Click to enlarge
As part of a new bike safety campaign, a coalition of advocates in Washington County is planning a memorial ride for Timothy O’Donnell this weekend.
O’Donnell was struck and killed by a car on a rural Washington County road last June.
On Saturday (9/22), the Portland Velo riding club (of which O’Donnell was a member) will retrace the route that O’Donnell took before he was hit. “Complete Tim’s Ride” will meet at 9am at Longbottom Coffee off Evergreen Parkway in Hillsboro (4893 NW 235th Ave).
The ride is part of an ongoing bike safety campaign called, “And we bike”. The campaign is backed by a coalition of advocacy groups and sponsors and it kicked off yesterday with a series of awareness actions throughout Washington County.
The photo at right shows volunteers Kat Iverson, Elicia Cardenas, and Susan Otcenas holding signs on the Cornell Road/Highway 26 overpass yesterday.
According to ride organizers, the “Complete Tim’s Ride” event will feature a “silent start” led by the riders who were with O’Donnell the day he was struck. The ride will also pass a newly installed Ghost Bike memorial at the location of the collision.
For more information on this ride, or to get involved with the “And we Bike” campaign, visit AndWeBike.com.
Thanks for reading.
BikePortland has served this community with independent community journalism since 2005. We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to survive. Your financial support is vital in keeping this valuable resource alive and well.
Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
I was fortunate enough to attend this event. I feel that the large number of locations was a positive contribution in getting the message to many people. There were definately a large number of drivers who understood the message.
It was very interesting to be out there because I usually get out of Wash-Co quickly and don\’t observe drivers. A few things that I noticed was the comparatively high cell phone use. The other was the apparent contempt for choices that sit outside of what is \’normal.\’ Many people looked at us with expressions that said, \”wow you can actually get around without a land rover? I hope that such events continue and perhaps with larger signs.
I was there too. Got lots of waves and smiles. Some puzzled looks, too. But all the waves were with all their fingers!