Public Service Announcement video

Feb 22, 2008

I remember being extremely impressed with the YouTube videos of the different Ride of Silence events. I was sincerely touched. But they also depressed me because the orginal and largest of the rides didn’t have a video.

How could that be? With 3,000 cyclists amassed in quiet memorial, the Dallas ride should be up there also, so others could glimpse what it was like at ground zero.

That’s where friend MICHAEL FRIEDOFF came in. He had been filming it over the years but very few had seen his clips. Once contacted, he put this 30 second PSA together to be aired anywhere and everywhere. The link is above and contained here also:

http://www.rideofsilence.org/ROS_2008_PSA

Alas, I still have the same dilemma I started with because it’s still not on YouTube. (I need to learn how to get on it on there before the MAY 21 date of our ride together.)

Please spread this around. It is my hope one day to get the attention of one of the national news organizations so they will help spread the word, as well as the realization of what is happening on the roads. Maybe this PSA will help.

I am continually amazed at how each person adds to this world wide, free event, raising the bar each time. Each person makes a single contribution to this picture we are all painting, and in the end, everyone will benefit. Thank you, one and all.

Stay active.



c

Let the Silence roar

Good morning.

Thanks for being on board with us, The Ride Of Silence, and for being willing to organize a ride or take part in a ride in your community.

Cyclists everywhere, including myself, applaud your effort at being part of this mass demonstration that has exceeded state, national, and cultural boundaries, to raise awareness of cyclists’ legal right to the road and motorists’ legal obligation to share the road.

Nothing like this has ever happened before. No event, short of Christmas, has traveled throughout the globe to take place on a single day, at a single time.

And there is the meat of it, the power of what we do when we take part in the R of S; getting as many people on bikes as possible, at the same time that have the same voice, communicating through peaceful assembly.

With over 200 locations in the US alone, it is becoming harder and harder for the motoring public to ignore us. And that's the point. When news reports show more than the customary 3-4 cyclists the local community is used to seeing on the road and report that there over 300 locations WORLD WIDE going on the same day, it is the hope and faith the our society will sit up and take notice, not only of those riding, but also those either no longer able, or those no longer with us to ride because a motorist-on-cyclist accident.

Nationally, this is akin to our Memorial Day, but without the bar-b-que sales. It's important to us that all the locations ride at the same time to make the above points. Fractured with events at several times during the month, or worse, year, is not in any of our best interests. The event loses its focus, and intent.

Our event is held on the 3rd Wednesday of May. Every calendar has that date. (For 2009, it will be May 20. Mark your calendar now.)

I can appreciate people wanting to simplify their calendar. But,...it's not about convenience. We have this one hour the entire year to show the public our strength in numbers, what we look like when we actually get together, those older, slower, faster, or leaner, with mountain bikes, racing bikes, kid bikes, etc. We have had 3,000 here in Dallas at the Ride Of Silence. That gets news coverage.

And, just in case the powers that be are concerned this is about profits or money, this event is also the largest free volunteer run event without cash flow, no budget. And that’s world wide.

Please understand the importance of being part of something that is going on in New York, Miami, Chicago, St. George, and Los Angeles; and Japan, Australia, Crete, England, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, and Antarctica; as well as Greenville, SC; Fitchburg, Mass; Denton, TX; Golden, CO; and Corvallis, OR. It's one.

One hour, on one day.

Stay active.

Chris Phelan, Founder

The Ride Of Silence

May 21, 2008, 7 PM

World wide

"Let the silence roar."

www.rideofsilence.org

Locations database cleanup

Back in February, we announced that we'd be doing some Spring cleaning on our database of current and previous years' Ride of Silence™ events. We felt that this was necessary to address the concerns of some of you who were unhappy about the periodic e-mails we sent out as reminders to let us know whether or not you planned to organize a Ride of Silence event for 2007.

If you're just now getting around to thinking about your plans for 2007, be aware that we no longer have your previous years' contact and ride details on record. However, you can re-submit your location's event by entering your information at the Add Location page of the Ride of Silence web site.

Status update

As of this morning, 121 locations from around the globe have confirmed their plans for a Ride of Silence™ event, and more trickle in each week.

That leaves over 150 locations from previous years unconfirmed for 2007, with the March 1 deadline for confirmation rapidly approaching. After that time, we'll be cleaning up our database and removing those locations and contacts we haven't heard from.

We can take a hint, and we don't want to pester those of you who, for whatever reason, will not be organizing a Ride of Silence this year.

However, if you miss the deadline and get dropped from the contact database, all is not lost. You'll still be able to list your local Ride of Silence by re-submitting your information from the Add a Location page.

2007 Event confirmation underway

We've rolled over the ride listing database and are currently in the process of confirming new and returning events. If you're the organizer of a previous year's event and have not been contacted, please contact our webmaster and let him know if you will be organizing a Ride of Silence™ again this year. Also, send along any information that needs to be updated in your listing.

2007 Locations listing

Some of you may have noticed that the Ride of Silence™ Locations page has undergone some changes since the 2006 ride. Here's why.

The number of Ride of Silence locations hosting events has grown during the past few years, and because of this and the amount of information the organizers wished to convey in their event listings, the Locations page had grown to be quite large. Recalling that not everyone has the luxury of a high speed internet connection, our webmonkey decided to speed up the loading of the locations by first splitting the Locations page into separate United States and International listings. He also added a bit more intelligence so that a visitor to the page is now able to select just the state or country of interest. No more scrolling around through hundreds of locations' listings just to get to the one you're interested in.

You can still get to the International and United States Locations pages from the left-side navigation bar, but instead being located near the top of the list of links, these have moved down a bit, under their own Locations heading.

We think it's a pretty good solution, and we hope you agree.

You also may have noticed that it has been eight months since the 2006 Ride of Silence, yet we have not yet updated the Locations listings with 2007 events. We know you're eager to learn what locations will be hosting Ride of Silence this coming year, but bear with us a little while longer. We'll be "resetting" the event listing soon after the first of the year.

Welcome!

In an attempt to provide a convenient and effective way for Ride of Silence™ personnel to publish news and updates, we're going to give this blog a try. It is not meant to replace the main Ride of Silence web site, but will serve as a clearing-house for miscellaneous announcements, news articles, and editorial comments from the Ride of Silence board members to you.

Enjoy!