"...and no one Dared Disturb the Sound of Silence."

Yesterday was an important day in the cycling world across the globe, as thousands of cyclists participated in the 17th annual Ride of Silence. My girlfriend and I attended here in Columbus:

If you're unfamiliar with the ride, it's an international event in memory of fallen cyclists who were victims of traffic-related fatalities. It's much different than any other ride throughout the year, as it's not only at a very casual pace, but also in complete silence out of respect for the deceased. I estimate about 200 cyclists participated in the Columbus installment, which met at City Hall:

Before the ride, there were brief presentations on the state of cycling infrastructure in and around Columbus (including appearances by several local police officers), and the names of cyclists who passed away in the past year were read aloud to the crowd:

This particular part of the evening was extremely moving, as several of the Columbus-area cyclists were quite young. One was the exact same age as our daughter is currently:

1. Brooke Hoffman - 22
2. Milton Shetler - 79
3. Daniel Ball - 71
4. Michael Flynn - 23
5. Kevin Johnson - 56
6. Shane Cash - 33
7. Oliver Seikel - 80
8. Paul Klein - 66
9. Lawon Tilley - 43
10. Shannon Mills - 26
11. Caiden Balash - 11
12. Mark Wladecki - 60
13. Ronald Chamberlain - 59
14. Mark Esposito - 57
15. Christopher Clifford - 51
16. Javonte Brunston - 17
17. Nickolas O'Donnell - 65
18. Mary Sheeler - 18
19. Alan Sellers - 58
20. Laqua Darnell Burton - 38

It struck me even more when my girlfriend pointed out how many attendees were adorned with red ribbons that had been distributed to cyclists who'd survived incidents with cars (yours truly included, twice):

I consider myself fortunate to have been able to wear one last night, because there have been plenty of others who weren't as fortunate. I'd like to take a moment to thank Yay Bikes for coordinating the volunteer efforts for this event. These gestures were extra reminders of why advocacy is so important, and that cyclists' lives affect everyone, not just the humans riding the bikes.

The ride itself was as perfect as it could have been, with favorable weather and no incidents to speak of. Everyone was well-behaved and the only sounds I heard (besides pedaling) were solo bell dings when we passed a ghost bike on High Street:

I don't look forward to this event, yet it's one I feel I need to participate in every year. It's a strange feeling because the ride exists for all the wrong reasons and all the right reasons all at the same time. I can only hope that one day we're riding in celebration of zero traffic deaths.

So, if you are a cyclist, or you know or love someone who's a cyclist, I ask that you support us. I ask for your patience as you drive. I also ask that you understand why riding is important to so many people and think about how it affects everyone in some way. Because we're all out here riding, and we love it as much as we love you.

And of course, ride on no matter what. Tomorrow is Bike to Work day, after all...

The Outer Bikes

I feel like most of my life can be summed up by the phrase "Better late than never." Another example happened this week, when the family and I found ourselves in the Outer Banks, NC. We'd vacationed there last Summer but due to some horrendous weather, our outdoor activities were severely limited - biking included. This time around, we were a little more fortunate:

We didn't bring our bikes with us on the trip, but luckily bike rentals are a dime a dozen at the beach. This time of year, most of the rental bikes are in great shape because no one has used them yet. I mean, check out this memory foam seat - no butt prints!

Anyway, after we geared up, we decided to head south from our location in Duck and just see where the path would lead us. Like most beach communities, the Outer Banks are very bike-friendly, with a trail paralleling NC-12, the main road in OBX:

This particular stretch is called the Duck Trail. Outside the town, I don't think it has a name. In any case, it's pretty much a flat ride mostly on pavement through some nice beach greenery:

You don't actually get to see the ocean from here, but you can hear it off in the distance and feel the sea breeze. In some cases, a little cover from the ocean wind is actually preferable.

We also spotted these markers on the ride, and I'm not sure what they mean:

At first I thought they were milepost markers, but every one of them is engraved with an "MV" symbol, so that clearly can't be the case:

I'm wondering if "MV" stands for "Motor Vehicle," because these appear near every intersection. The Outer Banks used to have a lot more sand roads (as opposed to paved), so perhaps these were used to mark motor vehicle routes. I'll dig into this more if I have time later. If you have any idea what these are, let me know.

At any rate, we had gotten about 6 miles down the coast before we decided to turn around, but not before stopping for a snack at a random place of our choosing:

We chose the Coastal Provisions Oyster Bar & Market. In addition to snacks, you have to try some authentic North Carolina beer too:

I'm not a big fan of the glass, but the beer was pretty awesome. After that, it was time to saunter on back to our temporary home. After we got back, of course we couldn't help but feel like we wanted to go further, but still grateful we had gone anywhere at all on a bike. Can't wait to do it again!

If you're wondering why you haven't seen Faith through all of this, she decided not to join us. I think she was still exhausted after we made her climb the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in the morning:

That was the best I could do with the wind. I made sure to show her the pictures of the bike trial when we got back. She'll definitely be joining us next time, which will hopefully be sooner than later, but always better late than never.