Front porch party kicks off week-long bike ride across New York State
- Jeff Schober
- Jul 24
- 8 min read
Local residents raise money for cancer research
by participating in the Empire State Ride
On a village street, just a few hundred yards from Gunther’s Hill in Hamburg, folding chairs are spread across the front lawn, strings of lights lace between giant maple trees, and people laugh and mingle. When live music stops, poetry is recited from the elevated porch. Over the course of several hours on a Friday evening in July, John and Maureen McKeone’s home morphs into “Porchfest Hooley.”
Neighbors, friends, and passersby are welcome. The McKeones only request that people donate a reasonable sum — $20 — to help raise money to fight cancer.
“Hooley" is an Irish and Scottish word meaning a strong, gale-force wind, or a big, loud party, according to online sources.
At the end of July, John McKeone, 67, will board a bus to Staten Island, then jump on his bike. During the following seven days, he will pedal north toward Albany, then turn west and continue across New York State, ending in Niagara Falls. This year will be his third time participating in the Empire State Ride, which raises money for Roswell Park.
He is part of a riding team with family and friends, but they are not alone. This year, 305 riders — many from different parts of the country —will bicycle more than 500 miles. While the ride is challenging, the reason is simple.
“Unfortunately, we lost my brother-in-law, Larry Regan, to cancer in 2021,” McKeone said. “He was what basketball players call ‘a glue guy.’ He held people together.”
Amid the physical and mental challenges, most Empire State Ride participants have a personal connection to someone with cancer. Regan, an Amherst resident who died at 62, had received a kidney transplant from his older sister, Maureen, more than 25 years ago, offering him a second chance at life. When he contracted skin cancer in 2021, family members recognized the steep challenges that lay ahead. That’s when they banded together to demonstrate their resiliency.
Ride for Roswell
Regan's sister, Colleen Regan-Kreuz of Getzville, decided that participating in the Ride for Roswell would be a great way to show support and raise money for cancer research.
“I’ve done triathlons, and done a lot of riding,” said Regan-Kreuz, now 62. “But I had never ridden 100 miles. When my brother was undergoing treatment, I said, ‘Larry, you’re doing hard things. I’m going to ride 100 miles for you. I’m going to do something hard because you’re doing something hard.’ When I told the others, they hopped in.”
Besides Regan-Kreuz and McKeone, the team included Larry’s son, Will, daughter Emily, sister Maureen and friend Amy Bryan.
Regan’s children may be familiar to those around Western New York. Will, a Nichols School graduate, played collegiate basketball at the University at Buffalo under coaches Reggie Witherspoon and Bobby Hurley. Emily, also a Nichols School graduate, competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in the women’s eight rowing event. Her team won the gold medal.
“That first time we rode was a challenge,” McKeone recalled. “Some of us weren’t as conditioned as we wanted to be. Because I’m a runner, I thought I’d be okay, but I ran out of gas with about 10 miles to go. But we all finished.”
When they committed to the ride, everyone had expected Larry to be at the finish line to celebrate with them. But he had passed away the prior December.
The family decided it was time for a bigger challenge. Regan-Kreuz shared information about the Empire State Ride, which averages more than 70 miles of daily riding, for an entire week. Think of the Ride for Roswell on steroids. After completing 100 miles, she wondered if anyone else from “Team Regan” was interested in the longer ride.
“If you do it, I’ll do it,” McKeone promised his sister-in-law. Regan-Kreuz had dinner with Terry Bourgeois, who started the concept by riding solo across New York in 2014, before asking others to join him. By the end of the meal, her interest was solidified.
Once Regan-Kreuz committed, McKeone’s second thoughts reared up.
“Colleen texted saying she was going to do it,” McKeone recalled. “That’s when I went, ‘Uh oh. Let me think about this.’”
While mulling his options, McKeone had dinner with friends. One of his pals asked how he would feel if he didn’t participate in the ride.
“That was the moment,” McKeone said. "Of course I needed to do it. I couldn’t back out. Then it was time to work hard and get conditioned.”
Ride details
This year’s Empire State Ride begins on Saturday, July 26 and ends a week later, on Saturday, August 2. By late July, as this story was being published, the cause had already raised more than $1.5 million.
After Bourgeois rode in 2014, 10 riders joined him the following year, raising $55,000. Despite a slowdown during Covid, the event has grown steadily for the past decade.
Organizers do everything to make the ride as easy as possible for participants. Transportation from Western New York is provided on a chartered bus that departs from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Riders begin at Wagner College in Staten Island, and bike 65 miles the first day, sleeping at a public school in Somers, where shower trucks and tents are set up. The next day’s stop is at Duchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck. After that, it’s Albany, Utica, Weedsport, Spencerport, and finally Niagara Falls.
“Every day there is a tent city,” McKeone explained. “The whole ride is fully supported. You’re allowed two pieces of luggage. You’re responsible to get your luggage to a truck in the morning, then you get on your bike and all you do is ride.”
