Middletown & Keansburg Officers Biking from WTC to Boston in Honor of Sept. 11 Victims

Middletown Detective Lt. Joseph Capriotti, Deputy Chief Craig Weber, Corporal Jerry Weimer and several Keansburg police officers completed the Tour De Force 9/11 Memorial Bike Ride from the World Trade Center to Boston on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013.

Capriotti shared the above photo with Middletown-NJ Patch, taken on Wednesday morning as the officers took a break about ten miles from the Boston finish line. The last leg of the race was dedicated to the memory of Officer Sean Collier of the MIT Police Department, who was killed in the aftermath of the Boston bombings, according to Capriotti.

The ride was comprised of about 250 bikers and began at Ground Zero in Manhattan on Sunday. Another 150 bikers joined for the last leg in remembrance of Collier, Capriotti said.

"We rode through the city to Long Island, the length of Long Island to the Cross Sound Ferry and to Connecticut. We then rode into Rhode Island where today (Wednesday), the final leg of the ride is dedicated to the memory of Officer Sean Collier," Capriotti said in an email.

The Tour De Force began in 2002 with two New York Police Department detectives who wanted to honor the memory of the victims of Sept. 11. Since then, the Tour has continued to grow with participants from the United States, Canada and Europe. The Tour honors those killed on Sept. 11, but also raises money to help support families of law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty throughout the year.

"Middletown lost 37 residents in the World Trade Center attacks and each year we ride carrying the memory of our family, friends, acquaintances and neighbors who went to work that day but never came home," he said. "We not only carry their memory in our hearts, but also for the loved ones they left behind, to assure them their husbands, wives, daughters, sons... will never be forgotten."