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This was the first year for the Ride of Silence in Sedalia, Missouri and it was an awesome ride.

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.

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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.

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Media Coverage: Sedalia Democrat

Are you searching for an epic ride for 2008? Are looking for a ride that could be called monumental, a bicycle ride that you are just excited to complete? A ride that you need to train for?

Here are some great rides of 2008. Some are mountain bike and some are road rides.

• La Ruta de Los Conquistadores (MTB) Arguably the hardest cross country mountain bike race in the world.
• Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb (Road) This is one of the toughest climbs in the world and is the only time of the year that bikes are allowed to go up the 7.6 mile stretch road.
• Leadville Trail 100 (MTB) This is one of the most popular mountain bike endurance races in the country. Floyd Landis rode it in 2007 and Chris Carmichael is training to complete the race in less than 9 hours but you don’t have to be a pro to get in.
• Race Across America (Road) This is billed as the toughest ultra marathon race in the country. The race goes from California to Maryland.
• Ride the Rockies (Road) This is a 6-7 day bike tour through the Rocky Mountains. This may not be the most challenging ride for some but for others it could be there Tour de France.
• Flint Hills Death Ride (MTB) Don’t let the name scare you too much. This is a “70ish” mile cross country double-track/farm path ride through Southern Kansas. (several of the guys I ride with did it last year and we are all making the trip again this year, myself included)

I know this is not at all the most definitive list of great and challenging rides happening in 2008 so if you know about one share it in the comments so we can all check it out.

The PRBC Night Ride scheduled for December 2nd has been postponed.  The make up date is yet to be determined.

The 1 p.m. Sunday Afternoon Katy Trail ride that will be leaving from the Depot in down town Sedalia is still on.