Hi Everyone...last night my family participated in our city's Ride of Silence. If you are not familiar with one of these types of rides, it's basically a short, family-friendly, slow paced ride done in relative silence to honor our fellow cyclists who have been seriously injured or killed in bike related accidents. Our local bike club president said a few words before the ride started, and shared that this was our city's 4th Ride of Silence, but the 10th year for such rides to take place in cities around the U.S. He shared the names of local victims and asked that we think about those persons, as well as others that we may know about.
We had a nice turnout for the event. I couldn't actually tell you how many people were there, but I can tell you that there were riders of every level and ability at the event. I saw an older gentleman on a recumbent bike, who shared with me that back in "the day" he used to race at the park where we met. I saw a young girl riding with her grandpa on a tandem. I saw teenagers and grandmothers. I saw friends and strangers. There were racers and recreational riders. I saw policemen and even our Mayor. Mostly I saw people who simply love to ride a bike and who care enough to show up to an event like this to pay their respects to those who can't ride anymore.
Here's a few pictures from the event:
That's me on the left in the black and white jersey. My friend Kari is on the right. We spend a lot of time riding together.
This is my son, sporting his team jersey and giving me the "thumbs up" that he's ready to roll.
My husband had the camera at this point in the ride. Notice the man in the suit and tie? That's our city's Mayor. He's very supportive of cycling and is doing all he can to make our city more bike friendly. He just bought his own bike, but was riding one of the bikes available to rent in our downtown area.
My son was thrilled to get to ride with the Mayor again. I say "again" because they rode together at a press conference last summer for our bike race that happens in our city. Right before my son went to bed last night he said, "Mom, it was really fun getting to lead out the Mayor!" My bike friends will get that....LOL.
Now back to the ride...we took off from a park and rode the designated bike route through some of our city's streets. We had a police escort, which made this event possible. Without it, there would have been no way we could have made it through intersections or, in all honesty, been able to ride the route as a group safely at all. Our streets are narrow, packed with cars and our residents have a long way to go to be called "considerate" of riders, joggers and walkers. If you ask any person doing a fitness activity on public roadways if they have ever experienced some sort of negative encounter with a car...you'll get a long laundry list of things they have had happen. Bottles thrown at them, elbows clipped from a much too close car, obscenities shouted, passing too quickly...you name it, we've all had it happen. And it's so unnecessary.
Last night was no exception. From the picture above, you can see we're riding two abreast (our state law allows this). Cars were passing us slowly, but only a mere 3 blocks into the ride, a driver came upon the cars who were passing us slowly and laid on his horn. A long time. Very rudely. Especially considering the reason for the ride. When he got to the front, the police officers who were escorting us signaled to the driver to roll his window down and corrected his behavior. I hope he felt like an arse, but more importantly...I hope he learned a valuable lesson. But to those of us who ride regularly...this was not an uncommon event and one that unfortunately proves that fatal cycling accidents will probably be a problem that never goes away.
The rest of the ride took us through a variety of our city's neighborhoods and into our downtown area. There was a concert happening at our arena last night, so quite a few concert goers got to see a pack of cyclists before they could cross the road. We were certainly visible to a lot of residents who might not usually encounter a group of bikers. And it was neat to see how many people noticed the Mayor joining along! Overall, it was a great experience. It was eery being on a bike for over an hour and to not hear a single word said, but that was the entire point. It was solemn. It was serious. It was reflective. Everyone in my family, along with many of my friends bike on a regular basis. I can only hope and pray that none of our names is never read before such a ride. Whether your a cyclist or a driver, I ask a favor today: Please be patient. Please be courteous. The biker you're passing may be my husband, my son, my friend or me. We're not trying to slow you down or frustrate you. We just want to get a little exercise and co-exist in peace. That's all.
I hope you have a great day today! Get out and get some fresh air. I am...I'm taking a little break from paper crafting today to be a part of field day at my son's school.
