We had a group of 28 riders that ranged from kids on mountain bikes to full race kit road riders. We also had a police escort. The police escort really made the ride and I’m really thankful the Sedalia Police Department and Officer Dehaven supported us.
The Sedalia Democrat and the Sedalia News Journal covered the ride and should have articles posted today as well. Click on the pictures to see the full image. All photos of the ride posted here were taken by Kathy Moore
You can see the pre-ride article from the Democrat and the News Journal is supposed to have an article on their site about it but I couldn’t find it on their site (If anyone has the link to it send it to me or post it in the comments).
Honoring the Fallen
Before we started the ride Greg Moore, who is a Pearl River Bicycle Club member and the main organizer of this ride, talked about what the ride is about and how we would proceed. He told the group about his accident in 2000 when he was struck by a drunk driver while he was riding his bike. Then the names of cyclists from Missouri that had been killed while biking since 2000 were read.
The Sound of Silence
A group of 28 riders moving down the road in a pack not saying a word. The only sounds were of clicking derailleurs and free hubs and the occasional squeaky brake. Then the silence would be broken by a quick burst of police siren as the officer stopped traffic at the intersections. Than, back to silence as the group cruised through.
It felt really amazing to ride down the middle of the road without cars rushing by. Turning onto 16th St. during a fairly busy time of day and being able to easily take the lane was even better. Seeing cars pull over and wait as if itwere a funeral procession was pretty cool too.
Awareness
This is the first really public outing for the Pearl River Bicycle Club and I think it is a great way to start. I know we angered some drivers but mostly we raised a lot of questions. People stopped on the street and even came out of their houses to watch us ride by. I’m looking forward to reading the Sedline section in the Democrat to see if we raised any public ire.
Update: We will have a police escort for the ride and at the bottom of this post you can find a link to the local newspaper coverage as well. The newspaper article has the route we intend to ride.
The Pearl River Bicycle Club in Sedalia Missouri has organized a ride for this years Ride of Silence.
What Is The Ride Of Silence About
On May 21, 2008, at [6:00 PM], the Ride of Silence? will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.
I got that righe off of the official website which can be found at rideofsilence.org
The ride in Sedalia, MO will be leaving from the Katy Trail trail head behind the Missouri State Fairgrounds just off Clarendon Road.
Everyone needs to get their by 6:00 p.m. (5:30 if you can) so we can get everyone organized and on the road.
Please tell everyone about this and really spread the word. If you are not in the Sedalia Missouri area please go to the official website and find a ride in your area. http://www.rideofsilence.org
Please come join us and bring your friends and family along too.
The new bicycle racks in “The District” in downtown Columbia, Missouri has caused a little controversy.
I think its great. The more bicycle parking the better, but that’s not what the controversy is about. Everyone seems to agree that more bike parking is a good thing.
The issue is that some people are mad that the the parking meter next to the on street bicycle parking rack, pictured above, was left in place. They are not charging to use the spot. Instead they are using the meter to collect donations for future bicycle improvements as part of the “Get About Columbia” program.
In think this is an excellent idea and I’ll be sure to drop some change in there from time to time even if I am just walking by because dropping some change in this meter does more than just help fund bicycle projects. Its also a vote for cycling in Columbia. See, the more money that meter generates, the more the powers that be see how much support their is for it.
The issue people have with the funding is that Columbia got a large grant of $22 million a few years ago and a lot of people think they shouldn’t be asking the public to fund these projects.
The problem with that thinking is that the grant money will eventually run out. It will take continued funding to pay for maintenance of the existing infrastructure and to do new projects.
I for one just like to see that more and more is being done to improve cycling in Missouri. I think everyone should be happy with what they have and do what they can to help make things better. These bike racks are a step in the right direction for sure.
As cities and towns across the state work to become more bike friendly, their efforts will trickle down to other towns as well. So take note Sedalia, the Pearl River Bicycle Club is working to do a similar parking project in the Sedalia Historic District.
Aaron, Since you are the only one to have commented on this post so far you are the winner of the Ride-Strong.com shirt. (Is this Aaron from the PRBC in Sedalia?) Send me a message via the contact page and we can make arrangements to get your shirt to you
Tyler Ford from Ride-Strong.com was kind enough to send me a couple of T-shirts for my first edition of Free Stuff Friday.
If you haven’t already heard of Ride-Strong.com, be sure to check it out. Tyler has lots of contests and really great content over their including, pictures, video, and some great Arizona riding write ups.
Win a Ride-Strong.com T-Shirt
If you noticed, I said Tyler sent me a couple of shirts. Well I’m going to keep one shirt for me but I’m gonna give the other shirt to someone that leaves a comment on this post. So if you want the other Ride-Strong.com T-Shirt you have to do two things.
Leave a comment with a link to your favorite Ride-Strong.com article. (Tyler didn’t put me up to this, I just think it would be a cool thing to do)
If you don’t follow the instructions then you will not be eligible to win
So do you have some cool swag to send my way so your product, blog, race team, or club can get a little extra attention? If you do visit my original Free Stuff Friday post for details.
This was the first year for the Ride of Silence in Sedalia, Missouri and it was an awesome ride.
