This will be the 12th year in a row that I participate in the Tri-State Trek, the 270-mile bike ride 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. This year, the Trek will be much different from normal years. To keep everyone safe from the coronavirus, organizers have reconceived the ride as the My State Trek.  They are asking everyone to ride their 270 miles individually around their hometowns or on stationary bikes--instead of riding together as we normally do from Boston to Greenwich, Conn. To accommodate the difficult circumstances, riders are asked to reach the 270-mile goal any time this spring/summer or by June 21.  Our team Crush ALS/Team Bannon, which Breen and I formed in 2009, is back again this year with 17 committed riders. I personally have been training since April and riding every weekend. I aim to finish the full 270 miles before June 21 and do several extended rides around New Jersey and New York that weekend with a group of teammates. It certainly won’t be the same this year but we need to be there for ALS-TDI, the Boston-based research lab that sponsors the Trek. With their fundraising events canceled, they’ve lost 40% of their annual budget and had to furlough staff and reduce salaries, including those of research scientists. Last year the Trek raised about $1 million, or 10% of the lab’s annual budget. They need our help now more than ever. This has been a devastating period for so many people and organizations. If you are suffering and can’t support us financially this year we totally understand and wish you luck and strength to weather the storm. If you have the means to give, I really appreciate it.  I’d like to thank all of you for 12 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!  

I am again joining Team "Crush ALS/Team Bannon" to ride to raise money to fight ALS --anything you can do to help to join the fight is greatly appreciated!

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. Just since last year ALS-TDI has tested 22 potential drugs for ALS, with another 20 in the pipeline for 2020. A new animal model of ALS (in zebrafish) has been developed and two additional animal models will be developed this year.  These animal models allow for the study of various mutations of the disease.  Moreover, with the money coming directly from the Tri-State Trek, three compounds have been validated for treatment by ALS-TDI and are now in clinical trial.  For a disease having no effective treatment, this is a major beakthrough. I am both privileged and honored to ride for Team Bannon-Crush ALS (pictured above).  In its eleven-year history, this team alone has raised in excess of $1 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.  More than ever, we need your support in 2020. In this year of unprecedented events, we are faced with a new and very different challenge:  COVID-19.  The Tri-State Trek, for obvious reasons, cannot operate under its existing model.  Instead, it has been transformed into the My State Trek.  Riders are invited to complete 270 miles (riding solo from their home base) and post these rides to a common website known as Strava.  The sincere hope is that you, the faithful supporters of this ever so worthy cause, will find it in your hearts to contribute in the same manner as if the Trek were functioning in a normal fashion.  In lieu of the 270 mile, three-day bike ride from Boston to Greenwich, CT,  which was scheduled for June 19-21, 2020, I pledge to ride an equivalent distance over the same three days, starting from home and returning there every 25-30 miles to replenish the Gatorade, so as  to avoid convenience store purchases. This will be my sixth consecutive year of participation in this great event.   Your contribution 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.  My challenge will be to make these narratives interesting, despite the repetitive nature of the courses I shall ride. 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 fund raising 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. Certainly some of our prior years' donors have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus.  To those of you upon whom the impact has been less severe, please consider an increased donation in this year to counterbalance the anticipated shortfall. And please take a moment to view the inspirational video directly below depicting what was to be on this epic ride.  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    

Dear Friends and Family, This is the 9th summer in a row that I have been riding 270 miles to raise money and awareness for ALS, the disease that killed Betty Anne, my mother-in-law.  But, like everything else in our new (pandemic) world, this year’s ride will be very different from previous years.  First, the Tri-State Trek will be a virtual event this year. To keep everyone safe from the coronavirus, Trek organizers have reconceived the ride as the My State Trek.  The organizers are asking everyone to ride their 270 miles individually around their hometowns or on stationary bikes--instead of riding together as we normally do from Boston to Greenwich, Conn. To accommodate the difficult circumstances, riders are asked to reach the 270-mile goal any time this spring/summer or by June 21.  Our team Crush ALS/Team Bannon has 16 committed riders who are training and fundraising this year. I personally have been training since April and riding every weekend (Peloton and road). I will complete the full 270 miles before June 21.  Thus, I will do a long ride on each of the three days of the “regular” Trek next weekend.  I will send a note to this group during these three days of riding.  It certainly won’t be the same this year.   But the Trek is about the critically important job of raising money to support ALS research, and about supporting the ALS community.  All charities have been impacted by the events of the last few months, but the critical work of research continues.  With (almost all) their fundraising events canceled this year, TDI has lost something like 40% of their annual budget and had to furlough staff and reduce salaries, including those of research scientists. Last year, the Trek raised about $1 million, or 10% of the lab’s annual budget.  Our little team, Crush ALS, raised about $230,000 of that amount.  We have told the organizers that we want to get as close as we can to this total again – to make sure that the work continues.   They need our help now more than ever. If you have donated in the past, thank you.  Truly.  If you can support me this year, thank you.  Truly.  To donate, please click “Donate now" or send a check made out to My State Trek 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.  On a personal note, Margot has decided to ride the Trek this year in addition to supporting me as she has always done.  For her, it is all Peloton, but I am (cautiously) optimistic that she will join us on the roads next year.  Yeah! Thank you for supporting my efforts to find a cure for ALS for so many years. I  remain committed to this important cause and optimistic that we will be back riding together again next year.  Never Give Up, Hugh        

