Team Brielle’s Brigade was formed early in 2006 in honor of one special little girl. Seven people formed the original cast of characters. Their common goal was to ride 300 miles across the state of Massachusetts. None of the team quite knew what was ahead of them – the hours of training and fundraising, the falls, the laughs. One thing was known; 300 miles of bike riding should be easy compared to what many of our loved ones had experienced in their fight against cancer. Their efforts, both on and off their bikes, would result in raising over $77,000 in that innaugural year. The team returned in 2007 with some changes to the cast, but with more determination than ever. The result? Over $107,000 raised for cancer research. For 2008, the entire cast is back and ready to roll!
In its first year, 2006, the team raised $77,000 and achieved Heavy Hitter status with the Pan-Mass Challenge. (In 2006, a Heavy Hitter team was defined as one in which every member exceeds the fundraising minimum of $6,000) In fact, of the 53 Heavy Hitter teams in the PMC, Brielle’s Brigade was very proud to see themselves ranked #8 out of this group.
In 2007, 5 out of our 7 original members returned and we welcomed 4 new members to the team. Once again, most of the team began the PMC a day early with a little “warm up ride” from Hillsdale, New York to Sturbridge MA. We joined with about 20 other riders in 95 degree weather and enjoyed a fantastic police escort from Westfield to Palmer, then continued on to the 2-day PMC from Sturbridge to Bourne and then on to Provincetown, MA. The team raised nearly $109,000 and was again the 8th highest ranked Heavy Hitter team.
For 2008, ten veteran riders join with four rookie riders together for the sole purpose of finding a cure.
