I created a video from the footage I took on the day of the memorial ride. Enjoy!
Christophe Le Canne Memorial Ride from Nudnik on Vimeo.
Today I participated in a the Memorial Ride in Key Biscayne, FL to honor the memory of local cyclist Christophe Le Canne. Christophe was killed last Sunday morning when he was struck by an alleged drunk driver while he was crossing a bridge. The goal of this ride was to draw attention to the dangerous conditions that bicyclists are forced to deal with when they go on rides in designated bike lanes around the Miami area. I am staying in Miami because of a work trip and I had made plans with the VP of the Southeast region to go on a road bike while I was in town. He just got into the cycling over Christmas so he was excited to go for a group ride and when he heard about this memorial ride it seemed like a worthy cause. I met up at his house in Miami and we pedaled about 6 or 7 miles to the meeting place on Key Biscayne. It was impressive how many riders showed up for the ride. It has been estimated that there were at least 4,000 cyclists present. At one point, we were on the road and it was a see of riders, taking up two lanes as far as I could see in front of me and behind me. I have never been part of anything like that before and it was an impressive show of solidarity. The mood within the crowd of riders was somber but also energized. The camaraderie that is shared among cyclists is something that is hard to explain to non-cyclists. I have spent most of my road bike cycling experience in a solo setting and so it was really nice to be a part of such a large gathering of like minded people. The vast majority of the participants were not your casual bike rider, as was evident by the prominent sound of 100s of shoes clipping into pedals every time the crowd would begin to move. But that didn't deter a few casual bikers from joining in on the experience and pedaling the road bike route down and around Key Biscayne. I pedaled a total of 42.6 miles and I averaged 15.5 mph, which included a lot of stops. I even impressed myself with my climb up the tallest bridge in Miami. I don't consider myself a climber but for that one bridge I felt good. The next bridge, however, was half as tall but three times as long so it kicked my butt. For the rest of the ride we held a pretty steady 20+ mph pace and I was able to stay in the peloton so I felt good about my efforts. I truly enjoyed myself on this ride and I hope that they decide to make this an annual event to bring attention to the dangers associated with simply riding a bike on the roads.
I am so thankful you went on this ride. My husband went for the wake and funeral. Christophe was his boss. He was a good man and loved his family. He would be so thankful and honored at all the people out there today. His loss has hurt many most importantly his young daughter and wife. Thanks again.
Posted by: rafanna2002@aol.com | January 24, 2010 at 08:06 PM