A chink in my armor of cynicism. The Ride of Silence

In case you hadn't noticed, I tend to be rather flippant, sarcastic and heartless on this site.

Last night I did something that moved me, in a way that I haven't felt in a long time.

I went to the local Ride of Silence, a nationwide event with two primary purposes:

To memorialize people that have been killed or injured in bicycling accidents
and
To advocate sharing of the roads.

I arrived with no expectations. Apathy reigns supreme in my small Southern conservative town.

Much to my surprise there were over 100 cyclists there, of all ages, backgrounds and sizes.

There was a brief introductory speech along with instructions for the ride: Ride single file, slowly silently. Maps were distributed, two laps of a two mile route.

Words can't describe what an amazing experience it was. People I had never met before all bonding for common purposes. I hate to use these cliches but something about it just oozed strength and empowerment.

There were police escorts but they seemed hardly necessary. The steely resolve of over 100 people united deterred any motorist from doing anything remotely inappropriate.

When I have time I'll try to write more, I just wanted to post this while it was fresh in my mind. Alas, I only took one pic, I was too caught up in the moment to take more.

If anyone else participated in this event I'd love to hear about your experiences.

http://sfist.com/2008/05/21/cyclist_killed.php#comments

I thought last night's ride was in honor of this gentleman.

Apparently it's been going on for a couple years

http://www.rideofsilence.org/main.php

What a sad list...

I like attention.

We all do.

I chose to start a thread without any name calling or outrageous accusations.

I'll never make that mistake again.

there are so many that train here for racing, etc. I'm glad you went. :hug: