A team of cyclists arrived in Washington, DC on Tuesday after making the 400-mile trip from Newtown, Connecticut through the cold and the snow over the weekend to honor the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 and lobby for legislation to curb gun violence.
The group, called Team 26, left Newtown on Saturday and held rallies along the route. Along the way, their thoughts were with the families who have lost loved ones to gun violence.
Team 26 Leader Monte Frank said the group has received messages along the way from Newtown families, his friends who lost their children, and that kept him going.
"As miserable as Saturday was on the bike, with snow and the cold, and if it wasn't for them, I don't know that I would continue. They inspire us everyday," Frank said.
Omar Samaha, whose sister, Reema, was killed in the shooting at Virginia Tech, also made the trip.
"We're driving home the message to Washington that we still haven't had the changes we need with our gun laws to keep Americans safe, and we're reminding Washington -- we're going to keep reminding them every year with this ride, that we need change. We need it now for all Americans so we can be safe." he said.
Dr. Bill Begg, of Newtown, also made the journey and said it was one of the most special things he's done in his life.
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"Being at my hospital on that day when the tragedy happened and seeing what I saw, I said I have to do better. I can't stand by and just keep my mouth closed. I have to work on prevention," he said.
Frank said small towns and big cities are all working together to fight gun violence and he called for "sensible, common sense measures" like universal background checks.
"We're all united in combating gun violence. We're going to come together. This movement is in its infancy. It's going to take awhile, but where not giving up. We're going to keep pedaling until it's done," Frank said.
This was the third annual Sandy Hook Ride and Frank said now is the time for Congress to act.
"As long as Congress doesn't act, it remains complicit in these tragedies and the tragedies will keep occurring," he said.
