Ride of Silence

[CorsairMac]

I thought I'd start this for everyone that rode in the Ride of Silence Wed 05/18. Tell us your experience.

I rode in the Ride of Silence here in Albuquerque with one of the local bike clubs. There were several riders from some of the local racing teams, a very interesting commuter bike, several mountain bikes, a fixedgear and roadies. All ages, all types! Some kid along the route yelled out there were 39 of us but a posting I saw today said there were close to 50. We planned a route and by 7 pm we all fell quiet and started the ride. The speed was to never exceed 12 mph and the ride was to last about 1 hour and no one was to speak. Our ride leader picked a very pretty circuitous route through residental areas and parts of downtown Abq. It was very eerie at times, seeing all these people but no one talking. Just the sound of the bikes and the clips as we stopped and started. One woman had the picture of a fallen companion pinned to her jersey back which brought tears to my eyes. There were several times, especially when riding downtown that the purpose of the ride was really brought home, seeing us and cars on the road sharing the space and remembering that not all of us nationwide survived that sharing.
Since it was early enough in the evening, people were still outside, kids playing, people chatting, families sitting around, they would see us coming and the kids would run to the sides of the road and wave as we passed. We all waved back or dipped our heads, but not one of us spoke. As we came to the end of the ride, the sun was setting behind the mountains and it made the whole ride even more poignent (sp). I will do this ride again next year and try to get even more people to come out. It was truly a spiritual experience.

[Waverly]

I actaully first learned of this ride today in a bike newsletter. I think it is really cool that you participated. I would have enjoyed participating in a ride in my area had I been aware. I am going to plan on doing so next year. Thanks for the info.

Jess

[Irulan]

what does this ride commemorate?

[snapdragen]

what does this ride commemorate?

Here's the full scoop: http://www.rideofsilence.org/main.php

Glad you had a good experience Corsair!

[Pedal Wench]

I rode for a little while with the Atlanta ride out of Chamblee. There were only about 6 riders, but when I saw them coming (I was out on my regular ride) I knew exactly what it was and dropped into the line. It was very powerful. I hope they get more publicity next year.

[skibum]

They definitely need more publicity next year. Apparently, there were two in Atlanta, one in Piedmont Park and the one out of Chamblee. I had heard about the Piedmont Park one but didn't hear about the Chamblee one until today. Piedmont Park isn't all that convenient for me to get to after work so I skipped it. Chamblee, on the other hand, is on my way home so I might have done the ride if I had known about it.