A nice evening to ride bikes for the 20th annual Ride of Silence in Des Moines on Wednesday, May 15th 2024. A storm looked to be looming to whole ride, but we didn't get any rain!
140 riders took the 7.4 mile route which is a mix of trail miles around Gray's Lake, out to the Papa John's Sculpture Park and and back throughout the metro via Locust and Court Ave and finishing with photos at the State Capitol.
Like you, we'd much rather be riding somewhere else and for another purpose. So THANK YOU for attending this year.
It's not a ride we like to host, but it is needed to remember, reflect and educate.
Every year we have this list of names. The names may change each year, but the One thing that hasn't changed is the alarming number of Iowans being injured or killed while cycling in our "bicycle-friendly" state.
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Photos and Video
Ken Sherman took his drone footage and photos and made this video.
Also check out Jeff Corcoran's
Photo Gallery,
THANKS
- THANKS to those who have volunteered to help with course support along the route tonight
- THANKS to Luke Hoffman, Executive Director for the Iowa Bicycle Coalition for speaking
- THANKS to Larry Loss for telling his story of getting hit in 2022 in Urbandale
- THANKS to Jeff Corcoran for being the official event photographer
- THANKS to Ken Sherman for his drone footage
- THANK YOU for showing YOUR support by attending the Ride of Silence!
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The RIDE OF SILENCE is NOT SILENT AT ALL.
It is a VERY POWERFUL and VERY EMOTIONAL EVENT. I think we've proven that over the last 20 years with this ride. This event exists to HONOR and pay respect to those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways. It exists to To RAISE AWARENESS to motorists, elected officials, and law enforcement that Cyclists have every legal right to ride on the roadways. It Signifies the importance of staying safe and letting others know that CYCLISTS ARE NOT DISPOSABLE!
#DidYouKnow - 42 states have some sort of “safe distance passing” laws. Wisconsin became the first state to enact such a law in 1973. Eight states have no specific law for passing a bicyclist and even though Iowa is such a bicycle-mecca, Iowa are one of those states WITHOUT a safe passing law.
The number of distracted and impaired drivers has increased. The technology that can distract us has increased (car, phone smart-watch, fast food).
There were 200+ ROS events world-wide Wednesday night
45 US states, 12 countries, 4 continents, 0 words spoken, and A million powerful memories
There were 4 locations in Iowa hosting their own Ride of Silence tonight.
Cedar Falls | Cedar Rapids | Des Moines | Sergeant Bluff
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Make Change - Get Involved
The Iowa Bicycle Coalition is working on strategies to enact a safe-passing law in Iowa. It is not an easy feat. The topic is never popular with our large rural population, so PLEASE get involved when that time comes to contact your legislators. It takes ALL of us to gain their attention and make change.
Become a Legislative District Leader - The Iowa Bicycle Coalition’s legislative district leader program connects bicyclists with legislators who represent them. District leaders actively seek meetings or attend forums with elected officials in their areas to talk about bicycling issues. We can count on district leaders to share important information, action alerts, and petitions with their bike club, team, or friends they ride with. Much of the work takes place in the fall following the November election. Local legislative forums occur during the legislative session from January to May. One-on-one meetings with legislators can take place anytime.
Find Out More
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The List
Since the last ROS, 24 cyclists have been added to "the list". 6 cyclists were killed and 18 were injured while riding.
Why do we only have 24 on our list? We know there are way more than that! right?!?
Because that is all we have data on. Not every crash makes the news. Not every incident has a police report. Many victim names are not provided for privacy purposes.This list is derived from various news, social media feeds, the Iowa Highway Patrol and folks alerting us of crashes around the state.
We also believe a non-life threatening bicycle crash is not necessarily "news" anymore to most media outlets. Most newspapers have fewer reporters and many smaller local newspapers are closing..
We also try to follow-up and find out if the driver was charged, but sometimes it takes months or years or sometimes the information is never posted.
The Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) lists 354 crashes in Iowa since May 2023. And of those crashes, they are ONLY bicycle crashes with motor vehicles. So Bicycle/Bicycle, Bicycle/Pedestrian, or other types of crashes are not part of the IDOT's data.
BIKEIOWA estimates 800-1000 bike/car crashes per year in Iowa. So we are really riding for thousands of Iowans tonight.
