Braydon Dion was only six years old when he decided kids need their own Brotherhood Ride. The Rochester resident is 9 now, and the Southern New England Brotherhood Kids Ride is growing as fast as the kids themselves.
“I got the idea of just seeing (the adults) ride bikes and I really wanted to ride with them, but I couldn’t because I was too little,” said Braydon, who has been motivated by the story of Sean Gannon, the Yarmouth Police officer who was shot and killed while serving a search warrant on April 12, 2018. “I wanted to ride for him really, really bad because it made me sad for him and made a hole in my heart.”
Since 2007, the Brotherhood Ride, made up of first responders, visits communities affected by a first responder’s loss of life in the line of duty and raises funds that go directly to bereaved families. It is entirely a volunteer organization, so all monies raised, except for the actual cost of the ride, is donated to the families.
Andy Weigel, son of Rochester Fire Chief Scott Weigel and uncle to Braydon, is president of the Southern New England Brotherhood Ride which raises money for and recognizes affected families in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
“After we did the first year, Braydon really enjoyed it, thought it was the greatest thing ever and, just being the kind, big-hearted kid that he is, he wanted to do something for the kids of the families,” explained Weigel on Saturday. “He wanted to raise money, so we started the Kids Brotherhood Ride.”
On the event website, snebrotherhoodride.com, Weigel tells the story of the Kids Brotherhood Ride, how a 6-year-old Braydon, having seen the inaugural Southern New England Brotherhood Ride, woke up with an idea, telling his mother, “’Mom, I want to do a Kids Brotherhood Ride. I want to raise money and give it to the kids whose parents have died.’
“We ride one year after their death to provide emotional support to the families, coworkers, and communities to show that their life and sacrifice will never be forgotten. The second year after their passing we then hand deliver a donation to the families to again show that they are still not forgotten.”
The Southern New England chapter of the Brotherhood Ride started in 2018. The first Kids Ride was held in 2019 at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester, but the coronavirus pandemic canceled the 2020 ride. Now the Kids Ride is back and in greater numbers.
“We knew that we needed a place to ride somewhere, and there was a nice little loop around Old Colony,” said Braydon, who estimates he rode “probably close to 20 or so, 23 laps” on Saturday. “The first time we only had 20 riders, but we had 81 riders. Not all of them could come, unfortunately.”
All of the June 12 riders were preregistered, but attendance was still strong as the children bounced about inside two inflatable tents while the adults enjoyed the fellowship and bought raffle tickets, and everyone enjoyed hot dogs that were served free of charge.
Weigel estimated that Saturday’s event was three times larger than the first Kids Ride in 2019. “It was much better than we could have hoped for, that’s for sure,” he said.
Figuring the event can draw at least 100 participants, Braydon has a regimen in mind to prepare well for 2022. “Ride my bike a lot more,” he said, “train for next year, and get my legs a little stronger and make it to 30 laps next year.”
By Mick Colageo