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Destiny Bresiner

Local cyclists participated in the 8th annual Bowling Green Ride of Silence Wednesday.

Local cyclists participated in the 8th annual Bowling Green Ride of Silence Wednesday, starting and finishing at the Veterans Building Parking Lot, located at City Park.

This marked the 22nd year of the International Ride of Silence where cyclists take to the roads in a slow, silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. This year’s Bowling Green ride covered about eight miles and the speed never exceeded 12 MPH. The Bowling Green Police Division provided an escort and riders were asked to remain silent during the ride.

Prior to the ride, participants paused to remember Eric Ramlow, who was killed in 2016 while riding on Sand Ridge Road, Larry Sattler, who was killed in 2020 while riding along Oil Center Road, Michael Szabo, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2023 while riding on Main St. and a number of others.

The city eventRobert Rausch, Tom Santoro, Sierah Joughin, Douglas Kania, Matthew Billings, James Lambert, Emilee Gagnon, Harvey Bell III, Andy Gast, Jimmy Hughey, Jeff Roth and others prior to the start of the ride.

Event supporters include: The City of Bowling Green, the Bowling Green Police Division, the Bowling Green Bicycle Safety Commission, We Are Traffic, TMACOG, Maumee Valley Adventurers, and the Toledo Area Bicyclists.

May is National Bike Month.

The International Ride of Silence, now in its 22^nd year, will begin in North America and continue to roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a slow, silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to Share the Road with motorists, the motoring public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves. The Ride of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 MPH and remain silent during the ride. The ride, which is held during National Bike Month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways.