Conceived by Mike Bozzuto of Bozzuto’s Inc., a large New England-based grocery wholesaler, to benefit the Special Olympics, the upcoming Dream Ride Aug. 22-24 will have thousands of cyclists from the Southeastern Seaboard to Canada  taking to the road for 1,900 miles this month in the Northeast. But the biker crowd, which will finished the ride in Connecticut,  will get a boost from some former big names in the offshore powerboat racing community, including Tom Abrams of Reliable Carriers fame and Danny DeSantis of DeSantis Chevrolet.

Abrams and DeSantis were competitive racers from the late 1990s through the early 2000s. Both major have pledged major support for the Dream Ride project.

DeSantis actually will take part in the event—he’ll ride from Massachusetts to Florida with the group.

“The racing community has always stuck together and donated our winnings to charity,” said DeSantis. “We do what we do for the love of friends and family. Once you see the look on these kids’ faces when they see the bikes and cars—you couldn’t keep me away from this ride.”

Gary Montano of Montano Motorsports, once a major player on the offshore powerboat-racing scene, also has pledged his support the Dream Ride, as is Cigarette Racing Team and high-performance marine power steering leader Latham Marine.

(Photo courtesy Andy Newman/Monroe County Tourism Development Council)