This will be the 16th year in a row that I participate in the Tri-State Trek to find a cure for ALS. After our brother Chuck died of ALS in 2009, my brother Breen and I vowed to keep riding until researchers discover a cure or effective treatment.Our team Crush ALS/Team Bannon, which Breen and I formed with our sister-in-law Elaine Bannon in 2009, is back again this year with 26 committed members. In March, ALS-TDI, the research lab in Boston which sponsors the Trek, announced a new collaboration with Microsoft and Answer ALS. The venture combines the two largest existing datasets of ALS patients and makes them available to scientists worldwide via a data portal called Neuromine. The dataset will allow researchers, using artificial intelligence and other technologies, to more easily access, discover and validate new treatments.I’d like to thank all of you for 16 years of donations and especially your moral support through the years. You don’t have to give every year, and you don’t have to give much. For those who do, please know you are making a difference.Never Give Up! 

Thank you for considering a donation to help end ALS by supporting ALS research at ALS TDI. On June 24th and 25th this year, my stepdad Dan Weber and I will be riding 100 miles each day in the TRI STATE TREK to help raise funds to support this very worthy and needed cause. The Trek will begin and end each day at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) campus in Durham, NH.In 2009, at the age of 5, I lost my father Chuck Bannon to this devastating disease. So on behalf of Crush ALS/Team Bannon, our sincere thank you for you for the support!

Working to End ALS by supporting ALS research at ALS TDI. Please support my efforts.

Dear Friends and Family,This June, I will be participating in a weekend charity cycling event called the Tri-State Trek. This incredible event raises money to end Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), a neurodegenerative disorder that paralyzes the body but leaves the mind intact. People with ALS, on average, live between three to five years following diagnosis. For most people with ALS, there are no treatments to help slow or stop disease progression. I am participating in the Tri-State Trek to help change that.While I am not a cyclist and I do not have personal ties to the ALS community, I have grown very familiar with the pain and ruthlessness of this disease. Looking around my community, speaking to those who have relatives with ALS, and noticing the amount of strength that is required to deal with the disease has inspired me to do what I can to raise money for further research. All funds from the Trek will support ALS research at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). Located in Watertown, MA, ALS TDI is a nonprofit biotech and the world’s most comprehensive drug development lab dedicated solely to discovering treatments for ALS.I have committed myself to riding 60 miles in 2 days and raising $1500. ALS demands our attention, and I will do all I can to help. I am asking for your help to reach my fundraising goal.Thank you so much for your time and support!- David Devlin

Dear Friends and Family,This June, I will be participating in a weekend charity cycling event called the Tri-State Trek. This incredible event raises money to end Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), a neurodegenerative disorder that paralyzes the body but leaves the mind intact. People with ALS, on average, live between three to five years following diagnosis. For most people with ALS, there are no treatments to help slow or stop disease progression. I am participating in the Tri-State Trek to help change that.All funds from the Trek will support ALS research at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). Located in Watertown, MA, ALS TDI is a nonprofit biotech and the world’s most comprehensive drug development lab dedicated solely to discovering treatments for ALS.I have committed myself to riding 200 miles in 2 days and raising $2500. ALS demands our attention, and I will do all I can to help. I am asking for your help to reach my fundraising goal.Riding is the hard part; donating is easy. You can easily donate online by visiting my fundraising page at https://tst.als.net/donate/tamifurman. Every dollar counts, any amount helps, and all of your support will help me reach my goal! Thank you so much for your time and consideration. See you at the finish line! Kindly yours, Tami FurmanTri-State Trek Rider

