When Newtown’s Team 26 cycling leader Monte Frank paraphrased the postal carrier’s credo ahead of the cycling group’s departure to Washington, DC, Saturday, March 28: “Neither snow, nor rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” he forgot to mention the cold.

Despite bone-chilling temperatures that accompanied the riders on much of their four-day, 400-mile trek, Mr Frank said their cause and the warm greetings enjoyed at virtually every stop along the way helped keep them going.

“But for the cause and the energy of the crowd Saturday at Edmond Town Hall, there’s no way we would have been out there on our bikes,” he said in a chat with The Newtown Bee upon his return home April 1.

Getting farewell hugs from surviving 12/14 parent Nicole Hockley as well as the mother, brother, and sister of educator and victim Victoria Soto also helped Mr Frank stave off the numbness he was feeling in his hands and feet early-on at the start of his journey. The cyclists then headed to Fairfield Hills to lead off the Sandy Hook 5K, which was also scheduled that snowy morning.

“The cold didn’t matter by then,” Mr Frank said. “We were riding for a purpose and so motivated and honored to be invited to lead off the 5K.”

Enthusiastic greetings and steaming hot coffee were on tap to take the edge off for Team 26 as they arrived at rallies in Ridgefield and Greenwich, and those events were also held indoors, which helped, Mr Frank related. From there the team made their way into Westchester County, N.Y., to rallies in Harlem and the Bronx, before settling down for the evening in New York City.

Sunday morning, Mr Frank said Team 26 was up early for the trek into New Jersey and on to Pennsylvania via the George Washington Bridge. By the time they hit Montclair, N.J., the temperatures had risen high enough to make their next few legs a bit more comfortable.

The route to the Montclair rally, the first in that community in the short history of the ride, took Team 26 up a long hill where a 9/11 memorial stood overlooking the skyline of Manhattan. It was at that memorial that Mr Frank decided to leave the first of his Ben’s Bells, which each rider carried to distribute along the way.

“The 9/11 memorial has a child holding a teddy bear, so I hung my Ben’s Bell on it in the hope someone would take it home to spread the message of love we were bringing along the ride,” Mr Frank said. “That was a very intense moment — it tied together a lot of emotions for me.”

Those emotions continued to run high as Team 26 was welcomed at their next stop in Morristown, N.J., by Maura Schwartz, the daughter of slain Sandy Hook school psychologist Mary Sherlach.

“Maura gave a very moving speech, which gave us all continued strength to continue on,” Mr Frank recalled.

Day 2 ended with another gathering in Ambler, Penn., where the cyclists bunked down for the night.

Onward To Delaware

The following day saw Team 26 venturing into new territory as they headed into Delaware. One of the rallies hosted by the Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence included a speech from the state’s Attorney General Matt Denn.

“The attorney general recalled how [12/14 parents] Mark Barden and Nicole Hockley came there and worked tirelessly to help the state pass stronger gun measures,” Mr Frank said.

At the Delaware stop, Mr Frank was deeply moved being approached by a young lady named Imani Henry, who was a recent Newtown Kindness award winner for providing more than 25,000 new books to young children, while organizing reading events to promote literacy in her home town of Wilmington.

“That moment was very touching,” Mr Frank said.

One of the more memorable moments along the ride came as Team 26 crossed into Maryland, and they were greeted at the Baltimore City line by an unit of police cars and motorcycles that escorted the riders to the steps of City Hall. There, they were greeted by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

“I can’t describe that feeling as we came into view of this police escort unit with their lights flashing and sirens blowing,” Mr Frank recalled. “And it was wonderful to be greeted at City Hall by Mayor Rawlings-Blake, who is a real champion against gun violence.”

Day 4 found Team 26 heading from Baltimore into Washington, with stops at the National Cathedral and Faith Presbyterian Church, and then on to the Capitol, where they were joined by another young advocate and Newtowner.

“We asked Newtown student Emma Iannini to stand with us at the Capitol, as the founder of the Georgetown [University] Against Gun Violence chapter,” Mr Frank said.

From their snowy, chilly sendoff in Newtown, which included remarks by First Selectman Pat Llodra, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, and 12/14 parent Jeremy Richman, to their final stop at the nation’s Capitol, Mr Frank said he felt new momentum building in support of enhanced gun safety measures.

Referring to the quickly coined phrase that emerged shortly after the Sandy Hook tragedy in the wake of calls for more federal  gun safety measures, Mr Frank said, “The so-called ‘Newtown Effect’ is becoming the ‘America Effect.’

“Every event we attended along the way — especially at locations that hosted us in previous rides — we saw larger crowds, and more energy from folks willing to support not only gun safety, but mental health and domestic violence issues as well.” 

Local Send-Off

Among the other speakers supporting Team 26 at the Newtown sendoff rally was Sandy Hook Elementary staffer and Newtown Legislative Council Chair Mary Ann Jacob, who talked about how a number of educators and school staff formed a group called SHS Educators for Gun Sense.

“Going back to work every day was the best way we knew to honor the lives lost and help the children who survived,” Ms Jacob said. “But after 18 months we could no longer stay on the sidelines while shooting after shooting occurred and our country turned its back on gun violence.”

Ben’s Bells Newtown team leader Bethe Krueger was on hand with one of the ceramic reminders of kindness for each rider to distribute as they rolled toward Washington.

“Each represents the connectedness that we share as part of a greater community,” she said. “The 26 bells are symbols of the kindness and strong spirit of Newtown and Sandy Hook. We hope the bells will bring hope to the people who find them, and joy to the bike messengers of Team 26 who will hang them.”

The Newtown event opened with Monsignor Robert Weiss of St Rose of Lima reminding those gathered that every hour of every day of every year, someone is a victim of gun violence.

Gesturing to the green-suited riders to his right and left, Msgr Weiss said, “May our 26 Newtown angels be a constant inspiration to them. May every push of their pedal be a push of remembrance for all who have died at the hands of gun violence, regardless of age, race, faith, or circumstances.”

The local event closed with a prayer from Pastor Kathleen Adam Shepherd from Trinity Episcopal Church, who asked everyone to pray for the snow to dissipate and for all the roads in front to Team 26 to be dry and safe.

“Ride on Team 26. May the wind be at your back, strength and purpose in your legs, and comfort in your seat, knowing you ride for us and all, and especially for our children.”

Dubbed Team 26 to represent those killed at the local school on 12/14, ride founder and Sandy Hook resident Monte Frank was joined on the ride by fellow Newtowner Bill Muzzio. According to sandyhookrideonwashington.com, the team continues to support:

*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.

Newtown riders were 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 filmmaker Sue Roman.

This article has been updated to reflect Beth Krueger's role with Ben's Bells Newtown.