Ride of Silence

[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!!!!