Plainwell turned out to welcome over 600 bicyclists as they honored those killed and hurt in a crash last week.
The “Finish the Ride” event commemorated the Ride” event commemorating the five bicyclists killed and four injured by a pickup truck last week came through Plainwell Tuesday, June 14.
The bicyclists hit were riding to Plainwell, so the group who gathered to remember them followed the same route north.
Paul Selden, road safety director of the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club, said her really appreciated the amount of support the riders got.
Selden said, “The people of Allegan County and Plainwell came out in such numbers, lining the streets.
“By the time I turned the corner and the front riders turned the corner, the crowd was waving, holding flags, holding up the names of those killed, waving American flags, little children just waving to us.
“It was heartwarming as cyclists to feel that support from them but also they really felt support and appreciation back for the community because they came out.
“We felt that as we were riding.”
The estimates of riders ranged from 600 to 750, Selden said. A police officer told him that as the bicyclists were returning to Kalamazoo from Plainwell, they stretched from the Borgess Hospital Nazareth campus on Gull Road all the way north the D Avenue.
Selden said he felt so much cammeraderies between the riders, who he said were mainly road cyclists who came in smaller clubs and groups—many with their particular jerseys—and then all joined together for the ride.
“I got the feeling it was a larger community of road cyclists coming together and carrying their flags and uniting as one as the road,” he said.
Selden said he was glad to see state leaders appeared to be working very actively on several initiatives, first of all to levy extra fines and penalties that currently apply to anyone who hits a child in school zone or a worker in construction zone to all “vulnerable road users.”
Not just bicyclists, this would also include pedestrians, people who use a wheel chair or other mobility assistance device or joggers. State Sen. Margaret O’Brien, R-Portage, has introduced Senate Bill 1029 on the subject.
Selden said there are other initiatives to work on as well.
“As director of road safety for the Kalamazoo Bike Club and the founder of Bike Friendly Kalamazoo, I again want to let the victims of this tragic accident know that our hearts are with them and I want to thank the entire community, law enforcement, civic leaders, the media, spiritual leaders, everyone involved in helping people get through this, but also for the positive changes they’re working on, so fewer lives are lost in the future,” he said.
Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534 or (269) 685-9571.
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