Ride of Silence Honors Cyclists Injured and Killed on Lansing Roads at 19th Annual Memorial Ride
Cyclists across East Lansing will gather at MSU Bikes for the Lansing area’s 19th annual Ride of Silence on Wednesday to honor people who have been killed while riding their bikes.
Participants will meet at MSU Bikes on Michigan State University’s campus for registration between 5:15 and 6:15 p.m., and will ride silently to the Michigan State Capitol building at 6:30 p.m.
“We all get on the capitol steps and take a big group photo or two or three,” MSU Sustainable Transportation Manager Tim Potter said. “Then we have people share stories about their loved ones or friends who’ve been hit and killed or seriously injured.”
The first Ride of Silence was in Dallas, Texas in 2003. It was started by triathlete Chris Phelan after his friend Larry Schwartz was killed while riding his bike, according to the Ride of Silence website.
“He was out training and he got hit by a passing school bus that hit him with the bus’s mirror,” Potter said. “They were driving that close to a bicyclist.”
Since then, Ride of Silence events have popped up all over the world, with over 200 held last year.
Potter got involved with the Ride of Silence a few years later, after receiving an email from a friend.
“He said that the organization needed a webmaster because their web person was retiring or leaving the organization,” Potter said. “So I volunteered.”
Being a lifelong cyclist, Potter got involved to help raise awareness about deaths and injuries that occur while cycling. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that 1000 Americans are killed in traffic accidents each year.
“I thank God that I haven’t been hit but I realized there’ve been a lot of people not so fortunate,” Potter said. “It’s just something that I’ve always been very keenly aware of, is how close to death that I’ve come.”
Potter said injuries can happen regardless of precautions taken by a cyclist.
“I do everything possible to make sure that I’m seen and not overlooked,” Potter said. “But even then, I’ll still have people that might intentionally pass me close by to scare me.”
Because of this, Potter said the Ride of Silence team takes extra steps to make sure the ride is safe. Riders are accompanied by police officers and a support and gear, or SAG, vehicle following close behind to ensure no cyclists are injured.
“It’s probably the safest ride you’ll ever participate in in the Lansing region,” Potter said.
Potter also said he thinks the community aspect of the ride is very important.
“Even though some people ride different types of bikes and [in] different environments, at some point we all interact with motor vehicle traffic,” Potter said. “It’s an event that kind of just ties us all together.”