Hey Greenwich! Did You Know ... Team Greenwich Police is Riding for Roger?

Today is Wednesday, July 18, 2012 and it's National Caviar Day.

Today's Birthdays:

• "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford is 27.
  
• Action movie star Vin Diesel is 45.
• Virgin Records and Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson is 62.
• Actor James Brolin, and husband of Barbra Streisand, is 72.
• Astronaut and ex-U.S. senator John Glenn is 91.
• Former political prisoner and president of South Africa Nelson Mandela is 94.
  

This Day in History:

In 1792, the Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones died in his Paris apartment, where he was still awaiting a commission as the United States consul to Algiers.

In 1986, new close-up videos of the sunken ocean liner Titanic, which were taken on the first manned expedition to the wreck, were released to the public.

In 1999, New York Yankee David Cone pitched the 16th perfect game in major league history and 14th in the modern era with a no-hit, no-walk victory over the Montreal Expos.

Things You Should Know:

Team Greenwich Police

This weekend will mark the fourth year that Team Greenwich Police will ride the grueling 275-mile bicycle route from Boston to Greenwich. It's all for a good cause—raising money to find a cure for Lou Gehrig's Disease, or ALS.

And as they have every year, Team Greenwich Police is dedicating its ride to fellow officer Sgt. Roger Petrone, who was diagnosed with ALS five years ago.

Lt. Rick Cochran is the team's captain and has gathered $32,000 in pledges so far. The team's members include Petrone's former partner Officer William Weissauer, and Officer Brian Tornga; Greenwich residents Joe Profaci and James Meehan; and Petrone's cousins Gary Poe and Molly Urell. Cochran's wife Karen is volunteering as part of the road crew, supporting the nearly 250 cyclists as they make the three-day trip.

"It's a very demanding ride—(about) 300 miles in 3 days is a lot. You suffer as a rider but it's nothing to what they suffer everyday with ALS," Cochran said. The first day will be about 110- miles from Boston to the University of Connecticut in Storrs; the second day will bring the riders to New Haven with the final leg on Sunday, July 22.

Cochran said the most taxing leg of the ride will be Sunday with the hills between Bethel and Greenwich.

"We enter Greenwich coming in from Bedford and Pound Ridge, on John Street to the . It's a steep, killer hill," said Cochran, who began training for the ride back in April.

As riders come down John Street at the Audubon they'll pass a mat in the roadway in the shape of Petrone's badge. Petrone, who's confined to a wheelchair and now speaks with the aid of a computer, will be there to cheer on the cylists as they make their way south through Greenwich.

With police motorcycle escorts, riders will then head down Greenwich Avenue to on Arch Street for the official race finish.

"We want to bring awareness to this dreadful, fatal disease," Cochran said. "It's extremely difficult to see (Roger) deteriorate. He's a great guy who everyone in the department emulates. He flew his plane to Maine every weekend, rode his Harley to work."

He added, "We're paying tribute to someone who served 18 years in the Greenwich Police Department."

You can come out and cheer on all of the riders—they're expected to arrive at Audubon Greenwich about 2 p.m. Sunday and at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, about 3 p.m., where there will be a huge barbeque celebration at the park for all of the participants.

There aren't any meetings scheduled at Town Hall today.

Greenwich Community Television

If you prefer the clicker instead of being there or want to catch up on a Greenwich meeting you missed, there's Greenwich Community Television (GCTV) on either Fios Channel 24 or Cablevision's Channel 79.

And if you prefer the movies ... and the air conditioning:

AMC Loews Port Chester 14

Shows and times unavailable.