Hello all,
I thought I'd post a reminder for the Ride of Silence.
When: Wed. May 15th, 7:00 PM Worldwide
(always the 3rd Wednesday of May)
S. Hemisphere and recommended rain date/ time:
Sat. May 18th, 2024, 10:00 AM - ALWAYS the following Saturday)
WHERE: Hundreds of locations world wide
Join cyclists worldwide in a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph/20kph) in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.
WHY DOES THIS ORGANIZATION EXIST?
To HONOR those who have been injured or killed
To RAISE AWARENESS that we are here
To ask that we all SHARE THE ROAD
https://rideofsilence.org/main.php
Elmira, NY is hosting a local ride, regrettably I can think of 2 ghostbikes here off of the top of my head. I was a daily commuter by bicycle for about 4 years and can say that I watched a sort of unleashing event happen around 2016 where motorists just started getting less concerned and cycling got more dangerous. I've been harassed and had things thrown at me as I cycled down the 8' (1.5m) wide shoulder.
I've come to accept that people in general seemed to have been given a sort of license to be meaner in the last decade and I think we need to start reclaiming civility as a norm. We exist in a shared space. I think when we become cognizant of the space around us we start to see how it can overlap with others doing the same and we can build from there.
As I once read and believe, the bicycle is the only machine I know of that can actually deliver on the spirit freedom of that cars promise us.
Cars have their place, but we need to reset our sense of scale back to human, and learn to appreciate their awesome power again. We're asked to do so much, so quickly with so little time. We need to strive to be humane to reattach to what it means to be human.
N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson
--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)