On May 17th at 7:00PM, thousands of cyclists around the world will gather and ride in silent solidarity to remember cyclists that have been killed. The Ride of Silence started in Dallas, Texas in 2003 and will happen in 225 cities in the U.S (including five in Oregon).
Amazingly though, until today there was no ride planned for Portland. Good thing local cyclist John McCaffery came along. In the last few days he has organized a route, obtained a permit, and has just announced the details.
McCaffery’s father-in-law was killed last July while riding near St. Louis, Missouri. As a memorial, McCaffery is encouraging everyone on the ride to “show support by wearing a black arm band for those who have been lost. Wear a red arm band if you yourself have been injured in a motor vehicle/bicycle accident.”
He has planned the route to pass by six Ghost Bike installation sites. Here are more ride details:
Date: May 17, 2006
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: Beginning and ending atWilshire Park (NE 33rd and NE Skidmore)
We’ll ride a 12 mile loop with MLK and Killingsworth as the NW limit and SE Belmont and 49th as the SE limit. We’ll pass six Ghost Bikes. The ride will be slow and silent.Portlands Ride of Silence was made possible by generous support from:
Bike N Hike, Biycleattorney.com, CyclePath Bike Shop, Sellwood Cycle Repair, and The Bike Gallery.