Dozens of bicycle riders will gather early this evening in downtown Des Moines for what’s billed as the Ride of Silence.

Bike Iowa founder Scott Sumpter says the somber event is designed to raise awareness about the cyclists who have been killed or injured on Iowa’s public roadways in the past year. Sumpter says they’ll emphasize the need for greater awareness and respect for cyclists.

“We spend a little time talking about bike safety and then we call out the names of those who have been hit or killed,” Sumpter says. “For every person that has been hit, we have somebody sit down, and for every person that’s been killed, we get somebody to lay down, so it gives a really good visual representation on how many cyclists have been involved in crashes over the course of the last year.”

This is the 20th annual ride in Des Moines, and the ride itself will be deliberately slow-moving through the capitol city’s streets, according to Sumpter, almost like a funeral procession.

“We take a ride through town and it’s just a really slow pace with lights on,” Sumpter says. “It’s more or less for awareness for the public, awareness for law enforcement, and just showing that cyclists have legal rights to the road just as motorists do.”