Bike to the Beach is all about bringing people together for a greater cause, utilizing the power of community to reach our goals. Bobby Wage is someone who understands the power of connection, as he was brought into the Bike to the Beach family through a long-time family friend, Sean Cribbin, who has been an advocate for the ride almost from the beginning. When Sean first broached the idea of riding 100 miles to raise money for Autism, Bobby wasn’t too sure of his ability to get through the entire ride. When another mutual friend of theirs told Bobby that he really should think about it, Bobby decided to take a deeper look into the event for himself. After completing his due diligence, Bobby knew that it was a legit event supporting a great cause and he signed up for that first ride in 2016. Showing up to ride that first time, Bobby felt the energy crackling in the air, pushing him through the entire century and lighting the fuse that would inspire him to keep on coming back every single year.

A born and bred New Yorker, Bobby has built a career working on the mechanical and electrical engineering systems in high rises across the city. One of his favorite aspects of the job is being able to see his fingerprints across the city every time he rides through it, his handiwork enabling thousands of people to live and work in peace day in and day out. It isn’t surprising then that he took to Bike to the Beach the way he did, taking pride in the hard work he puts into fundraising and spreading awareness of the ride, knowing it is all going to help people with Autism and disABILITIES live their lives to the maximum. While Bike to the Beach is steadily growing each year, Bobby also appreciates the fact that it is still small enough that one can see the individual impact their effort has on a local level. This knowledge is partially what drives Bobby whenever he begins his fundraising campaign for the year. Throughout the years, Bobby has refined his technique by, essentially, un-refining it. By gathering together all the contacts he has made throughout the years and blasting out donation request emails to them all, Bobby has been able to tap into fundraising circles he never would have imagined being able to tap into if he played it safe with his requests. Being shameless when it comes to asking for donations is a backbone of his strategy, not jamming the requests down people’s throats but inserting the ride and its causes into conversations when appropriate, which Bobby has found to be a winning combination.

Year after year, beyond the rewarding feeling that fundraising brings, there is one other thing that brings Bobby back. As he glides around the curve at Jacob Riis park, having made his way through the potholes and traffic lights of the first twenty miles in the dark, the sight of the sun rising over Rockaway beach takes over his field of vision. Any remaining sluggishness evaporates as the warmth of the day washes over him, invigorating him to lock in and really get to it as the rest of the ride becomes an exercise in persistence. As the miles fly by, every rest stop boosts Bobby’s spirits, the unwavering support from those who are taking time out of their busy lives to support the riders. For him, that support is crucial, pushing him onward to the finish line when exhaustion has overtaken his mind and muscles. In his early rides, Bobby didn’t realize that these volunteers were from organizations that benefitted from Bike to the Beach, but when he made that connection, it made their support even more inspiring to him, and the ability to connect directly with the volunteers has become one of the little things that he looks forward to each year.

You can find Bobby out on the course during this year’s Bike to the Beach New York ride, scheduled to happen on Sunday, September 8th. To sign up and stay in the loop on all things going on with this year’s ride, head to the Bike to the Beach website and put your name on the pre-registration list for the New York ride. Pre-registration is currently open for all 2024 rides as well, in case there is a ride more convenient for you! Thanks Bobby for all your support throughout the years, we can’t wait to see you out there this year!