Sunday, October 1, 2023, 9:00 am
What another amazing day for the third annual #OutRiding for Erika. We had people riding one of Erika’s favorite routes, along the Blackstone River Bikeway to Woonsocket and back as well as people #OutRunning and #OutWalking. Here is a photo of some of this year’s group:
And the #OutWalking crew made it to the newly-installed bench along the path. A spot that walkers, runners and cyclists are often seen enjoying.
And just as in past years, people were #OutRiding in more places than Rhode Island. Here’s more friends and family from Vermont!
Since last year, we honored another amazing local scholar, Joshua Hillaire. You can see more about Joshua and our prior year scholars Felmara and Lydia, on Our Recipients page. And the state of Rhode Island through Governor McKee created a new law in Erika’s name, giving people rebates when they purchase an electric bicycle, which we refer to as Erika’s Law.
This event is free and open to everyone. No registration or sign up required, please just show up. If you’d like to donate to Erika’s scholarship fund, we’d be grateful for any donations.
Year 2 of Out Riding for Erika!
A couple photos from the second annual #OutRiding for Erika:
Also, there is a new memorial bench installed along the Blackstone River Bikeway, a bench dedicated to Erika.
The bench can be found about 1/3 of a mile north of the Martin St bridge.
Saturday, October 15, 2022, 9:00 am
It’s a wonderful ride along the Blackstone River, with multiple photogenic stops. We recommend stopping along the way for photos at either or both of the waterfall areas and to admire turtles. You might even see a deer!
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Saturday, October 9, 2021
Today was a really great day to go #OutRiding. This was an idea that John Marion thought of and led the charge on organizing. He had a great team of Matt Netto, Liza Burkin and James Baumgartner putting it together. The weather was perfect for riding, the turnout was incredible with 35 people joining us for riding and running, as Cumberland’s Ravenous Runners joined in and ran on the bike path. We were also joined by Nancy Welsh (Erika’s sister), Don Welsh (Erika’s brother-in-law) and Violet Welsh (our niece). We got some photos along the way as well, including a group photo around Erika’s bicycle here:
At the start of the ride, I tried to tell a joke that Erika came up with one time while we were riding. I think she pointed to a turtle on a log in the river and said that turtles must like computers because they’re “logged on” and then she would laugh at her own joke, quite proud of herself, which then made me laugh. When she’d come home after each ride, I’d ask her “How many were logged on?” because she would always keep a count. She loved seeing turtles. One rider today, Tony Adams spotted a turtle that was “logged on” and shared the photo with me.
The Blackstone River Bikeway is really nice and scenic, especially in October. The waterfalls were also a favorite spot, so I stopped along the way to take a photo like Erika often did, when she would post “#OutRiding”.
Not everyone could attend in Rhode Island, but still wanted to ride for Erika. One was Erika’s longtime friend, Kezia Bacon who rode in their hometown of Marshfield.
We were also joined remotely in Boulder, Colorado by Jeff Cramer. Jeff is the Executive Director at Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), Erika’s employer. The whole team at CCSA was also devastated to lose Erika. Jeff sent along this photo of his own #OutRiding.
CCSA’s McKenzie Bolduc and her daughter also did their own ride for Erika.
CCSA’s Matt Hargarten went for Erika’s Ride as well:
Another of Erika’s CCSA colleagues, Kevin Cray, went with friends on a ride to honor Erika.
Thank you so much to everyone who participated today, it was really incredible to see that support from all of you.
