HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Holland’s 11th annual Ride of Silence rolls out at 7 p.m. today, Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Organizers are asking participants to arrive at the Civic Center starting point earlier than the official start time.
This is a brief bicycle ride — sometimes called a slow roll — which asks cyclists to move 12 mph or slower, wear helmets, follow the rules of the road, and remain silent during the ride.
This free event has no sponsors or registration fees. It’s a national bike month effort and Bike to Work Week even to raise awareness that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a time to remember and honor cyclists who have been injured or killed while pedaling along public roads.
The ride of silence started in 2003 in Dallas, TX, as a one-time memorial that went viral among cyclists. Since 2006, Michigan communities have hosted, on average, 26 such silent rides. This year, 29 are planned in Michigan. Rides are set in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 22 countries and on all seven continents.
It’s Holland’s 11th annual Ride of Silence. Other rides are scheduled for Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Kalamazoo/Portage, and Spring Lake/Grand Haven.
Ride details are online.
