Rob Carlo lost his brother Michael, 34, on September 11, 2001. Both men were firefighters with the FDNY and both responded to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Rob, the elder brother, survived. Michael did not.
This year, Rob, who suffers from PTSD, decided to turn his 56th birthday into a good day by raising money for veterans. He spent 24 hours straight on his single-speed beach cruiser on August 27, 2019 he beginning at 6:00pm. By the next evening, he had ridden 120 miles and raised almost $20,000 for the Uniformed Services Program at the Brattleboro Retreat, which gives “specialized training and support for men and women in uniform (active or retired) who are struggling with serious duty-related problems including PTSD, depression, and addiction.”
“I thought it was going to be a very long night of solitude on the boardwalk,” he told Bob Audette for the Brattleboro Reformer. “I had more people riding with me at 3:00am on a Monday night than I did at 9:00am. In fact, I was never alone for the 24 hours.
