Ride of Silence

[Popoki_Nui]

We had our first-ever Ride of Silence in Victoria this evening. There wasn't much -if any- advertising about the event; I saw it here on TE and had to do a Google to find the Victoria ride. Only about a dozen riders showed up; the woman who organized the Ride spoke about the significance of the event and it's worldwide recognition for a few minutes, and off we went from City Hall for a slow 40 minute ride through downtown Victoria wearing our black armbands. Upon our return, we held a minutes' silence in memory of fallen riders everywhere. In December, we have our own local version of this Ride, but I hope this international Ride of Silence is a permanent here event too.

~Sherry.

[ChocolatePizzaR]

I did the ride last night in Westford, MA. It was small but special. It was a beautiful evening after a week of rain. As we ambled along at 12mph, I could smell the lilacs and apple blossoms. We saw the swollen ponds and streams, and heard waterfalls in places where there's usually just a trickle. It was very peaceful and a lovely way to remember those we've lost.

There were only 8 of us. (I'm not sure why so few, but will do more publicity next time.) I got to meet some good people and wish I could have talked with them more about why they were riding. The "silent" part was hard. And, I'm not sure, but I think we might have had the only unicyclist particpating in the Ride of Silence (www.unicyclemax.com).

I'll be doing it again next year.

Tara

[Bike Goddess]

Thank you everyone who has reported so far. What a special moment for all of you that participated. Hopefully I'll get some of our cyclists in my small town to do this next year.

[CorsairMac]

We did our Ride of Silence last night - don't know about many......24-30?? We rode in single file and most of us had blinkies so you could really see the line stretched out. We picked a route that had bike lanes but was on public streets in the hopes of making people aware of cyclists. It was amazing the number of cars that waited at stopsigns for all of us to pass. We obeyed every traffic law but people were being so gracious. One woman had a box on her rack with a fallen riders name on it, several wore black armbands (I forgot to....but I"m thinking a black arm warmer would be more fitting no?). There were several people there from the local club but most of the riders were there through word of mouth. It is still one of the most moving rides I've ever done.

[Geonz]

Oh, I do like the idea of one black armband - it's a little more visible and says "cyclist."

[Jo-n-NY]

Sorry, I didn't get on the computer yesterday. I just wanted to add that I also road the Ride of Silence with the Huntington Bike Club. It is the first time I had the opportunity to participated in this as I just signed up with the club this year. We road 12.8 miles and although somber, they were the most peaceful miles I ever road. The group was about 20 riders. I will definetely participate in this ride again.

~ JoAnn