- June 15, 2025
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For many local cyclists who participate in the annual Ride of Silence, the reality of dangers on the road is personal.
For instance, Eugene Rider of the Sarasota Manatee Bicycle Club (SMBC) is reminded of the death of his neighbor Michael Schalberg, who died at 33 years old during a crash in 2023.
The 23rd annual Ride of Silence, held by SMBC and the Village Idiots Cycling Club, drew a turnout of riders that spanned city blocks as they started at Robarts Arena and continued on 6.8-mile course looping through downtown Sarasota.
The event, which is held globally, involves cyclists taking a silent ride through local streets in honor of those injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.
"Most of us are both drivers and riders, so it's very important that we recognize each side of the story, especially the safety aspect," said Peter Miko, a ride leader with SMBC.
According to Don Stuart, the vice president of SMBC, there are also two other purposes of the ride.
One, he said, is advocacy creating awareness of the need to share the road, and there is also attention to safety and how drivers, and everyone on the roads, must behave responsibly.
He said the event is an opportunity for the wider community to come together to promote those causes.
Others supported the event, including Playtri Sarasota Bike Shop & Triathlon Store at UTC, whose owner Rickard Garrison participated, and by the Sarasota Police Department, which provided an escort, clearing roadways for the procession.
Dawn Zielinski, president of the Village Idiots Cycling Club, said the event is important because of increasing traffic on local roads.
According to a 2024 analysis of highway data by the Georgia-based firm Bader Scott Injury Lawyers, Sarasota ranks as the nation’s second-deadliest county for cyclists, with Manatee in third place.
"I think part of it is that we have these great trails here and we have really great road systems, but that also means that there's more people on the roads, more cyclists on the roads, and then also, we've had exponential growth in the last five years since COVID happened, with people moving to our area," she said.
Zielinski said it's important for people to realize cyclists have a legal right to be on the road.
"We do try to stick to bike lanes as much as we can, but there's things that prevent us from always being in the bike lane all the time, like debris, so they need to be a little patient with us," she said.
She also notes for many cyclists, biking isn't a recreational activity, but an essential mode of transportation.
Colbe Heidke, who founded Sarasota Mobility Alliance, often bikes from where he lives on 4th Street, to his workplace on 12th Street.
"It felt really important to recognize the folks that have lost their lives to traffic violence in the metro area," he said. "It's something that we see all the time, and often it ends up being something that's in the news for a day, and then everyone forgets about it, so it was nice to reflect on all the folks that were victims of that and acknowledge their absence."
Zielinski the presence of the police department for the last three years, has helped encourage participation, due to its ability to stop traffic.
She said previously, some people had been hesitant to participate because of the group becoming separated at traffic lights.
"Having them escort us through the town has been just phenomenal, to have the support of the police department and clearing the roadways for us, and also hopefully getting other people in the community to be able to come out, and feel safe doing that," she said.
Dailey hopes more people will have the chance to gain awareness of a cyclist's perspective on the roads.
"As a cyclist, when you're driving, your awareness is so raised... and if everybody had that opportunity to cycle out on the roads, then their awareness of how to handle and react when there's cyclists in the area would be so much better than it is for people who don't cycle," he said.
