Evanston cyclists who rode in silence last Wednesday spoke out about the need to repair roads and promote awareness of cyclists sharing the road.
The cyclists joined people from around the world, including Antarctica and Hong Kong, Wednesday night to pray for fellow cyclists who have been killed or injured on the road. The group rode in complete silence around Evanston and Skokie, cheering only at the end of the ride.
The 13 cyclists participated in the Evanston Ride of Silence, an annual event to commemorate riders who have been in roadside accidents. Cyclists celebrate the event worldwide by riding in silence at 7 p.m. local time May 18, said David Barish, the leader of the ride in Evanston and a member of the Evanston Bicycle Club.
“I think it’s just a good time for the cycling community to take stock and also to think about safety and think about ways to avoid becoming one of these statistics that we ride to remember,” Barish said.
Although part of the event’s objective is to raise awareness of cyclists who share the road with drivers, bicyclists should also be more conscious and take responsibility for their own safety, Barish said. People in Evanston are more cognizant of cyclists in general, the Skokie resident added.
“I would say in general, there’s definitely a need for people to become more aware of bikers on the road, but I give people in Evanston more credit,” he said. “Evanston residents see more cyclists and are more aware than the general population. Evanston deserves a little bit of a pat on the back.”
But there is always room for improvement when it comes to sharing the road with cyclists, said Jo Gayle, a Chicago resident who participated in the Evanston ride.
“I’ve had people yell at me, saying, ‘You don’t belong on the street,'” she said. “There are people who still think that we belong on sidewalks, and we don’t belong on sidewalks. We’re not supposed to be on sidewalks.”
Drivers should also be more aware of cyclists when opening their doors - something that is always a dangerous situation for a cyclist, participant Cheryl Marty said. She added the city could do more to educate drivers about sharing the road with bikers, as well as mark bike lanes and repair holes on streets.
Participant Don Rawitsch echoed the need to fill in holes on streets and pavements, but he acknowledged how Evanston’s budget issues could affect street maintenance.
“I don’t know that bike lanes are more important than a lot of other things, but you can identify where they are a lot of streets that are popular for riding,” he said. “It would be a good investment to put a bike lane there.”
