RIDE OF SILENCE CENTRAL PORTLAND
Internationally participated ride will be held in Portland, OR

On Wednesday, May 21, 2008, at 7pm, the Portland Ride of
Silence will start in downtown at NW Park and Everett Ave in the North Park Blocks.
The event will begin with a statement from BTA Executive Director, Scott Bricker. The
ride will commence at 7:15pm, is approximately 7miles long, and is expected to finish
between 8:15pm – 8:45pm on N Mississippi Ave between N Russell St and N Interstate
Ave. To ensure the safety of attendees the Ride of Silence in Portland will be supported
by an escort from the Portland Police Bureau’s traffic division. To view a route map visit
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Ride-of-Silence-2008.

Ride of Silence is an internationally participated ride that was founded in 2003 in
response to the death of Larry Schwartz. Chris Phelan organized the first Ride Of Silence
in Dallas after endurance cyclists Larry Schwartz was killed by a passing bus mirror on
an empty road. In 10 days the word spread of Schwartz’s memorial ride and 1000 people
attended. Now, the Ride of Silence is held in hundreds of cities across the globe.

The Ride of Silence is a slow, silent processional to first mourn cyclists who’ve died, but
is also to raise awareness amongst police, city officials, and motorists of vulnerable road
users such as bicyclists, as a reminder to respect and share the road with all users, and to
demonstrate that bicycling is an integral part of transportation.

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This year’s Portland Ride of Silence will pass by the memorial ghost bikes of Tracy
Sparling and Brett Jarolimek. Both cyclists were tragically killed last fall and their stories
have captured the hearts of the cycling community.

Rides will be held in 8 Oregon communities: Beaverton, Bend, Corvallis, Eugene,
Medford, Pendelton, Portland, Salem. For a complete listing of all Ride of Silence
locations please visit www.rideofsilence.org.

Join us and cyclists around the world as we remember Tracy, Brett, and others who have
died on the streets and hope that our silent statement will bring safer roads to our
community.

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is a statewide non-profit organization that works to
open minds and roads to bicycling. We represent bicyclists and the bicycle industry with
over 5000 members in Oregon and SW Washington, and have seventeen years of
experience in bicycle engineering, planning, education and advocacy.

The WashCo BTC is hosting the 2nd Annual “Westside Ride of Silence” on Wednesday, May 21st starting at 7pm in Beaverton. Come and join cyclists worldwide in memory of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.

We will gather at 6:30pm a Beaverton City Library and at 7PM start the funeral-like procession of cyclists riding a 6-mile loop around the city. We will pass ghost bikes along the way, representative of those people killed on our streets and roads in Washington County. This is in conjunction with the nation wide Ride of Silence happening on the same date everywhere.

We cordially invite you to join us in this tribute to the memories of those lost and raise awareness about the relationship between bicyclists to motorists as evidenced in the “And We Bike” campaign.

Please try and make it to either the westside or downtown events. Both begin at 7pm this Wed night for 1 hr.. Come and join cyclists worldwide in memory of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.

File photo: 5/16/07

The Ride of Silence drew hundreds of cyclists to the northeast Alberta neighborhood tonight.

We met at the Community Cycling Center where Alison Hill welcomed us to the ride and introduced Commissioner Sam Adams. Adams said it’s important for Portlanders to remember that the right-of-way is for all modes and that we must all work together to share the road.

People attached “See & Be Seen” posters and memorial signs for fallen friends to their bikes.
[Read more…]

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.
[Read more…]