Smilow Cancer Hospital

More than 2,000 people from over 30 states and overseas are participating in this year’s Closer to Free Ride on Saturday.

More than 2,000 people from over 30 states and overseas are participating in this year’s Closer to Free Ride on Saturday.

More than 2,000 people from over 30 states and overseas are participating in this year’s Closer to Free Ride on Saturday. The 11th annual Closer to Free Ride is a virtual ride experience due to COVID-19. This marks the second year the ride has been virtual. Riders are encouraged to head out on their desired course outside or on a…

Despite having to hold a virtual event for the second year in a row, the Closer to Free Ride continues to have a huge impact on fundraising for cancer research.

The Closer to Free Ride is Saturday, Sept. 11, and two local brewers have come together for the first time to raise thousands of dollars for the event.

The Closer to Free Ride is taking place this Saturday with some of the favorite traditions still taking place amid a virtual event.

Bank of America has been a proud sponsor of the Closer to Free Ride

One regular Closer to Free Ride team is riding this year in honor of the memory of its former leader.

Virginia Dougan and her husband Gary met in high school and this December they’ll celebrate 40 years of marriage, plus the seven years they were together before they tied the knot. The pair are unstoppable in Gary’s fight against lung cancer. It seems fitting, as that’s the theme for this year’s Closer to Free Ride.

“Smilow, cycling, this whole process is keeping me alive.” With every push of the pedal, every bike ride, Lou Gaedt of Montville is doing his best to stay strong. He’s training for the Closer to Free Ride on September 11, while battling advanced prostate cancer. He was first diagnosed in 2018, and the treatments reduce his muscle mass. Exercising helps…

A prostate cancer patient says the Closer to Free Ride is literally keeping him alive, strong and fighting.

Beth Keegan and Rob Coogan have been together a lifetime. “I’m going to be 55 in October, so 54 and 10 months, something like that,” said Coogan. “Yeah, he was number four and I was number three,” said Beth.  Her last name changed slightly, and that’s the only difference between this brother and sister pair. They are the two youngest…

If you ask Lisa Selmquist if she’s a cyclist, the answer is an emphatic “no.” “Not at all. And I will never admit that I am one. I’m a want-to-be cyclist,” Selmquist said. But, the aspiring rider from Hamden is making a real-life impact. She is “Team Pedaling for Pop Pop,” a one-woman powerhouse raising money in this year’s...

The Yale Bowl was quiet last year for the opening ceremonies of the Closer to Free Ride. This year, that all changes. The event is returning in-person and the opening is what people say is one of the most cherished parts of the ride. “The experience of the opening ceremony and hearing the stories of so many survivors, it’s...

After being virtual last year due to the pandemic, the Closer to Free Ride will be in-person this year.

“Having cancer myself I just want to show other people that you can do this.” Mary Tirozzi of Wallingford is gearing up for her 11th Closer to Free Ride and she wouldn’t miss it, even now, as she goes through cancer treatments herself. “The fatigue gets to me, but actually the bike riding motivates me and keeps me agoing,”...

The Closer to Free raises money for Smilow Cancer Hospital and the Yale Cancer Center. Cyclist Heather Studwell discovered the ride during its second year and now works as an oncology survivorship coordinator at Smilow Cancer Hospital in Greenwich.

“As soon as I walked out you could see massive crowds forming, and there were all sorts of people there: patients, doctors nurses, caregivers,” said Leigh Funderburk. The Southbury mom was at Smilow Cancer Hospital, and it was in that moment as she watched the Smilow Salute that she was sold on the Closer to Free Ride. “As soon as…

A college student shares the importance of the support from Smilow Cancer Hospital to his family and how he is riding this year for “Team Mom.”

“I don’t tell her as much as I should, but my mom is the most amazing person I’ve ever met in my life,” said Colton Varholak of Orange, who spoke to NBC Connecticut about his mother Chrissy. The kindergarten teacher is fighting breast cancer for the second time. Varholak said she was first diagnosed in 2013. Back then, he...