By now, almost everyone knows about ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).  Many have had the misfortune of direct experience with the disease.  Suffice it to say that it is a devastating and dreadful disease.  We are committed to eradicating it.ALS is not incurable.  Rather, it is underfunded.  The Tri-State Trek provides a meaningful portion of the annual budget of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS-TDI).  ALS-TDI is the world's foremost drug discovery center focused exclusively on ALS.  Pioneering the "biotech model," ALS-TDI places the patient at the center of every decision made in the lab.  The team of scientists at ALS-TDI collaborates daily in the lab and through pharmaceutical company partnerships worldwide to discover cures and treatment for ALS.In March of 2024, ALS-TDI announced a collaboration with Microsoft and Answer ALS, that brings together the two largest existing clinical and omics data sets relating to ALS.  Through this partnership, comprehensive data collected through ALS-TDI's ALS Research Collaborative (ARC) will be added to Neuromine, an innovative data portal launched in 2021 by Answer ALS and powered by Microsoft Azure.By nearly doubling the amount of data available through Neuromine, this groundbreaking collaboration can accelerate ALS research worldwide allowing researches to more easily discover and quickly validate new treatments.  The ARC study is ongoing and it has already collected more than eight years' worth of vital ALS data from over 1000 ALS patients worldwide.  THis data will be added to 150 trillion data points from more than 1100 participants in a three year study conducted by Answer ALS.A partnership with the likes of Microsoft and Answer ALS is available to a scientific laboratory only if it can demonstrate financial sustainability.  Providing as much as 10% of its operating budget, the Tri-State Trek goes a long way toward demonstrating that ALS-TDI is adequately funded.Research and data mining such as this is tedious, expensive, sometimes frustrating and always time consuming.  Your contributions are a major source of the funding that makes this research and testing possible. You are making a direct impact in the lives of those afflicted with ALS and their loved ones.I am both privileged and honored to ride for Team Bannon-Crush ALS.  In its fifteen year history, this team alone has raised in excess of $2 million in contributions to the Tri-State Trek.  While this is an accomplishment of which we are very proud, we have not completed our mission-to eradicate ALS. This can only happen through the continued generosity and compassion of our wonderful donors.This is the second year of a different format  for the Tri-State Trek.  While still involving three states, the ride has been reduced to two weekend days, in order to increase participation.  The ride begins and ends each day at the University of New Hampshire.  Completing a century ride each day (100 miles), we will traverse the hills and valleys of New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts on June 22 and June 23.This will be my tenth consecutive year of participation in this great event.   Your contribution will automatically qualify you as a member of my team of more than 125 donors known as Team Higgs and will place your name on the list of recipients of my daily ride updates, which I will provide in the same fashion as in prior years, as I share this unique experience with you. While I have not had a relative diagnosed with ALS, I have clearly been impacted by the disease through the people I have met who are associated with the Tri-State Trek and ALS TDI.  The riders and those they ride for, as well as the doctors and staff at ALS TDI, are truly inspirational. It is rewarding to see our team grow and our fundraising efforts flourish for such a worthwhile cause. This is the only cause for which you will ever receive a fundraising plea from me.Please be as generous as you can.  Every little bit helps.  And please take a moment to view the brief inspirational video directly below promoting this year's Trek.  I hope that you will find this to be a worthwhile cause.  Thank you, in advance, for your support.Riding until we have a cure,Bob

I am just back from Durham New Hampshire, where I was part of a rest stop crew supporting the Tri-State Trek, after a 6-year hiatus.  I rode in the Trek from 2013-2016 (and planned to do so in 2017 before a bike crash in training nixed that year's effort), when it was a 270-mile, three-day effort through the rolling hills of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and NY.  In recent years, to encourage more participation (and with a nod to the advancing age of some of the founding riders), the ride has been modified to a two-day event, with rides of either 100 or 30 miles each day, touching Massachusetts and Maine, along with New Hampshire.The ride supports the research efforts of The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), the world's foremost drug discovery lab focused solely on ALS. As a nonprofit biotech, it operates without regard to profit or politics.  Led by drug development experts and people with ALS, the Watertown, Massachusetts-based lab is funded by a global network of supporters unified to end ALS. Its mission is to discover and develop effective treatments for ALS.  Read more about the debilitating disease of ALS and the efforts of  ALS TDI at www.als.net.  The Trek plays a substantial role in the company's fundraising efforts.  In the past, we have raised over $750,000 from the ride, filling the needs of  7-8% of the company's operating budget at that time. Previously I had implored many of you to financially support my riding in the event.  This year, I am taking the somewhat unusual approach to ask you to support my effort to pass out pickle juice and ring cow bells encouraging the riders, for an event that has already taken place!  I had not planned to ask for contributions from others, but listening to those directly impacted by ALS speak at the open mic on Saturday evening after the first day of riding motivated me to plead for your support.The good news is that I am no longer employed, so there is no compliance department to limit the amount of any contribution to $2,000.  You are free to exceed that limitation should you wish to do so!  I am humbly asking for your support and will again match all contributions received dollar for dollar.Many thanks for your consideration.All the best.Steve

