the Way of the Turtle

Ride of Silence
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

While I was off enjoying myself at Olana State Historic Site last night, cyclists around the world were taking part in the Ride of Silence, an annual ride in memorial of local cyclists killed while riding. Albany's ride started at the Corning Preserve and made its way along a 12 mile loop that passed by three white-painted "ghost bikes" marking the locations of three fatalities. Approximately 100 riders participated in the ride. Write-ups can be found at the Capital News 9 and at the Times Union web sites; the Capital News 9 article also includes a link to video coverage.

If I hadn't been at Olana I probably would have ridden... while I don't have any strong ties to the local cycling community, I think it's important to support their efforts, and this is an especially good cause to support. Drivers need to be much more aware and willing to share the ride with cyclists (and on the flip side, cyclists need to be aware and ride legally and responsibly.) And I probably would have spent a lot of the time tearing up (which might make it tough to ride) at the thought of the riders who are no longer with their families or the rest of us.

JMH