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.

[Technotart]

Generally - the publicity is word of mouth. They don't spend any money to print flyers because wherever it is possible, no money is involved - nor should it be. This is the first year many cities have done the ROS - I think its an awesome and inspiring event - the news stations and such should be notified, community event calendars can be used, and I know they wont stop ANYone from spreading the word! Anybody can call a tip line though, the organizer may already have called, we can call again!

[KSH]

I am so upset that I didn't hear about it... until AFTER it started!

[profàvélo]

I was the only female rider in a group of about 12 in Greenville, SC.

Unfortunately, we did not go into Greenville proper, but into a 'suburb' where groups of 12 riders are a common sight.

I was also disappointed that the ride was not silent like it was supposed to be. It was quite chatty.

I'm going to suggest a different route to our ride leader for next year.

[Pedal Wench]

I was the only female rider in a group of about 12 in Greenville, SC.

Unfortunately, we did not go into Greenville proper, but into a 'suburb' where groups of 12 riders are a common sight.

I was also disappointed that the ride was not silent like it was supposed to be. It was quite chatty.

I'm going to suggest a different route to our ride leader for next year.

The Chamblee/Atlanta one was pretty quiet. I asked, in hushed tones, if this was the ride, and the leader whispered yes, hop in, so I did. We rode in complete silence until the stop where I was going to have to peel off to get home before dark. That's when I noticed the neatest bike. It was a regular bike, with a tandem attachement for one kid in the back, and a recumbent attachment for the other kid in the front of the bike. I had to say something when they caught up. They said it was okay to whisper, so I whispered, "Cool Bike." I know they don't pay for advertising, but it would be nice if the news covered it, so people would know why we're out riding that night. The local news covered 'bike to work' day, so they could easily cover this too.

[Bike Goddess]

Corsair- Thank you and Snap for all the info. Since I am doing the AIDS ride from SF to LA, I have decided to see if we can do a Ride of Silence sometime during our ride. Can you imagine the impact of 2000 riders going through town in silence to commemorate those who have AIDS, are HIV positive or have died from AIDS?

I'll let you know what happens. We have our own motorcycle group that support us, so I think they could be part of the procession.

I also will promote this for next year with my bike club. I am sure we will figure out something even if we combine a couple of cities.

I've told many people to look up the website so they too can participate next year.

[CorsairMac]

oh Nancy - just the thought of your suggestion brought tears to my eyes. I can't even imagine the impact.

I'm sorry, I thought for some reason it was posted here but I may have confused this board with another one. I will be sure and post this here next year and to keep it updated so everyone can fine their city and/or get in a ride.

[Technotart]

About 1000 riders showed up in Dallas at White Rock for the ROS - a police car led the procession and cleared the road for us.

It was an especially sobering ride because Dallas has lost so many riders in the area in the past few years. Some of their families came to observe the ride, even though they didn't ride along.

One particular member of the cycling community - and the owner of an LBS was very critically injured last fall in a car/bike accident - was one of the ride leaders.

The fellow who started ROS - Chris Phelan - read a speech given by one of the Kennedys about how one man can make a difference.

There were two other ROS events in the DFW area too, I don't know how many were at those.

It was an awe inspiring event - I would recommend this to EVERYONE! It has inspired me to move forward with being much more involved in making our streets safer for cyclists!

[shewhobikes]

I was out of town so missed the ride here. However, I have since visited with several cycling friends who rode. We apparently had over 150 riders and a police escort--3 on motorcycles (from my suburban city of Homewood, where most of the ride took place). Talk of our group was the idiot in a black SUV on her cell phone who cut right into the middle of the group trying to cross to the median so she could turn left into the 2 lanes going the other direction. That whole "share the road" thing just flew right over her head, I guess.

We lost a cyclist a few weeks ago who was killed in a hit and run; he was a Birmingham policeman off duty, riding for fun. We've also had 3 bad accidents where cars hit cyclists from behind; all 3 cyclists were riding solo and obeying the law. Needless to say, we're all a little jumpy now.

I was pleased to see a sizeable photo of the ride in the local paper the next morning with an explanation of the purpose of the ride.Hope to do this next year.

[Bike Goddess]

I am so inspired everytime I read this thread. To think of 1000 riders in Texas- totally awesome. Thanks all of you. I'm really going to go for it this AIDS ride and also next year with my club. I am surprised by how few people know about this kind of ride. Well, isn't that part of what our TE is all about- spreading good deeds and helping other cyclists!!!!