More than a hundred bikers turned out for Ride of Silence

A few bicyclists chatted outside Osborn Aquatic Center at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, but more and more pedaled in.

It was an odd mix of mountain bikes, 10 speeds, cruisers, recumbent bikes and even a tandem, rode by people in spandex or those wearing jeans and T-shirts. The parking lot buzzed with conversation.

A few moments later, the cyclists pedaled off, eerily quiet.

The somber parade, a thin line only a bike or two wide, stretched for blocks, drawing the attention of passing drivers and people on sidewalks.

More than 100 bicyclists participated in the Ride of Silence on Wednesday night. The event, in its second year in Corvallis, is held to raise awareness of cyclists on the road and mourn those killed by motorists.

Debbie Jensen, the mother of Robin Jensen, a bicyclist killed in a hit and run crash in the summer of 2004, helped organize the ride.

“This is wonderful, absolutely wonderful. A great turn-out,” she said, before the ride. “We need to get that awareness out there.”

Fellow organizer Jerry Rooney told the crowd that this might have been the largest gathering of bicycles ever in Corvallis.

Curtis Voss, 34, of Corvallis decided to participate partly because he used to live by the spot where Robin Jensen was hit.

“I went past her that night,” pedaling past the crime scene, he said.

Like many avid bicyclists, Voss has had close calls with cars. “It’s something I know real well.”

So does Terry Willard, 50, of Corvallis, who was clipped by a car backing out of a driveway on Highway 99 in Eugene about 10 years ago.

“That was scary,” he said.

Willard rode to help the cause but also for some exercise. He usually bikes a couple of times per week.

The Ride of Silence was held at 120 other locations in the United States and other countries at 7 p.m. Wednesday night.

Kyle Odegard covers Philomath and rural Benton County. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.