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WHO WE ARE RIDING FOR
These are the cyclists who have been added to the list since the last ROS in 2023. Each name was called out during the event with the crash date and details.
| Status | Incident Date | Name | Age | City | State | Link |
| Injured | 4/24/2024 | Unknown Cyclist |
| Des Moines | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 4/17/2024 | Unkown Male |
| Davenport | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 4/4/2024 | Peter Hamill | 78 | Sheldon | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 3/20/2024 | Unknown Male | 49 | Fort Madison | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 3/15/2024 | Unknown Male |
| Waukee | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 3/13/2024 | Unknown Female | 20 | Cedar Falls | IA | INFO |
| Killed | 3/12/2024 | Gage Williams | 27 | Davenport | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 3/5/2024 | unknown |
| Fairbank | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 2/22/2024 | Unknown | 67 | Rock Island | IL | INFO |
| Killed | 1/31/2024 | Wayne Hayes | 69 | Guthrie Center | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 11/12/2023 | Unknown Male | 7 | Williamsburg | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 10/14/2023 | Unknown Male | 13 | West Point | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 9/21/2023 | Unknown Female | 12 | Waukee | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 9/14/2023 | Emily Buttshaw | 41 | Hampton | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 9/5/2023 | Unknown |
| Des Moines | IA | INFO |
| Killed | 8/30/2023 | John Rice | 87 | La Porte City | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 8/24/2023 | Peter Brummel | 77 | Hull | IA | INFO |
| Killed | 8/12/2023 | Unknown Male | 6 | Guthrie Center | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 8/12/2023 | Unknown | 8 | Glidden | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 8/10/2023 | Unkown Female | 9 | Marshalltown | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 8/8/2023 | Unknown Female | 13 | Dubuque | IA | INFO |
| Killed | 7/5/2023 | De'Wayne Cole | 40 | Des Moines | IA | INFO |
| Injured | 6/15/2023 | Nancy Henggeler |
| Winterset | IA | INFO |
| Killed | 5/31/2023 | Gregory Hardy | 64 | Des Moines | IA | INFO |
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Special mentions
These special folks were avid cyclists and memorable in our community and even though they didn't pass awayfrom a cycling crash, we want to remember them tonight.
- Frank Hundley "Huck" Thompson - Team Silver Streak - 3-4-24 RIP
Huck was a well known, long time Ragbrai rider with Team Silver Streak and one of the only remaining OG riders to have ridden every mile of every day of every Ragbrai up until his last ride some 30 years later. Huck passed away while surrounded by his family at 86 years old. RIP.
- Matt Bernhard, Mr. PorkChop Jr. - 3-24-24 RIP
Matt was a RAGBRAI celebrity as was his father. Alongside his signature pink bus, his specialty was grilled Iowa pork chops. Riders would stand in long lines to get a chop that had been grilled on a bed of corncobs right there on the side of the road. His dad had launched the business back in the early 80’s after RAGBRAI came through their hometown of Bankroft. Matt’s family intends to continue the “Mr. Pork Chop” tradition on RAGBRAI this year. RIP.
- Tony Webb - owner Outskirtz along the Great Western Trail -5-2-24 RIP
Tony was a father, brother, husband and friend, He and his wife Joyce opened Outskirtz in 2014 with the tagline - "Live Hard, Laugh Often, Drink A Lot!". We were there 2 days before he passed away. He served us and we chatted a bit. I wish I would have chatted more. RIP.
- Jay Petervary - 8-27-23 - INJURED
Jay is an Ultra-endurance and bikepacking legend and most known for this Tour Divide racing and his unique gear set-ups. He has been an inspirational figure for me for 20 years. He was 2000+ miles into a 3080 mile 'Great Divide Ride’ when he was hit 10 miles outside of Hartsel, Colorado. Jay did not pass away, but had multiple injuries and has undergone numerous surgeries and is making a good recovery and hopes to pick up where he left off.
- Paul Black – Memorial Plaza – Bouton – HTT connector trail.
Paul passed away in 2020. Paul was an extraordinary cyclists – HE did RAAM, Paris Breast Paris and Iditarod just to mention a few. Fundraising efforts continue for the Paul Black Memorial Plaza at the trailhead being built right now in Bouton. About half the funds have been raised. Here is the link to the go fund me page if you want to donate.
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Other Updates & Followups
Object blaming
We are still contacting media outlets and educating them on "Object blaming" too.
"Object blaming" is words that attach blame to inanimate objects - like stating a "gun killed a person and not the shooter".
"a pick-up killed a Cyclist vs the driver".
If you see object blaming take a minute to contact the source. Every bit of education helps.
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2025 Ride of Silence
Next year will be the 21st year for the Ride of Silence in Des Moines, It will be held on May 21st 2024.
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RIDE SAFE !!