|
 Around
75 bicyclists participated recently in the first Ride of Silence.
The 10-mile ride, which began at Cotton Square in downtown Lufkin,
was organized by Jeremy Webb.
The Ride of Silence is a community ride to bring awareness to
the sport of cycling and also show our respect for those who were
unfortunate and have lost their lives or been severely injured, Webb
said. Webb himself was injured last year while riding his bicycle.
“We rode in silence as a group for three main reasons: To
HONOR those who have been injured or killed, To RAISE AWARENESS that
we are here, and to ask that we all SHARE THE ROAD. I don’t expect
to change the world but if we change the views of ONE person, we
have been successful,” Jeremy said.
Every type of rider showed up from competitive cyclists to
people that haven’t ridden a bike in years, he said. The ride was
free and cyclists were asked to ride no faster than 12 MPH and
remain silent during the ride.
The first Ride of Silence was organized in Dallas in 2003 by
Chris Phelan after endurance cyclist Larry
Schwartz was hit by the
mirror of a passing bus
 and killed. According to the website, there
were 293 confirmed rides held around the world in 2008.
Lufkin’s
Ride of Silence was held Wednesday, May 21 and was opened with the
reading of a proclamation by Mayor Jack Gorden and a moment of
silence for those killed or hurt while riding bicycles.
Barbara Thompson, Main Street Director, said the city was proud to
host the bike ride and to have the ride begin downtown. “Our new
streets offer a smooth and safe thoroughfare for bike riders so this
was an excellent place for a ride, whether organized or just for an
evening outing for the family.” |
The annual
Downtown Hoedown was a great success. This year's festivities
began with Robert
Earl Keen in concert at the Pitser Garrison Civic Center and was
followed on Saturday with the annual Hoedown Parade. The
festivities included all day arts and crafts vendors, live entertainment
on two stages, a Civil War Reenactment in Louis Bronaugh Park,
wrestling
and much more. We have a
