Long Beach man rides bike for 24 hours to raise funds for charity

Some people celebrate their birthdays with a party or a dinner out. Rob Carlo celebrated his 57th in a much more strenuous way: He finished riding his bike up and down the Long Beach boardwalk for 24 straight hours to raise money for homeless veterans and families.

Carlo, a retired New York City firefighter and a Long Beach resident, rode his custom-made beach cruiser from 6 p.m. on Aug. 26 to the same time the following night — his  birthday — to benefit New Ground, a nonprofit headquartered in Levittown that provides short-term assistance to the homeless and works to eliminate the causes of homelessness. Carlo raised more than $24,000, and is still accepting donations on Facebook.

“It was a great finish last night,” he said last Friday, “and there was a lot of support from the community. It was a really good feeling for everyone.”

Last year, Carlo recounted, he wanted to do something “positive and meaningful” for his birthday, so he decided to ride his bike on the boardwalk to benefit the Brattleboro Retreat Uniformed Services Program, which offers training and support for men and women, active in the military or retired, who are

struggling with duty-related problems including PTSD, depression and addiction. He rode for 24 hours and raised more than $17,000 for the center, in Brattleboro, Vt.

As his birthday approached this year, Carlo was looking for another organization to rally behind. He met Shannon Boyle, executive director of New Ground, and her husband, Michael, Rusoff, who also live in Long Beach, while riding and hanging out on the boardwalk.

“That’s my daily therapy,” Carlo said. “There’s a whole community on that boardwalk, and it’s a pretty good representation of what Long Beach is all about.”

Boyle said that Carlo and her husband have become “boardwalk friends.” Through that connection, Carlo decided to ride to benefit New Ground, and was granted permission by the city for his two-wheel marathon. Rusoff pedaled along with him on Aug. 26, while Boyle gave out information and sold T-shirts at a stand on the boardwalk.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Boyle explained, New Ground has been unable to hold any fundraisers this year, which are its biggest source of revenue. She added that the nonprofit’s efforts had been crippled without those fundraisers, so Carlo’s ride was important. “It was a perfect event to do in a year like this,” Boyle said. “It was also an amazing opportunity to bring a lot of people together who haven’t been able see each other in person.”

Though she was excited about the fundraiser, she acknowledged that she expected the ranks of the homeless to increase because of the pandemic. The organization has been open and operating the entire time, and has been helping homeless people by providing food, shelter and even cellphone plans.

Carlo’s event was a great model for other fundraisers, Boyle said, and energized the organization, which she has been involved with for 18 years. Seeing the community come out to support Carlo and the cause meant a lot to her, she said.

“Having the opportunity to do something like this in my hometown is really awesome,” Boyle said. She encouraged those who know homeless veterans in need to tell them about New Ground.

Carlo is not only a former firefighter, but also an avid long-distance motorcyclist who has ridden across the country several times, so he is no stranger to all-nighters, but he thanked the locals who rode with him or brought him coffee. He stretched periodically and stayed hydrated, he said, and was also grateful for the food provided by Riptides on the boardwalk.

For more information on his ride, visit the Facebook page “Rob bikes the boardwalk 24 hours for homeless Veterans.”

“Long Beach is such a magical place for standing behind good causes,” he said. “If you can take steps in a positive direction and live toward the core values in your life and take an action in a positive direction, it can better everybody’s lives.”