Last night the 2nd annual Ride of Silence was held in Philadelphia. The beautiful weather of the day gave way to a storm front which made its progression through the Delaware Valley at 5PM. At 6:45 the worst part of the storm had passed our area but it continued to rain and have occasional lightening strikes.
In the ceremony prior to the ride a short biography of each of the four people from the Philly area who had died because of automobile accidents in the past year was read. As if the heavens wanted to make a dramatic punch to our event a huge lightening bolt struck horizontally over and in back of the Art Museum. It stretched from West to East and totally filled the sky as one long line. The resulting thunder echoed as it rolled through the tall buildings in center city. It sounded like a series of loud fireworks as it moved through our town.
Because of the rain the ride was shortened. We left the Art Museum and traveled down Benjamin Franklin Parkway to City Hall. We circled City Hall and went up JFK Blvd to 15th Street where we turned to return to the Parkway and the Art Museum.
The Philadelphia Police provided us with a rolling blockade to stop traffic so that our procession would be able to progress without stopping. The sirens of the police cars, as they traversed from the back to the front of our procession, reminded me of what it must have sounded like at the scene of the accidents which took the lives of the riders we honored this evening.
The rain stopped shortly after the ride ended. It was a remarkable experience and I look forward to doing this ride again next year with the hope that we can celebrate that no one was killed in the past year.
Thanks to all of the Philadelphia Police who supported us in this ride, especially P/O Victor Fountain – Bike Cop – and his partner.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Greg,
Thanks for your participation. As I said in my comments druing the ceremony my co-organizer, Ray Scheinfeld, and I think that this is the most important event on the year's cycling calendar. The event was indeed powerful and very moving, even with the small crowd in the rain. The only regret was that out ability to raise awareness was reduced by the rain.
Let me second the thanks to the Philadelphia Police dapartment for all of their help. I must also thank the hard working people in the city reps office who once again provided invaluable assistance with the required permits, logistics, and media coverage. And of course the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, our sponsoring organization and your advocates for better cycling.
John Siemiarowski
co-organizer
Philadelphia Ride of Silence
Post a Comment