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A gentle protest to remind drivers that cyclists are also vehicles was the premise behind the second annual Critical Mass event in Kelowna.
Landon Bradshaw rallied more than 50 people with bicycles to gather at the Sails on Friday to honour those who have fatally fallen on the community’s roads.
“Critical Mass originally came out of something that someone noticed in China, where the traffic wasn’t moving until you got a large number of people and you could actually move through en masse,” said Bradshaw. “In the early 1990s, it then became something for cyclists to remind others that we are out here on the road so please remember us.”
Last year Bradshaw and the cyclist community decided to hold an annual Critical Mass after the death of Patricia Keenan.
Keenan had been cycling behind a friend on Bernard Avenue when a driver parked his vehicle and opened his door just as she was riding by.
Although she was wearing a bicycle helmet, the force of the collision with the car door and the roadway caused serious head injury and she was rushed to Kelowna General Hospital for treatment.
Her injuries proved fatal a day later.
Bradshaw says currently the main concern cyclists have is drivers not paying attention.
“This morning I was coming down Bernard and almost got hit by a truck turning left,” explained Bradshaw. “I actually went to the same building as him and so I asked him what happened and he said he didn’t see me. That is the biggest problem; we aren’t visible.”
He says he tries his best to be as noticeable as possible. He has reflectors on his bike and lights.
When it comes to sharing the road, there is a message for cyclists, too, according to Bradshaw.
“Cyclists shouldn’t try to be as far right as possible, because then you disappear for the drivers. This is an education event for both cyclists and drivers.”
The group met at the Sails then travelled down Bernard past the spot Keenan was hit, north to Clement then back to the Sails.
A white 'ghost bike' marks the location where Keenan's accident occurred.