The annual ALS-TDI Tri-State Trek isn’t happening this year because of the coronavirus. Not so smart to tour America’s hot spots for Covid-19 packed together on bicycles. But we are having a modified trek this year, and once again, I’m hoping you might be able to offer some financial support. They have rebranded it the My-State Trek 2020, which essentially means do what you can. In my case – and for my other riders in this area – we are planning to ride around Manhattan one day, and then do the other two days in New Jersey, including one 100-miler (why doesn’t Back Roads advertise that biking package?). As much as we like to talk about all the miles on the trek, what really matters is the money we raise. And the ALS Therapy Development Institute needs money to keep crucial research going. The fact is, ALS researchers are very close to finding a cure for familial ALS – the genetic type that unfortunately runs through my wife’s family.  But researchers need dollars to continue their important work.   Now more than ever, there are a lot of needs for your charity dollars. And if you have lost your job or have a diminished income, good luck regaining your financial health. Talk to you next year. But if you can spare a donation for ALS research, I’d appreciate it.  

This summer I am riding 270 miles to find an effective treatment for ALS. Please support my efforts. More details to follow. Harold

This summer I am riding my 3rd ALS TDI Tri-State Trek, known now as the My-State Trek. I plan to ride 280-miles over three days in memory of family that died of ALS, find an effective treatment for patients battling ALS and find a cure for those that may develop ALS. The summer of 2020 will have a dramatic impact on my ride. In an effort to try and remain healthy and stop the spread of COVID 19. I won’t be travelling to Boston, MA to ride to Greenwich, CT.  While I will be riding mostly alone and unsupported, I have a few riding goals. 1) Ride in three states similar to the ALS TDI Tri-State Trek 2) Create a new personal distance riding record (prior personal best is 108 miles in one day) 3) Finish healthy. I ride because ALS has had a dramatic impact on my family for generations, having claimed my mother Mary Flynn Rooney, brother John Flynn Rooney and aunt Agnes Flynn McCoy. Matt Creen, my brother EJ's brother-in-law 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). I ride in memory of them and many others and to honor the friends and family that are currently battling ALS. I have a goal of raising $2,500 and would be thrilled to exceed that. While riding on my own, I remain a happy member of Team Bannon Crush ALS who has raised over $1 million dollars since its inception in memory of Chuck Bannon in 2009.   With your support we can continue to Crush ALS. Thank you, Tim

Hola, hope that you’re surviving the pandemic in good health. For the fourth year, I’m bicycling to raise money for the fight against ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It’s a terribly debilitating and cruel disease with no known cure. That’s why the work of ALS Therapy Development Institute in Cambridge, MA, is so important. ALS-TDI is leading research into finding a treatment and cure for ALS. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has reduced the ability of ALS-TDI to raise money this year. The annual ALS-TDI Tri-State Trek, a 270-mile ride over three days from Boston to Greenwich, CT, has been cancelled for the safety of the riders. Instead, we’ll be riding in our own fashion through the ``My-State Trek.’’ Everyone will design their own rides by June 21. I plan to complete the mileage in three or four days. The inspiring group that I rode with for the past three years, Team Bannon-Crush ALS, has raised more than $1 million over the past decade. Many members of the team have had loved ones affected by the disease. Will you consider donating money to support the fight against ALS? I know this has been a hard time for so many people. If this isn’t a good time for you to give money, please don’t worry. But if you can give, everyone on Team Bannon and at ALS-TDI would be extremely grateful. Thanks for your consideration. -David