John’s Ramblings

I’ve been to two of these, on a very large scale in downtown Seattle. Tonight was cold and rainy for our inaugural Kent/Auburn ROS. Despite the weather, we had a nice turnout of 17 total riders.

We rode through Kent Station (which was the only place I heard “oh, Ride of Silence” from 2 cyclists), and old downtown Kent. From there we went south on Central Avenue/Auburn Way, a 4 lane with a 2 way turn lane that normally clips along at 40-45. We took our lane, and held it at 11 mph past every car dealer in the valley. Felt great, and we had maybe one horn-honk at the intersection at 277th. Not bad.

Right turn at 15th NW in Auburn (Fast Food Row – it’s even labeled that in Google Maps), and right again at Emerald Downs Way. Here we had our second encounter with “The Press”, as the Auburn Reporter showed up to take pictures of our little procession. First encounter had been at the start, where a woman from the Kent Reporter had circulated amongst the cyclists, asking questions.

We were harassed once, by four yokels in a jeep that yelled for us to “get those bikes off the f’ing road!”… they were traveling in the opposite direction, unimpeded, with no other traffic. Despite our attempts to remain silent, their comic behavior was good for a couple of chuckles.

How many more of these will the boys in the jeep be able to take, before they too are riding bikes?

Thanks to everyone that came out for all the Rides of Silence tonight, particularly in my local burg. Thanks especially to my regular riding mates from the Green River Riders that came out and watched the back of the pack for me. You guys are the best.

Tags: auburn, Cycling, kent, ride-of-silence, washington

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