(Photo © J. Maus)
For the fourth year in a row, Portland will take part in the national Ride of Silence event. The local edition of this ride — which began in Texas in 2003 and has spread to hundreds of cities — will take place in Northeast Portland on May 20th.
The Ride of Silence is a silent, slow-paced ride to remember people that have been injured or killed on public roads while riding their bicycles. It will also take place in six other Oregon communities: Beaverton,
Bend, Corvallis, Eugene, Pendelton, and Salem.
Portland’s ride was put together by Northeast Portland resident Russ Willis. Unlike previous years — when the ride had police escorts and was sponsored and sanctioned by local advocacy groups — this year’s ride has no such formal organization behind it.
In a statement about the event, Willis writes that the intention of the ride is to:
“…raise awareness among motorists, police, and policymakers that the roads are to be shared safely by all users, and that bicycling is a legitimate form of transportation.”
This year, the Portland Ride of Silence will pass by the site of a hit-and-run that resulted in a serious brain injury for Eric Davidson and a 70 month prison sentence for Jeremy Jordan. At 2:44 a.m. on May 9th, 2008, Jordan drove out of a convenience store parking lot at a high rate of speed and struck Davidson while he rode his bike on NE Fremont near 69th. Davidson’s wife, Anna-Carin has kept up a blog about her experiences dealing with the tragedy.
Here are more event details:
- Ride of Silence – Portland
May 20, 2009, 7:00 p.m.
Meet outside of BikeFarm at 305 NE Wygant St.
*Participants are encouraged to wear black armbands
RideOfSilence.org