Thirteen years on……!Dear Friends and Family, This is the 13th summer in a row that I have been riding the Tri-State Trek to raise money and awareness for ALS, the disease that killed Betty Anne, my mother-in-law.  This year it starts on Saturday 22 June.The Trek is a 2-day, 200-mile ride starting at the University of New Hampshire and looping through Massachusetts and Main.  This will be the 21st year of the Trek and it is both a critical fundraiser for ALS-TDI (the largest research lab in the world focused on ALS) and an opportunity to honor and support those still suffering with ALS. We know that we are getting closer to a cure, and events like this help raise money and create a supportive community for ALS patients until the cure is found.  Our team Crush ALS/Team Bannon has 20 committed riders from multiple states who are training and fundraising this year. I personally have been training since March and riding most weekends. And this is the 15th year of our team during which time we have raised almost $1.5mm, thanks to your generous and continued support.The Trek is about the critically important job of raising money to support ALS research, and about supporting the ALS community.  There is a growing confidence in the ALS community around new drug therapies (at TDI and other labs) that will extend life spans en route to a cure.  This is a huge step forward.If you have supported me/ALS in the past, thank you.  Truly.  If you can support me this year, thank you. Truly.  To donate, please click “Donate now" or if you would like to mail in a check, please make sure it is accompanied by a completed donation form. (Click here to download a 2024 form) and send it in with a check made out to Tri State Trek (ATTN: Crush ALS/Macdonnell) and mail it to me at 84 Ridgewood Ave., Glen Ridge, NJ 07028.   Margot and I have made our own contribution to start it off.   Thank you for supporting the efforts to find a cure for ALS for so many years, both emotionally and financially.  It means the world to me and our family.   Never Give Up! Hugh 

Hi!  So proud to be part of Team Bannon.  We are all affected by this terrible disease, so we continue to ride, and thank you for your support since 2015!

I am planning to go the distance 200 miles in 2 days again this year to beat ALS. Please support my 8th ALS Thereapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) Tri-State Treck by donating to help #endALS.steThis has been a choppy to training for for my 8th ALS TDI Tri-State Trek having endured many different injuries over the years. I am working to build muscle and listen to my body.  I have been trainining indoors and outside for weeks in hopes of being stronger than last year. I am looking forward to a my second year in the newer format and riding again with my Team Bannon Crush ALS teammates and all of the other participants and volunteers.I will ride two days memory of family and friends that died of ALS, to honor those that are fighting the disease and find effective patient treatments and most importantly a discover a cure.This is the toughest athletic event I've completed. I'm thrilled that my partner Maura McNulty and athlete extraordinare will be ride again this year after a gruelling rides that past couple of  years.I'm excited to return to Durham NH and ride to Massechusettes and Maine to help the ALSTDI find a cure for ALS.ALS TDI is at the leading edge of research and drug  development that is now in human trials.I ride and fundraise because ALS has had a dramatic impact on my family for generations, including another immediate family member being recently diagnosed.  The insidious disease claimed my mother Mary Flynn Rooney, brother John Flynn Rooney and aunt Agnes Flynn McCoy and continues to have an impact on my family and likely will for generations until a cure is found.Matt Creen, my brother EJ's brother-in-law, also is valiantly battling the disease. In May of 2020 we lost an amazing ALS Advocate my sister-in-law Meg Clarke Rooney (my brother John’s wife) who also inspires me to fight for cure. I have a goal of raising $5,000 and would be thrilled to exceed that. Team Bannon Crush ALS  in memory of Chuck Bannon has raised over $1 million dollars since its 2009.  With your support we can Crush ALS.Thank you, LoveTim

Working to End ALS by supporting ALS research at ALS TDI. Please support my efforts.

Once again, I am joining Crush ALS/Team Bannon for the Tri-State Trek, we will be riding to raise money to fight a cruel disease called ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"!!  This will be my 4th Tri-State Trek!I am riding with my husband and best friend, Breen Bannon who lost his brother Chuck Bannon after 3 years of fighting the disease, Chuck passed in 2009 at the age of 44 and our ride is a great way of honoring him and to raise money to FIGHT ALS. Our team, Crush ALS/Team Bannon’s dedication to ending this debilitating disease is awe inspiring….this is the 16th year for Crush ALS/Team Bannon, we have 20 riders and will breach over $2 million dollars raised this year for ALS TDI. I am asking you to please help and be a part of something bigger than yourself.Riding is the hard part; donating is easy. Please help me crush my fundraising goal of $2,500 and donate to support my ride.  The link is: https://tst.als.net/elizabethtrybusAll donations go to ALS-TDI a Boston-based non-profit that is leading research into finding a treatment and cure for ALS (www.als.net). ALS-TDI, the Boston-based research lab. Our ride provides something that ALS patients and their families need more than anything: HOPE. You can get a good idea of what we do in this short video.Your support is greatly appreciated, and every dollar helps! Thank you for your time and consideration!!Lots of Love,Never Give up!Elizabeth (Liz) Trybus-Bannon

Thank you for considering a donation to help end ALS by supporting ALS research at ALS TDI.  On June 22nd and 23rd this year, my son John Bannon and I will be riding 100 miles each day in the TRI STATE TREK to help raise funds to support this very worthy and needed cause. The Trek will begin and end each day at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) campus in Durham, NH.In 2009, at the age of 5, John lost his father Chuck Bannon to this devastating decease.  So on behalf of Crush ALS/Team Bannon, our sincere thank you for you for the support!