“The last time I rode a bike was when I was 10 years old,” said Renee Whynes of West Haven. “I fell off the bike and never got back on it again.”
That was until she was inspired to get back on while watching the Tour de France.
“Out of nowhere, I saw an advertisement for Closer to Free Ride and I was like, ‘I am going to do this ride. I’m going to sign up to do the 100 miles.’”
That was 2021 - the second year that the Closer to Free Ride went virtual. The now-avid cyclist says her first ride was a long one.
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“Five hours and 57 minutes, and I remember every single second of it," Whynes said.
She thought it was a good way to get active when everyone was at home and, she says, eating a lot and not working out.
“Riding by the water, the ebbing and flow of the waves actually brings peace, that calm, that serenity,” she said.
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And, Closer to Free is an important cause. She says her dad’s wife was treated at Smilow Cancer Hospital in 2012. She says the Closer to Free Ride shows support for patients and staff at Smilow and Yale Cancer Center.
“That we care that the people who go out and fundraise also care,” Whynes said.
All of the money raised in Closer to Free stays local for research, treatment and support. And this year, she says she’s taking it up a gear.
“My goal this year is to raise $1,500. So, every year I go up $500," Whynes said.
Like Michael Morton who spoke with NBC Connecticut earlier this month, Whynes is a solo rider this year. She says it helps her focus on the reason she’s out there.
“Mentally, physically, emotionally as well, to be connected to those who have lost someone, who is going through treatment and those who have recovered as well," Whynes said.
And, like many riders, the hardest part of the ride is coming face to face with that reality during the opening ceremony. She says it was an emotional moment.
“And the love, the energy that everyone felt during that time was for me so touching. And that was the most difficult. The first time, I literally had tears coming down my face," she said.
So now the once reluctant rider, who was inspired by the Tour de France, and motivated by the loss of a family member and a friend’s mother, will set out once again to make a difference.
“It’s all about hope, it’s all about courage, and it’s all about commitment," Whynes said.
