Bay Windows - June 9, 2005
Ethan Jacobs, ejacobs@baywindows.com.

"I always wonder what he would think of this," says Morgrage. "He never got to see his vision carried out."

Tye, former president and CEO of United Liquors, who passed away from bone cancer in the summer of 2003, first conceived of the ride as a response to the controversy around the Palotta TeamWorks AIDS rides from Boston to New York, which folded in 2002 after it was learned that a large portion of the proceeds, in some cases more than half of funds raised, went towards the production costs of the event. Tye and Morgrage had both participated in the Palotta TeamWorks rides as part of a United Liquors/Club Caf team, and Tye convinced Tanquery Gin to become the ride's first corporate sponsor.

"The last year we were riding we were at a garden party in the South End and we sat down around a table and we were talking about Palotta," says Morgrage. "And there was a lot of hard feelings about the amount of money going back to the beneficiaries, and Michael said at that point, 'I envision a one-day ride that is really community-based.' And he said, 'Whatever you do, make it fun, make it simple, make it easy for people to do, and have a good time with it.'"

That January, Morgrage and other members of the United Liquors/Club Caf team founded Harbor to the Bay, a ride from Boston to Provincetown that followed the principles that Tye had set out. Tye's illness made it impossible for him to take an active part in organizing the event, although Morgrage and the other members of the 25-member ride committee kept him informed about their progress. Tye passed away in June, three months before the first ride.

Morgrage was a novice at organizing a charity bike ride, but he looked at the Palotta TeamWorks model and thought of ways to improve it.

"Like any good gay man you take a look at what they're doing and say, 'Oh, I could do this better, I could do that better,'" says Morgrage.

In contrast with Palotta TeamWorks, all of the funds raised in the ride went directly to the beneficiaries. Morgrage says the ride was able to keep overhead to an absolute minimum by relying on volunteers and by shrinking the scale from the Palotta TeamWorks rides, riding for only one day and setting a cap on the number of riders. The first year featured 70 riders and a volunteer crew of 125; last year 87 riders and nearly 170 crew members took part.

"With Harbor to the Bay it's really important for us to stay small and limit the number of participants that we can have until we can find organizations that are willing to donate the things that we need logistically to carry out a bigger event. So we're working on really just kind of forging ahead slowly, and continuing to be out there and continuing to raise awareness," says Morgrage.

Beyond keeping down costs, the other major challenge in organizing the event has been publicity. The all-volunteer event has no marketing budget, and Morgrage says they have largely relied on word-of-mouth to recruit riders. The three primary beneficiaries, Fenway Community Health, Community Research Initiatives, and AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, have recruited riders through their riding teams, as has United Liquors. Morgrage also credited Club Caf owner Frank Ribaudo and Innewsweekly publisher Chris Robinson for helping spread the word about the event.

In keeping with Tye's vision of a grassroots event, Morgrage and other organizers worked with people in the communities along the route of the ride to get involved.

"We basically took the Palotta model, got volunteers to do pit stops and managed to get an amazing amount of local support from local businesses," explained Morgrage. "They did everything from breakfast the morning of to food along the way, water, Power Bars, Gatorade. They really kind of rallied around us."

And while the ride only lasts one day, Morgrage says the support of businesses in Boston and Provincetown has enabled organizers to plan an entire weekend's worth of festivities for the riders and crew members. Riders enjoy a cocktail reception in Boston the night before the ride and a hearty breakfast before they set out the next morning. After they arrive in P'town they take part in a parade through town, followed by a reception at the Boat Slip. The next day riders and crew members enjoy brunch at Bayside Betty's, and that afternoon the Crown and Anchor hosts a T dance.

With two rides under their belt and a third just on the horizon Morgrage says the committee feels like the work they put in to create the event from scratch has finally paid off.

"I know for us it's finally starting to get a life of it's own, and we're kind of like the proud parents, wondering what to do with that and hoping we can get the message out there and get them to sign up, because it's a good time and it's a great way to do something good for the community," says Morgrage.

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