Ride of Silence

This past week, we joined a couple of other cyclists to participate in Boise's version of the Ride of Silence. This is a worldwide gathering--dozens of rides--dozens of locations--to honor those who have lost their lives in automobile-bicycle accidents. Last year we had a woman killed here in our hometown by a woman who shouldn't have been driving, as she was on medication which carried the label "do not drive while taking this medication." Worse still was that the woman was driving a Hummer. A Smart car would kill a biker. A Hummer leaves no doubt. There was a ghost bike at that corner for months.

At any rate, I brought my two oldest kids to ride with me on the Ride of Silence here. My daughter rode alongside me, and my son in the Burley. Because of the timing and the local community advocacy groups being tied up in other pursuits, there were only five of us on the ride--after hundreds last year. I think it was a wake-up call for us. This sort of thing is only impactful if it is done in volume. I've posted a couple of pics below of the ride and its participants.

Next time you're out in the car, take a look around you. The life you save by being aware of cyclists may be mine. It's definitely someone important--to someone.