Man Will Bike 55-Miles to Greenport for Glioblastoma Research

By Oliver Peterson

3 minute 04/15/2025

Eric Hurnyak with his late mother Barabara Johnson Hurnyak who died of glioblastoma on March 4

Star Wars Day, May 4 (as in “May the 4th Be with You”), will have extra special meaning this year for one cyclist and fan of the franchise as he sets out on a 55-mile ride from Stony Brook to Greenport, raising awareness and funds in the fight against glioblastoma, the cancer that took his mother’s life on March 4 of this year.

Eric Hurnyak, a Sound Beach resident and owner of Sound Beach Signs, did a similar ride last year while his mother, Barbara Johnson Hurnyak, was fighting her disease. “I did a ride last year called the Babs 360 Ride for the Glioblastoma Research Organization, and I was looking to kind of fit this in, because the last six months she was going really far downhill, and I just wanted to get something in before she passed. It just didn’t work out.”

Eric Hurnyak will ride 55 miles for Glioblastoma awareness on May 4

Instead, the May the 4th Be with You Glioblastoma Awareness Ride, also benefiting the Glioblastoma Research Organization, has become a bittersweet memorial to Barbara, who was 73 when she died. And as of press time, Hurnyak has at least six other riders joining him and he’s raised just shy of $3,500 in donations for the cause. But it’s not all about the money, he says, noting that the ride is also about remembering his mother and raising awareness about glioblastoma, an aggressive, malignant and incurable brain cancer that typically leaves patients with a 12-18-month life expectancy after diagnosis.

The ride begins at the Stony Brook Village Center (111 Main Street) on Sunday, May 4. It has four scheduled stops, including a quick snack and drink break at 7-Eleven in Rocky Point after 8 miles, rest and refreshments in Wading River after 20 miles, waterfront views and a bite in Aquebogue at 30 miles, and coffee and breakfast at Love Lane Kitchen in Mattituck at 40 miles. The long trek will conclude at Andy’s Restaurant in Greenport (34 Front Street) for a post-ride celebration and fundraiser with Chinese auction and 50/50 raffle.

Riders can still join and are not required to do the entire 55 miles to participate. “This ride isn’t just about cycling. It’s about resilience. It’s about the caregivers who never stop showing up. The families holding on through the darkest nights. The warriors battling glioblastoma with everything they’ve got,” Hurnyak says, encouraging all to ride, donate or come celebrate in Greenport.

To join the ride, visit fundraise.gbmresearch.org/campaign/may-the-fourth-be-with-you-glioblastoma-awareness-ride/c664468. To donate, visit fundraise.gbmresearch.org/fundraiser/6098360.