FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Elizabeth Adamczyk
Chicago Organizer
[email protected]
rideofsilencechicago.org
(773) 370-2038
Ted Villaire
Active Transportation Alliance
(312) 563-1118
[email protected]
For its 20th anniversary, the Chicago Ride of Silence will mourn lives lost while biking
On May 21, the annual memorial bike ride will provide a moment of silent reflection at the sites where drivers killed people biking
Chicago, Ill., May 19, 2024 — On Wednesday, May 21, all are invited to join a worldwide annual bicycle ride to honor the people killed while biking on public roadways. The event calls attention to the right of people to bike on the road and the urgent need for infrastructure that will make biking in Chicago safer and more welcoming for people of all ages and abilities.
“These tragic deaths are preventable, especially on our neighborhood streets,” said Chicago Ride of Silence organizer Elizabeth Adamczyk. “The 20th anniversary of the ride in Chicago offers us a chance to mourn those who have been killed while biking, visit their crash sites (some with ghost bike memorials), and share a silent moment of respect and reflection.”
An average of five to six bicyclists were killed every year 2012-2023 in Chicago. But nine Chicago bicyclists were killed in 2020, 10 in 2021, and in 2022, eight people biking were struck and killed by motorists. During 2024, 38 pedestrians and five cyclists were killed by motorists and another seven pedestrians have been killed already in 2025.
“The lack of safe infrastructure for all road users combined with drivers traveling at unsafe speeds results in far too many crashes involving people walking and biking,” said Amy Rynell, Executive Director of the Active Transportation Alliance. “There is an urgent need for safety improvements on many of our streets. No more people should have to die while biking or walking on any of our roadways in order to achieve needed safety improvements.”
In the face of a staggering 40 percent increase in traffic fatalities in Illinois between 2012 and 2021, with pedestrians and cyclists accounting for a growing number of these tragic losses, more U.S. cities have taken the lifesaving step of lowering speed limits. Because of the frequent role speed plays in car crashes, lowering the speed limit even a small amount can have an outsized effect on road safety. In February, Chicago City Council unfortunately voted 26-20 against lowering Chicago’s default speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph.
The roughly seven-mile Ride of Silence will begin at 6 p.m. at Queen’s Landing (500 S. Lake Shore Drive across from Buckingham Fountain) on the lakefront, visiting the following crash sites along the route:
- Gerardo Marciales (41), 2/28/22 at Balbo and DLSD
- Broderick Ade’ Hogue (32), 10/29/21 at Grand Ave and Lower DLSD
- Jason Lundelius (21), 1996, memorial site at Oak Street Beach
- Blaine Klingenberg (29) in June 2016 at Oak and Michigan
- Clint Miceli (22), 6/9/08 at Oak and LaSalle
- Neill Townsend (32), 10/5/12 at Oak and Wells
- Robert “Bobby” Cann (26), 5/29/13 on Clybourn between Mohawk and Larabee
- Liza Whitacre (20), 10/21/09 at Wellington and Damen
- Robert “Bob” Levin (61), 9/2/24 at 2444 N. Ashland
The ride honors all the people who lost their lives while biking on Chicago streets.
The Chicago Ride of Silence is sponsored by FK Law. Ride organizers request registering in advance on the Chicago Ride of Silence webpage. Black armbands are worn by participants to honor our fallen and red armbands may be worn if you’ve been hit by a driver while biking (black armbands will be provided). Helmets are required; lights are highly recommended for the ride home.
In the event of inclement weather, participants are asked to gather at the post-ride location.
This year Illinois has over 10 registered rides occurring in communities throughout the state. The Ride of Silence is held in many locations in the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, South and Central America and the rest of the world. This year there are nearly 300 locations registered throughout the world.
Chicago Ride of Silence
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
5:30 p.m. Gather at Queen’s Landing
6 p.m. departure from Queen’s Landing (500 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive)
Post-ride gathering at the Arrogant Frog Bar, 1365 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago
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ABOUT THE RIDE OF SILENCE
Mission statement: The mission of the worldwide Ride of Silence™ is to honor bicyclists killed by motorists, promote sharing the road, and provide awareness of bicycling safety. Founder and President Chris Phelan organized the first Ride of Silence in Dallas in 2003 after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was killed by a passing bus’s mirror on an empty road. The Ride of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph for no longer than an hour. The ride hopes to raise cycling awareness during bike month to motorists, police, traffic engineers, insurance companies, and city officials. The ride is also a chance to mourn, in funeral procession style, those who have been killed.