Memorial Ride

Last Thursday, Anne McLaughlin was riding her bike across a lit crosswalk in broad daylight. A man in an SUV ignored the warning lights and hit her, killing her instantly.

After it happened, there was a lag between when the accident happened and when they released the name of the person who was hit. I thought of all of my friends, and there are many, who might have been riding along that stretch of road.

When I learned that it was noone I knew, I felt relieved at first.

Whew! Dodged a bullet.

I immediately felt guilty. Empathy kicked in, and my heart went out to the family. And the reality that it could have been anyone set in. The realization that no one should have to go through what her family is going through took hold.

Since then, I’ve been fearful, but still riding. That fear drove me to want to DO something. Talking with friends about the crash increased that feeling.

So last week I started throwing ideas around for a Memorial Ride with cyclist friends. The details started coming together. I created a Facebook event and asked it be shared widely. Another St. Pete Bike Co-op volunteer created a T-shirt design for the event. I ran route ideas past some folks.

As the event drew closer, the media reached out to the Bike Co-op. Sean Kinane from WMNF asked to interview me. I think that aired Thursday or Friday morning. Then ABC Action News asked for an interview. I met with them at 5:45 am this morning and the interview aired live this morning. (Here’s a link to the Facebook Live we did after the real interview.)

Cyclists began arriving at 9:00 (before, actually, due to a mix-up with times). We gave away the free T-shirts and quickly ran out. People signed up to join an action group e-mail list so we can continue our momentum after the ride.

Soon enough 9:30 rolled around. I explained the thought process behind why the ride was created. Cycling visibility is important. Honoring the fallen is important. But also holding our elected representatives accountable after the ride is what will ultimately lead to change.

I paused and asked if others had things they wanted to share. No one stepped forward so we moved into a moment of silence.

In that silence, I could feel tears forming. I did a slow count to 30 to make sure we held enough space for the magnitude of what the ride represented. We were riding because someone died. A motorist killed Anne McLaughlin through distraction. It was a completely avoidable crash.

The tears never fell. After the moment of silence ended, people clapped. I wasn’t expecting that. The tears threatened to fall again.

I moved into the safety portion of the talk to orient everyone on how to ride. Mostly we’d be occupying the bike lanes, but there were some places where the bike lanes ended. There we would take the lane (which is the legal right of the cyclist, and the safest place for them in terms of visibility). In a show of solidarity, we would ring our bells as we passed the ghost bike left in memory of Anne.

After the safety talk, one more request went out for thoughts to share, memories of Anne. One man directly knew her. In a shaky voice with tears in his eyes, he said she was like a sister. That he appreciated this event. This show of solidarity. We clapped for his courage to share in a time of grief.

We started riding. The pace was slow. The weather was lovely. I could see drivers’ eyes gravitating towards us.

Photos posted without credit. Pictures obtaine from those shared to the St. Pete Bike Co-op Facebook page.

Even though we were visible, some riders had negative interactions with cars. A car turned right in front of me (the lead), when they should have waited. Drivers with impatient looks on their faces as they waited for their turn to go. Drivers passing us on the left when we took the lane, even though there was a double yellow, no-passing line in the middle of the road.

As we approached the ghost bike, everyone started ringing their bells. It sounded nice. Bells are sometimes associated with getting rid of bad energy. Maybe we helped to clear that intersection of the bad mojo of distracted drivers. One can hope.

After a little over 30 minutes, we arrived at our destination: Williams Park. A representative from Walk Bike Tampa explained some safety things she’s seen on the ride. We should be riding in the center of sharrows. Always, always push the buttons for crosswalk blinky lights, even if it doesn’t look like any cars are coming.

I gave one last thank you. I let them know I’d be sending out an e-mail on or by Monday with next actions we can take to keep the momentum going for making cyclists safer. I’ve already started the e-mail list.

St. Pete is cyclist-friendly compared to many surrounding areas. But there’s plenty of room for improvement in creating a culture where all forms of transportation are respected and valued. Where all lives occupying space in sidewalks, bike lanes, and streets are valued.

In the mean time, I have a few pieces of advice for drivers:

• If you see a bike riding in the road, slow down and go completely around them. Take the next lane. Give them at least 3′ (it’s the law!).
• Remember it’s a human being on the bike. Do you want to kill a human being? Then slow down, give them space
• Remember, they aren’t trying to slow you down. They are trying to get somewhere. You getting to your destination 30 seconds later is not worth you killing someone.