PRESS

11-mile 'Ride of Silence' to raise awareness, honor injured and dead cyclists

By Mireidy Fernandez
Staff Writer

May 13, 2005

Members of the West Palm Beach Bicycle Club ride along Pierson Road in Wellington during their regular weekly outing. (Sun-Sentinel/Mark Randall)



Patty Moody is lucky to have survived a hit-and-run wreck on State Road A1A.

A gray Cadillac DeVille sideswiped the Delray Beach resident's left hand while Moody rode her bicycle April 4 on the beach thoroughfare in Delray Beach.

The accident landed her in the hospital, and the driver was never caught.

Days later, Moody underwent surgery to repair multiple fractures of her left wrist.

"I'm a corporate pilot, and I have been grounded from my job until my wrist is healed," said Moody, who rides for recreation. "I'm in physical therapy three times per week to get mobility back on my wrist."

Moody's story is all too familiar to cyclists across the country. Local bike riders say they often ride on hazardous roads and are forced to deal with careless or speeding motorists. To honor Moody and the thousands of bicyclists who have been injured or killed on America's roads, some Palm Beach County cyclists will take part in "Ride of Silence" at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Patch Reef Park, 2000 NW 51st St., or Yamato Road, in Boca Raton.

The slow, 11-mile journey that starts and ends at Patch Reef is part of an international ride across 100 cities, including Munich, Athens and Toronto, to heighten awareness about safety on roads and pay tribute to cyclists who have been injured or killed, said Barry Hersh, president of Ride of Silence Florida Inc. and a resident of Lake Worth.

"Our main focus is to make people aware of the inordinate number of bicyclists that are killed on the road," said Hersh, who two years ago lost a cyclist friend on a Wellington road.

The ride hits close to home for Jim Smith, co-founder of Safety As Floridians Expect, a bicycle and pedestrian safety advocacy group in Delray Beach that continues to lobby for the implementation of 5-foot bike lanes on A1A.

"There's really a problem associated with asking motorists to share the road," said Smith, who doesn't plan on riding. "Physically, there's not enough room on some roads for bicyclists to share the road with motorists, so it ends in injury or death."

SAFE is waiting for a decision from state transportation officials, who will settle on whether to expand portions of A1A with 5-foot bike lanes or 3-foot paved shoulders. The Delray Beach City Commission has backed the 3-foot shoulders proposal, which came from a Chamber of Commerce committee.

At the Ride of Silence, such avid riders as Linda Leeds of West Palm Beach plan to join the annual event, founded three years ago by a Dallas man after a cyclist friend was killed. Leeds pointed to myriad challenges she and fellow cyclists face when they get on their bikes.

"They don't want us on the road; they don't give us enough room; they don't see us, or they pass closer than they have to," said Leeds, a member of the West Palm Beach Bicycle Club. "They look at us once, but they don't look twice. They don't recognize that we are mature adults who are skilled at handling our bicycles, and they don't recognize the fact that we have the right to be on the road."

Hersh said his group chose Boca Raton as the start and finish of Wednesday's bike ride because the city was recognized by a national publication as a bicycle-friendly community with designated bike lanes.

Also participating in the ride is Raphael Clemente, bike and pedestrian coordinator for the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which makes recommendations to the state and county about transportation issues.

"I think it's important to point out that bicyclists have a right to equal access on the roads," he said.

For Moody, who is left-handed, not being able to fully use her hand poses a problem. She's thankful she's alive and hopes a similar or worse accident doesn't happen to someone else.

"I'm afraid someone is going to get hit or killed. There is a need for bike lanes and for people to pay a little more attention," Moody said.

The Ride of Silence is a free event. Donations of $15 are welcome and will go to families of injured or deceased bicyclists, Hersh said. Call Hersh at 561-434-3432, or visit www.rideofsilencefl.org.

Mireidy Fernandez can be reached at mmfernandez@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6690.



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