By the time bikers arrive at their daily destination, luggage is spread out on tarps, and tents have already been erected. There are rest stops along the way, about every 20 miles.
“The rest stops are really cool,” McKeone said. “There are lots of energy drinks and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There are massage people and bike mechanics. Some people get tires changed. You can really ride rest stop to rest stop, if you choose.”
While some riders like to pause at a rest stop to recharge, McKeone prefers to use the facilities, get fresh food, and keep moving. By starting early, he likes to be one of the first to arrive at the daily destination. He then showers, relaxes, and reads until the evening events.
“I get on the road by 6 or 7 in the morning,” he said. “I like people, but when I’m riding, I want to ride.”
Each night at camp offers a different activity, from doctors educating riders about different cancers and treatments, to live music with dancing.
For those who believe the Ride for Roswell is a challenge, the Empire State Ride is all about endurance.
“It’s a special community,” said Emily Regan. “It’s all different people, with different backgrounds, coming together with a goal to beat cancer. It’s not cutthroat or competitive, and everyone is working for the common good.”
Her aunt agreed.
“It’s an amazing experience,” Regan-Kreuz said. “Some call it life-changing. Everyone wants to make a difference. Nobody is interested in your career or your politics. It’s all about getting to know people and understand why they are doing this ride. You cheer on random strangers and lift up people that you don’t know. You’re pulling for everybody. It’s a beautiful thing. If we could all live that way, what a world it would be.”
Approaching the ride
Everyone prepares for the Empire State Ride differently. The organization’s website suggests three detailed training plans for beginner, intermediate, and advanced riders.
“I swim and work out year-round,” said Regan-Kreuz. “I try to follow the intermediate plan. Some of those training sessions can last three hours. It’s not easy to get in a longer ride during the week, because I’m working. Last year, I told myself that if I swam, I didn’t have to ride, but then I encountered a hill that I needed to walk, and I don’t want to walk this year.”
Emily, the former Olympian, is a generation younger than her aunt and uncle — and has trained as an elite athlete.
“I have an unfair advantage,” she joked. “The aerobic piece of getting across the state is not a problem for me.”
The bigger problem is logistics. She lives in Massachusetts for her job at Boston University. This year, she plans to drive to Buffalo, park her car, then fly to New York City to visit her sister and nephews. After biking across the state, her car will be waiting in Western New York so she can return home.
“I love endurance activities,” she said. “Once I did the Empire State Ride, it made me feel like I was still connected to my dad. It’s all about being active and using my body to help other people. Last year, I was stressed about work, but by the end of the week, I felt amazing. It’s good for my mental health, and really special to spend a week with my aunt and uncle.”
McKeone cross-trains throughout the year, keeping bike rides to a minimum so he doesn’t burn out.
“I got more serious about running and set some pace goals,” he said. “I used warrior poses in yoga to build my leg strength. I really don’t do a lot of biking. I’ll do two or three rides in the Boston hills to get in some hill work a few weeks before. I carry a 14- or 15-mile per hour pace and can do more when the route is flat.”
His idea to host “Porchfest Hooley” has been a novel way to spread the word and increase support.
“I was trying to think of ways to raise money,” McKeone said. “There are Porchfests down in the city, and we’ve got this great porch. I’m a poet, and I love music. I have friends who are musicians.”
McKeone asked a musician friend, Tim McAllister, if he would play music one night on his porch. McAllister agreed, promising to bring a sound system and a few other musicians as well. As they brainstormed, ideas kept growing.
“His wife likes poetry too,” McKeone said. “So we thought, let’s read some poetry and play some music. I’ll provide the place and the entertainment. I didn’t want to ask for lots of money. Bring your own beer, and give me $20 for a good time on a Friday night in summer. We just did it, and the thing pinged. We raised a ton of money.”
During summer in Western New York, there are frequent outdoor events. McKeone’s challenge was to select a night that didn’t conflict with anything else in the village of Hamburg. After the initial Porchfest Hooley in 2023, neighbors approached McKeone and urged him to host it again.
It’s a tribute to both the cause and the party.
“It takes a lot to get ready,” Regan-Kreuz reflected. “You have to train and fundraise. But everyone who participates wants to help others. We get far more than we give. It comes back and fills your cup.”
Text © 2025 by Jeff Schober
Donations for the Empire State Ride are accepted year-round.
The link to donate to John McKeone of "Team Regan" is here.
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Jeff Schober has a journalism degree from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in English and History from the University at Buffalo. He retired from teaching English and Journalism at Frontier High School and is the best-selling author of ten books, including the true crime book Bike Path Rapist with Det. Dennis Delano, and the Buffalo Crime Fiction Quartet. Visit his website at www.jeffschober.com.
Steve Desmond is an award-winning photographer. With his son, Francis, he is the author of A Life With A Purpose which raises money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. To view more of Steve's work, search Facebook under "Steve Desmond" and "Desmond's PrimeFocus Photography," or on Instagram at "Stevedesmond9."
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