Back In Time For The Ride Of Silence

I've been off the bike (and the blog) for two weeks. Two weeks ago Friday I lifted the folder into the trunk of the car for transport to New Jersey for the weekend, and my back just caved in. Today was the first day that I was relatively pain free so I took a chance and rode the Brompton to my chiropractor appointment. It felt very good and I decided to stretch it out a bit by going on the Ride of Silence. I would have hated to miss it. This evening was also the first time I had to go back to work after my sabbatical so I rode the Brompton to the office in my suit and tie and finished up in time to ride over to the meet-up. I took off my jacket and tie and put them in the S-Bag, but was still over-dressed for the event! This year the riders wore black armbands (a suggestion I made after last year's ride) to try to signal more effectively to folks along the route the meaning of the ride...a memorial for those cyclists killed by motorists during the past year. The ride wove its way through Center City into West Philly and back again, all with police escort and closed streets. Aside from the sadness for the reason we have the ride, it was great. For me especially after not having ridden, not having been able to take my bike to LA last week. Hopefully, the worst is over. The lower photo shows the reading of the names and biographies of those killed this year.The upper photo show some of the riders wearing the armbands.