When Tim O’Connell signed up for his first Best Buddies Challenge: New York, he had never ridden a road bike.

He had under three months to prepare, and when he told his wife what he'd signed up for, she reacted exactly as you'd expect: she thought it was an impossible idea. Nicki, Tim’s wife, said, “We have overcome many obstacles over our years with Pat, and this is no different.  Go for it, and I will support you all the way.”

But Tim wasn’t just looking for a new athletic hobby. He was looking for a way to support his son, Pat.

“I wanted to do something that had a mission behind it,” Tim says. “The Challenge felt like the right place to start.”

Today, Tim is one of the top fundraisers for the upcoming Best Buddies Challenge: New York. But every mile he rides and every dollar he raises still comes back to the same reason he started.

“I ride because I want Pat, and everyone like him,  to feel valued, recognized, cherished, and loved.”

A Lifetime of Proving People Wrong

Pat, now 19, was born in Australia and faced significant challenges from the very beginning.

“There were times when we didn’t know if he would live, let alone walk or talk,” Tim says. “He’s been proving people wrong his whole life.”

As Pat approached adulthood, Tim began thinking about what opportunities would be available to him after high school. Pat had loved participating in Unified Sports and basketball, and while Tim was researching programs, he discovered Best Buddies and its Citizens program, which creates one-to-one friendships between adults with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Soon after, Tim saw information about the Best Buddies Challenge: New York.

He signed up that night.

Since then, Best Buddies has become an important part of life for the entire O’Connell family. Pat participates in the New York Citizens program, while Tim has become involved with Best Buddies in the Hudson Valley and hopes to help expand opportunities throughout the region.

For Tim, those opportunities represent something much larger.

“Inclusion means being valued, cherished and loved,” he says. “Best Buddies has brought a sense of value and fulfillment into Pat’s life that otherwise might not have been possible.”

Crossing the Finish Line Together

Tim’s first Challenge was every bit as difficult as he expected — and perhaps more.

Climbs through Bear Mountain and Harriman State Park tested a rider who had only recently taken up cycling. But whenever the course became difficult, Tim thought about Pat and everything his son had overcome.

Tim O’Connell at the top of Bear Mountain.

“Knowing I was doing it for Pat carried me through the hardest parts,” he says.

Then came a moment Tim will never forget.

With about a mile remaining, Pat joined his father so they could approach the finish together. Tim’s younger son, Aidan, ran alongside them.

Pat crossed the finish line and received his own medal.

He has now done it twice.

“To Pat, he feels the same accomplishment as me having done the entire Challenge,” Tim says. “He’s been given the opportunity to have his own achievement, and that itself is inclusion.”

Another unforgettable moment came when legendary cyclist Mark Cavendish sought Pat out at the end of the New York event to give him another hug before leaving.

“Seeing someone of his stature take the time to make Pat feel valued really blew me away,” Tim says.

The O’Connell family with Tour de France legend, Mark Cavendish.

Fundraising With a Purpose

Tim raised more than $6,000 last year, with friends and supporters rallying behind his story and the Best Buddies mission. As his involvement has grown, so has his determination to make an even greater impact.

He says the most effective fundraising strategy is also the simplest: tell people why you ride.

“When people understand that they’re not just donating to a bike ride — they’re helping create opportunities for people like Pat to be valued and included — it gives the fundraising a much bigger meaning.”

Those opportunities have already allowed Pat to participate in Best Buddies Citizens, attend the Evening of Opportunity, experience Challenge events in New York and Hyannis Port, and build connections with people he might otherwise never have met.

For Tim, that is what makes every difficult climb, training ride and fundraising ask worthwhile.

And it’s why he encourages anyone considering their first Challenge to take the leap, even if they don’t consider themselves a cyclist.

“Do it,” Tim says. “It’s going to be hard, but the people and the mission carry you through it. When you’re doing something bigger than yourself, you can get through some pretty difficult moments.”

Asked to describe the Best Buddies Challenge in just three words, Tim doesn’t hesitate:

“Hard. Incredible. Meaningful.”

For Tim and Pat, it has become something else, too: a reminder of what is possible when people come together to make sure everyone has the opportunity to belong.