Disappointing Ride of Silence

Our local RoS was disappointing to me. We only had 9 riders participate. It was organized by our bike club president but from what I can tell he did not publicize it at all. He did call a local TV station but they didn’t show up on time and the ride started at 7pm as planned so we had no media coverage. We also rode in the downtown area which is practically a ghost town after 5pm. So we really didn’t get our message out about sharing the road and remembering those cyclist killed or injured by motorists on our roadways.

So, next year I’m considering being the ride organizer. What can I do to make this better attended and to let the public know why we are out there?

Well tell the newspaper and local bike clubs.
and we moved our time up to 630 because it's too dark otherwise.

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

Well tell the newspaper and local bike clubs.
and we moved our time up to 630 because it's too dark otherwise.

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There is only one local bike club and only 9 members showed up for the ride. Nobody from the general public was there. I realize that the local newspaper needs to be notified, but what other (inexpensive) ways can the public be notified?

some radio stations will do free advertising of local events.
talk to your library; how about the bike shops in your area?
(I'm starting to feel spoiled living in Seattle!)

Also put notices in:

Schools
Colleges
Mother and Toddler Groups
Creches
Nurseries (Kindergarten?)
Community Centres
Businesses
Local Shops and Stores
Supermarkets

etc.

and advertise well in advance.

Just a thought here. I tried to organize one here but had an insurance issue. The city required a permit which required an insurance policy WITH unmbrella. Without the umbrella the insurance was $350. The local bike club would have donated $100 but without being able to charge for the ride I would have had to go on a donation campaign. One bike store said he would contribute but then wouldn't committ to a dollar amount. Any one else run into this and what did you do?

What, exactly, does the city require a permit for? I'd want to see the written policy.
I think most places get around that by not making it a parade or a race. After all, there is no registration, no t-shirt, no fee; if people decide to make a caravan and drive to the same place together, they don't need separate insurance. Bicycles as vehicles don't, either.
Now, if an edict has already been laid down and doing it anyway would be in defiance of that, I don't think I'd do it 'cause the point of the ride is to *get* respect, not build barriers. However, I would be sniffing around to see if somebody sitting behind a different desk would have a different perspective. And... I'd be looking well in advance for the donations.

About publicity: around here, email is turning out to be the most effective wayof getting people out for things. Of the 62 people at our Urbana Master Bicycle Plan meeting, 30 of them were there because of emails. Flyers, etc. had reached little groups of 7 or 8. I think it went the same way here... and Iwas kicking myself for *not* making sure I got to the bike racing email list because they had not gotten the word (one of 'em joined us halfway through coming back from a training ride). However, we're a college town and it seems the active people are active online.
A cheap way of spreading the word is putting up posters in bike shop and gym windows, too.

Geonz, it goes before the city council here and about 10 different departments to decide how to rate it: class A, B or C. According to their documentation, a bike ride is considered class B thus, the insurance requirement. Pretty sad I think....

So it's already set :( Looks like you want to start collecting... what a RACKET.

well, MTB you are moving, right? :rolleyes:

maybe your new hometown won't be so ridiculous!

besides, you could always just all magically meet and ride together for a while...

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

well, MTB you are moving, right? :rolleyes:

maybe your new hometown won't be so ridiculous!

besides, you could always just all magically meet and ride together for a while...

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I sure hope so - the new town has a bike trail! I saw how you got around it on yours. That's an idea to keep in mind. I found out after that our bike club has insurance that covers members of the club only. But yeah, it is a racket in this town. Too bad, I had a lot of interest so I was bummed. Next year I'll get on the ball and start earlier.

You could post a notice on Craigslist to advertise it next time around. Local weekly newspapers often keep calendar sections - send them a press release or listing.

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Originally Posted by Geonz

What, exactly, does the city require a permit for? I'd want to see the written policy.

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Here in BR the ride would have been considered as a parade if we had the police escort us.