Clad in matching chartreuse t-shirts, a group of bicyclists took to the Polly Ann Trail Sunday morning to remember a family member, a friend, a classmate, a neighbor and a community member.
The Fourth Annual Tour de Shane Bike-a-thon returned to increase public awareness about suicide prevention. The event is dedicated to the memory of Shane Hrischuk, a popular Oxford Middle School eighth-grader who shot himself in January 2012.
Had he lived, Shane would have started his senior year of high school this month and celebrated his 18th birthday on Sept. 15.
The first stop on the ride was Ridgelawn Memorial Cemetery, Shane’s final resting place. As always, orange balloons marked his grave and bobbed in the breeze.
Buried near Shane is a classmate of his, Megan Abbott. She was a freshman at Oxford High School when she took her own life in March 2013. Members of her family were there as well.
Friends and classmates of Shane wrote messages of love and support on the asphalt section of the Polly Ann Trail that runs next to the cemetery. His family adopted this portion of the trail in his honor.