RL and I got the chance to go to the Orange County Ride of Silence. We were lucky because the ride took place on RL’s town and about 8 miles away from my house. I didn’t know what to expect or who to expect. As I was waiting for RL to arrive, I heard a familiar voice, it was Big Rich, my LBS former manager. He introduced me to Marty from The Bicycle Lane Bike shop and other riders that he hangs out with. Needless to say, I was in good company.
About 25 riders showed up for the ride. We were all riding all types of bikes; fixies, commuters, singlespeeds, mountain bikes, road bikes and beach cruisers. We rolled out at around 7:20 pm and rode an 8 mile loop throughout the city Fullerton. The ride caught a few bystanders off guard, some cheered, some yelled incomprehensible stuff. Some of the drivers were not pleased with us, there were the occasional idiots that can’t understand that bikes ARE traffic. The ride went without a hitch, (except for a flat tire) all the riders were orderly and respectful.
We met Mike Miller, he is the person who organized the ride in memory of his good friend Tod “Einstein” Enneman. Mike has a couple of light projects in www.instructables.com. Check it out.
We also met Mountain Bike Hall of Famer Steve Boehmke. He provided us with the Ergon grips to test out. Steve is a legend in the cycling industry and very down to earth, we were very lucky to have met him.
RL and I had a great time at the ride, we will be doing it again next year for sure!