Ride of Silence in Australia 2006

Posted by admin on 06/1/06 in Ride of Silence

In their memory : More than 200 Bendigo cyclists took part in a ride to honour those who have been killed or injured on the road

Read the International Ride of Silence here (pdf file, 77 pages)

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Bendigo, Victoria

Helen Cronin local BUGS secretary is largely to be congratulated for getting the information out and getting the support mechanisms in place to make this our first ride a great witness and hopefully have an impact in a bridge building manner for cyclist and road users alike.

Support of the local newspaper and Regional ABC radio have been outstanding, and believe this will flow on for another week with more media coverage to come. Police support on the day was sensational with all intersections where there were lights controlled for the peleton to be kept as a witness as intended in mass. We have been given encouragement for them to be involved anytime we intend to undertake such rides. On the day it was thought that about 200 cyclist took part but would suggest that this may be a bit inflated and more reasonable to suggest around 130-150 riders did attend.

The ride was over about a 8 klm straight stretch of road. A tongue in cheek comment was the difficulty for cyclist to reframe from speaking and ride slow was our greatest challenge. The group was well disciplined and maintained the formation and kept to the provided bike lane allowing a free flow of traffic for other road users. The peleton covered more than a street block in area and for some riders was there first contact with such a huge group of riders of all disciplines.

While recent events of the death of a cyclist was still very raw for some the intent of the ride did not lose its focus and we are grateful that the media respected this aspect of the ride and kept the three primary purposes the focus. Overall we were pleased with the result and look forward God willing to participate again next year so please keep us in the loop.

Thank You, Regards Eddie Barkla

Brisbane, Queensland

Ride of Silence was a great success in Brisbane. We had about 110 Cyclists turn up for the ride. We had one police escort. I was interviewed by Channel 9 as well as ABC. Although I didn’t get the chance to either hear or see the media interviews other people have spoken to me and told me that they either heard the radio broadcast or saw the Channel 9 grab. The riders were very keen and SILENT. We had a lot of interested Onlookers as we rode around the city. Unfortunatley, by the time the Qld Ministers representative turned up most people had already left. I have had heaps of people thanking me and prepared to assist for next years event.

We have made it our mission to double this years turn out & get 200 people out there on there bicycles. It was a great ride and it will only get bigger and better in the years to come. We have Perth onboard for next year and also I have also received a Contact for Adelaide. I am sure it will be easy to pick up Canberra due to the culture of cycling in the ACT. Would also like get Cairns involved also. Thank You all for your assistance & support.

Happy & Safe Cycling to you all. Kind regards Jeff Isles

Melbourne, Victoria

Saturday May 20, 2006 saw four cities in Australia have their main CBD areas filled with long lines of cyclists riding in memory of all cyclists killed whilst cycling.

A moving and poignant tribute to the memories of such folk as Russell Mockridge, Deborah Gray, Anthony Marsh, Amy Gillett-Safe, Luke Harrop, Darren Smith, Matthew Cole, Penny Croft, Allan Scott, Ian Humphrey, Aaron Butler and Saul Pasque, the Ride Of Silence 2006 joined with over 271 other cities across the world to remember our friends, neighbours and for many, our family members who no longer are with us.

Bendigo, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney held simultaneous rides, promoted widely in the media, to the general public, and motorists. Promotion was further spread among cycling user groups and cycling clubs, and the public in sending the message that cyclists have a right to be respected as legitimate road users, that they are entitled to the status of “vehicle”on the roadway, and called for a greater level of awareness amongst all road users to keep a proper look out for cyclists and a safe distance and in essence “share the road”.

Each ride moved slowly with the character of a funeral procession, riders gave shoppers and city folk and motorists brochures and pamphlets to read on the purpose of the ride and to encourage all to share the road.

At the conclusion of each ride speakers addressed the gatherings with messages of future initiatives to enhance and promote safe cycling for the wider community benefit. Large local followings also supported the rides, especially in Bendigo where the recent loss of a well respected and much loved teacher was sadly felt through the whole community.

In Melbourne Simon Gillett, spoke of the loss of Amy, and how the Amy Gillett-Safe Cycling Foundation is working to enhance awareness for cycling and to promote to the community and governments the benefits that will flow from safe cycling and better behavioural attitudes by all road users.

Let’s all work to ensure the act of remembering all killed cyclists in a Ride of Silence will mean our children and their children will have a safer and more secure riding experience and and better outcomes for all road users.

To create your own Ride of Silence for your town or suburb in 2007, go to the Ride of Silence web site and register your location, you can obtain online resources to help plan and promote your Ride of Silence.

Click here to listen to mp3 of Rob’s May 12th interview on SEN 1116am

The Ride of Silence is an annual event and will be repeated in Australia in 2007, further details are at http://www.rideofsilence.org/

Thank you, Rob Eke

Sydney, New South Wales

Despite the short lead time and limited resources we had about 60 cyclists take part in the inaugural Ride of Silence in Sydney. The ride was conducted quietly and safely and regarded with some interest by the public we passed. I had two radio interviews before the start and two more on Friday night.

One was recorded and only went to air this morning (2UE). The ride was also mentioned on ABC news bulletins this morning, a bit late for riders to plan, but good publicity anyway. There were a couple of news photographers, one from the Sunday Telegraph (News Limited/Fox). We had friendly cooperation from the police, who provided a lead and tail car. The turnout was a tad disappointing, but as a training run for the future it was invaluable.

My proposal is to now try and have the dates for next year’s rides incorporated into all the cycling calendars around the country. This means acting soon as next year’s cycling events are planned well in advance. If RoS in America could give us their dates we should try and work in closely with that. Looking forward to hearing about your rides. Click here and here for photos from the ride