start their ride at 11:30 am and then proceed through Norwalk, Westport, Wilton, Georgetown, Redding, Bethel, Newtown, Monroe, Trumbull, Fairfield, and Bridgeport. In this area, riders will follow Route 302 in Bethel into Newtown and then proceed eastward on Route 302 until reaching Route 25, where they will turn right and travel southward on Route 25 into Monroe.

The route of the motorcycle ride will be closed to regular traffic traveling in the same direction as the motorcyclists. The motorcyclists, who are escorted by police, do not stop at stop signs or at red traffic signals. In the past, the parade of motorcyclists has taken about 30 minutes to pass a given point.

Newtown's fire companies have traditionally had large American flags flying over the roadway, welcoming the group as it passes two fire stations and one additional location along the route. Dodgingtown and Hawleyville firefighters usually stage at Dodgingtown's station on Dodgingtown Road (Route 302); Hook & Ladder and Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue use their ladder trucks to hold a flag over South Main Street near Amaral Motors (40 South Main Street); and Botsford Fire Rescue stages outside its station, at 315 South Main Street.

For information on participating in the motorcycle ride or being a sponsor, the event's website is