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Ride of Silence Will Honor Princeton Scientist Doug McCune

McCune

The 10th annual Ride of silence in honor of this who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways will be held on May 16.  Cyclists in hundreds of locations worldwide will will take part in a silent slow-paced ride.

In honor of Princeton cyclist Doug McCune, who was killed on the last day of the 2011 Anchor House Ride for Runaways, a ride will be departing from Princeton this year. The ride is open to the public.

Anchor House is sponsoring the ride in memory of McCune, a scientist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. McCune was a long-time Anchor House cyclist and a top fundraiser for the charity that helps runaway, neglected and abused children and teens.

The route is currently under development, and once the departure location known, Planet Princeton will post more details. At 6 p.m. on May 16, cyclists will start gathering at the location that is selected. A pre-ride ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m., and then the cyclists will leave at 7 p.m. for a slow, silent ride through Princeton.

In addition to honoring those who have been injured or killed while cycling, the Ride of Silence works to raise awareness about cyclists and ask that we all share the road. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

The Ride of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph, wear helmets, follow the rules of the road and remain silent during the ride. There are no sponsors and no registration fees.

Last year more than 320 rides were held in 24 countries. In 2003, Chris Phelan organized the first Ride of Silence in Dallas after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was hit by the mirror of a passing bus and was killed.