NORTHAMPTON – The Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites on Conz Street was swarming with bicyclists Monday afternoon – drawn by a hotel that is close to Northampton’s easy-to-walk downtown and which could accommodate all 179 riders.
Some of the bicyclists who belonged to “Team Red Eye” leaned back in camping chairs, stretching their sore legs and sipping on beer. A man meandered around, playing music on his accordion.
Other teams of cyclists with their own quirky names lounged around in the parking lot. The crowd clapped as stragglers rode in, needing friends and refreshments.
For the first time since 1991, cyclists on the Anchor House Ride for Runaways made their way through Massachusetts, with a pit stop in Northampton for the night. The ride, now in its 38th year, raises money for Anchor House in Trenton, New Jersey — an organization that serves homeless, abused and runaway youngsters.
The ride’s route shifts each year. Tim Quinn said he had always been curious about riding through Massachusetts because the last time the group spent time in the state was the year before he became the ride’s co-chairman.
The route through Northampton will especially present a challenge Tuesday, he said, as the cyclists ride through the Berkshires on their way to Lenox.
And Quinn said Northampton’s downtown area was a huge draw for the cyclists because it was possible to find a hotel with space for all the riders plus a 30-person support crew, and the lodging is a short distance from restaurants.
“This place is great for us,” Quinn said. “This is like a classic town for us.”
On Sunday, the cyclists filled up buses in New Jersey while their equipment was loaded into a tractor-trailer, and they made off for the ride’s departure point in Manchester, New Hampshire.
They travel about 70 to 80 miles per day for seven days. Quinn said the event raises half a million dollars or more each year, or roughly $2,000 per participant.
Some riders participate to help the youngsters, others are drawn by the goal of staying fit, Quinn said.
Bob Lawler from North Wales, Pennsylvania, and Carmen Corcoran from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, said they joined to find peace of mind, calm and clarity.
The ride brought them that, but it also brought them something else: what Lawler calls “love on the ride,” and now, an engagement.
When Lawler joined the ride 10 years ago, he was going through a divorce and a very tough time in his life, he said. Quinn, who happens to be his cousin, convinced him to join the fundraiser. Corcoran also said she joined a year later during an unhappy period of her life.
“I think a lot of people come on the ride because they’re going through stuff,” Corcoran said. “It clears your head.”
After getting to know each other through the ride, the two got engaged in April on the two-year anniversary of their first date.
Also members of Team Red Eye are a married couple, Karen and Frank Fanning from Cream Ridge, New Jersey, who first met on the bus to the departure point during a ride in 2002.
Karen said while waiting in line to use the bus bathroom, she sat next to Frank, and the two hit it off.
Now the Team Red Eye members consider each other family, and they look forward to the ride each year.
One of the best parts of the ride is the very end, Corcoran said, when everyone bikes back into Trenton and is greeted by a cheering crowd. The feeling of accomplishment is overwhelming, she said.
“It’s like winning the Super Bowl, every year,” Lawler agreed. “It’s so much fun.”