Ride, 5K Fuels Family's Mission to Finish 28-Year-Old Fatal Stabbing Victim's Florida-Bound Bike Ride

Kevin Adorno's family and the Farmington community is gathering Saturday to remember him in bike rides, a 5K and a festival at Winding Trails.

Farmington native Kevin Adorno's bike ride to Florida to propose to his girlfriend was cut short when a homeless man stabbed him to death, but his family and hometown community is remembering him in a positive light with bike rides, a 5-kilometer run and festival Saturday to raise money to finish his ride and make Farmington safer for cyclists.

“Kevin was just a part of everything in town," Tanya Adorno, Kevin's sister, said. "Everything he could be a part of… adult leagues, he obviously frequented a lot of the restaurants here, and a lot of our friends still live here. So, just really embedded in the community.”

And it shows, with more than 500 people signed up to ride and run in the event in his memory Saturday at Winding Trails in Farmington, a lake and outdoor recreation facility where Adorno spent a lot of time growing up.

“He was just a really outstanding soul," Ralph Allen, Kevin's friend, said. "He supported all of his friends. He was just an easy guy to get along with.”

The first group of bikers left Winding Trails at about 8 a.m. to ride to New Hartford and there will be a shorter distance ride later in the day. Rides are 50 and 25 miles long. A 5-kilometer run is also planned. A festival will take place at Winding Trails from noon to 9 p.m. with a lot of food and family activities.

Adorno went to Noah Wallace School and Irving A. Robbins Middle School in Farmington and graduated from Farmington High School in 2004, according to Bicycle Friendly Farmington, the event sponsor. He majored in graphic design at Central Connecticut State University and took classes before that at Tunxis Community College, going on to own two businesses, Bevy Productions and Media and My Pencil Portraits, according to the event notice on the organization's website. He also played soccer, football and lacrosse in Farmington. His experiences stretched further than his hometown, as he loved to travel, from backpacking through Europe to driving on a trip touring the country

Organizers have been planning the event for about three months.

"The people who knew Kevin and know the family. It’s a tremendous outpouring, and I think it’s a tremendous tribute to him," CJ Thomas, of Bicycle Friendly Farmington, said.

Back in September, Kevin's girlfriend at the time was going to fly out to Ft. Lauderdale to meet up with him, where he had rented a tandem bike to finish the last leg of the journey. Kevin had another surprise journey planned for her. He was going to have the boardwalk decorated and propose to her.

But the trip ended in tragedy before Adorno was able to propose. Police say a homeless man stabbed the 28-year-old outside a Vero Beach, Florida McDonalds when he went outside to make a phone call after stopping for food.

“He was looking forward to spending the rest of his life with his beautiful girlfriend, should have been fiancé," Allen said.

So, his family is on a mission to finish the last leg of his planned ride from Maryland to Miami, Florida to finish his east coast bike tour. Kevin rode on his first big bike trip with his sister from Maine to Maryland in summer of 2013. Saturday's ride, 5K and festival will raise money for his friends and family to complete his bike trip to Miami and to build funds for a scholarship in Kevin's name.

“There’s lots of low moments that we have just missing him, and so something like this, to be able to come out, and channel all of our energy into something so beautiful," Tanya Adorno said. "It’s the best thing we can do.”

The Adornos plan on making it an annual event.

In addition to benefitting the Kevin Adorno Memorial Fund, proceeds will also be donated to Bike Friendly Farmington to help fund the purchase of road signs to make Farmington roads safer for bicyclists.

Winding Trails is located at 50 Winding Trails Drive in Farmington, near Route 4.

More information on the event is available on Bike Friendly Farmington's website.

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