Ride of Silence - May 17, 2006

Not much to say about this ride. I went there for two reasons, one because I was myself severely injured by a careless driver last year and off the bike for more than six month. Two, because I was told that the local media would cover the event.
There were less than 100 riders out of what some would like to see as the future "downtown" of Virginia Beach, under police escort of three patrol cars.
The ride, done at 12 mph, took us on Virginia Beach Blvd eastward for about 5 miles and then turned back to the starting point.
I was wondering what I was doing there. Obviously, those who need to be alerted to the necessity to share the road are the car drivers, but I am sure that none of those who saw us had any idea why we were riding at 7 p.m. on one of the busiest roads in the city.
It would take the media to let people know, but the media in this part of the world are certainly not interested in promoting the safety of bicycling on the road.
I am not sure this was a useful use of time.