Ride of Silence
Seven local riders participated in the Annual Ride of Silence, a ride held here in Gainesville, as well as at many locations thoughout Florida, nationwide, and around the world, on Wednesday, May 19th. This ride honors those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways, and endeavors to raise awareness among riders and drivers that we all need to share the road together, safely.
GCC, the UF Cycling Team and TriGators were all represented.
We started at the "Share the Road Memorial," at Depot Park. This memorial to two greatly respected and beloved local cyclists and GCC members who were killed on a group ride in 1996, and their 4 buddies who were seriously injured, (and no doubt forever impacted) by that crash, is a powerful reminder of the horrific tragedy that can result from distracted driving. The driver who hit this whole group was never charged with any crime...
If you haven't visited this Memorial, I would urge you to do so.
Our turn around point for this somber ride was on the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail, where it intersects with CR-325. This spot was the scene of a tragedy in 2008. A 20 year old UF student was killed there when she failed to stop at that intersection and was hit by a vehicle, driven by an unsuspecting driver. This site is a powerful reminder to us, when we ride our bikes. We need to always be focused and aware. As riders, we will be the ones who pay the price if we don't stop at a STOP sign, and happen to cross a high speed road at just the wrong moment. While pausing at that spot, (where some wonderful person recently erected a very noticeable white cross, 13 years lafter the crash,) we witnessed a couple of drivers pass us at highway speed on CR-325 while holding their cell phones, and also saw a cyclist wearing earbuds, who rolled through that intersection after only slowing down a bit. These vivid reminder, that we could have easily witnessed a tragedy if the timing had been a minute or two different, couldn't have been planned any better...
It was good to share this event ride with other local riders. After a rough start, (ride leader got a flat, the first 1/2 mile,) I think we quickly shared in spirit with each other, as well as with the many others around the state, country and the world, the knowledge that the thing that we really love to do comes with significant risk. We understand that increased awareness about sharing the roads safely is needed, both with cyclists and drivers. Two of us also remembered a friend who was killed in March while on a group event ride near Ft. Myers.
While I wish there was no need to, I plan to do this ride again next year. And to do a better job spreading the word about it, to increase participation. I learned a few things that I would change to make this go more smoothly next time, (and maybe they will finally finish fixing SE 4th St. by 2022!) In years past, GCC was a significant advocating force for cycling safety locally and statewide, and a regular participant in this annual event. We need to keep this legacy going.
In the meantime, everyone, "Ride safe!" And do whatever you can to raise awareness and encourage sound policy, so we can keep on doing the thing that we all love to do so much.