About 40 bike riders (plus one unicycle and one motorcycle) showed up for the “Care to Ride” event in Hartford, Conn., to raise funds for the Oil Heat Cares foundation. More people were signed up for the event but were kept away by the New England flooding. The event called for a 31-mile bike course, a 14-mile shorter course and a three-mile walk. About 25 walkers traversed the walking course.
Winners were determined by pledges, not time. Roger Marran of Energy Kinetics was the overall largest individual fundraiser; he brought in $1,536 and won an official Care to Ride bicycle jersey, as well as the $600 grand prize. Marran donated his winnings to Oil Heat Cares.
Rosemarie Bartchak of Boyertown Furnace/Columbia Boiler was the top walker fundraiser; she brought in $700. The top team was the Nassau Suffolk County Rough Riders - Bob Chapman, Mark Nass, Ted Swedell, Philip Schwartz and Ken Willis - raising $2,275. Some awards were airline vouchers from Southwest Airlines, a complimentary stay at Foxwoods Resorts and at the Hartford Marriott.
