Recap/Results

Approx. 125 cyclists rode in the 9th annual Ride of Silence in the Des Moines area.

Cyclists gathered shortly before 6:30pm to hear Scott
Sumpter, the Des Moines organizer, read off the names of those who were
killed or injured since last year.

23 cyclists were added to the list. Two cyclists were killed and 15 injured while riding their bicycle since last year's Ride of Silence. 17 were added in 2012. The "list" now tops out at 194.

A permanent page has been created on BIKEIOWA
that lists those who have been injured or killed while cycling on
public roadways. You can find it under the Community Menu under the
sub-heading "Iowans you should know". bikeiowa.com/RideOfSilence

Sumpter
also explained that this list was only cyclists who we have been
contacted about, seen in the news, or police reports. "We suspect there
are triple to quaddruple the amount of injuries and accidents that never
get reported" Sumpter said.

After explaining what the Ride of
Silence means, Sumpter again included a
visual representation for the cyclists we were riding for. As the
person's names was read off, including their age, city where it happened
and a brief description of the accident, a volunteer in the crowd would represent a person
who was injured or killed. For each person who was injured, the volunteer would set down. For a cyclist who was killed, the
volunteer would lie down. Visual Representation can be pretty powerful.

Cyclists comforted Gerry Giedraitis as she represented her husband, 67-year-old
Edward Giedraitis who was hit and killed along 270th Street, a few
miles west of Dallas Center, on Saturday, May 20th 2012 when the driver
fled the scene was identified a couple days later. The driver said he
believed he had hit a deer. The hit and run was still under
investigation. The driver who had a long rap sheet, was only give a $750
fine.

This photo taken by Steve Fuller was from 2011 and shows the visual representation.



Cyclists
then proceeded to ride through the downtown area at a very slow
funeral-like procession with a full police escort. Powerful.

See the FULL Ride of Silence List here

We will post photos as they become available.

THANKS to Everyone for showing up to honor those who could not.

Description

Safety/Education/Training

Distance - 3.27 miles

Join cyclists nationwide in a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph) in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on America's public roadways. 6:30pm -7:00pm - various speakers and crowd participation to share why they come to the Ride of Silence and for who. Ride starts at 7:00 pm sharp. Check out the 2008 Ride of Silence Video

www.rideofsilence.org

Why does this site exist?

1. To HONOR those who have been injured or killed
2. To RAISE AWARENESS that we are here
3. To ask that we all SHARE THE ROAD

THE RIDE OF SILENCE WILL NOT BE QUIET On May 15th, the Ride of Silence will roll across the country, starting at 7:00 PM. Over 320+ U.S. locations and 52 other countries in all 7 continents 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.

2013 marks the 9th year that we have been hosting a Ride of Silence in Des Moines.

Route

Ride goes through downtown Des Moines. 2013 Route Map

We'll ride the same route as previous years. We keep it short for the young ones who ride with us.

Details: Ride up East 6th Street to Grand Avenue, travel west on Grand over the river and all the way to 17th street. Turn south onto 17th Street for one block, then turn left (East) up Locust back to the starting point. ** Note - route subject to change as event approaches **

Registration

None for this event. Just show up a bit early to hear a shout-out for those on the list this year.

Contact