Groton Man Gets Ready for 2023 Closer to Free Season

“My first year, I would say it was challenging just to even find donations, just to put the word out of what I’m doing,” said Michael Morton of Groton. He discovered the Closer to Free Ride during the pandemic.

“I was not an average bike rider nor was I even thinking to ride a bike,” Morton said.

Despite the uphill battle, he’s back for his third year.

“I’ve found many other tools that the team has for me to use,” Morton said. “And just the knowledge that they have of how to fundraise, how to put the word out to let others know about the ride.”

He says he wasn’t necessarily drawn to the ride by a direct connection, but by possibility the ride could help others like his aunt.

“Knowing that she beat cancer, there is a hope there. We just have to find it and get to it," Morton said.

All of the money raised in the Closer to Free Ride goes to the Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital to help get to that cure through research, clinical trials, treatment and survivor support.

“This one being local in Connecticut, I think was an absolute – it put a smile on my face to see we have a program to help,” Morton said.

He’s going alone on the 65-mile ride this year.

“It’s more personal for me to do it by myself, to know what I’m doing it for.”

But he won’t be out there by himself.

“To see people outside sitting in lawn chairs clapping for you, holding up signs ‘I’ve been this much free of cancer because of you,’ that just drives you to keep going,” Morton said.

He also says seeing patients outside of Smilow Cancer Hospital is a huge inspiration. He says his difficulty doesn’t compare to theirs.

“It was really eye opening and it hit a soft spot for me. I almost teared up," Morton said.

He set a fundraising goal of $2,500, but that’s not all that’s on his mind.

“For me it’s not all about donations. It’s to spread the word. There’s a lot of people in Connecticut that don’t know about the ride, so my mindset is to put the word out," he said.