2021 Charles City Ride of Silence remembers Bengtson, others killed in bike accidents

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

About 35 bicyclists rode on a quiet, contemplative ride through parts of Charles City Wednesday evening, on the annual Ride of Silence.

The ride’s purpose is to remember and honor persons who have been killed or injured while riding bicycles, and also to raise awareness among motorists and public officials that bicyclists exist and have a right to share the road.

Bob Krueger, who organizes the Charles City ride each year, had a message that was familiar to those who had participated in previous Rides of Silence.

“We need to make ourselves as bright as possible, as visible as possible, so that people can see us,” Krueger, wearing a fluorescent yellow jersey and helmet, told the group who gathered at the starting point near the Pub on the Cedar. “Anything you can do to make yourselves more visible,” he said.

This year’s ride was in memory of Ellen Bengtson, a young Charles City bicycling enthusiast who was killed when her bike was struck by a pickup last August while she was riding south of Charles City.

“Ellen worked at Cambrex and I knew her that way, and she would come cycling with us on Tuesday nights,” Krueger said. “She was, other than just being a great, brilliant person, she was one of the nicest people I ever met.”

Pastor Isaac Johnson from New Hope Lutheran Church in Charles City led a prayer before the ride, asking God to “be with the ones who mourn the loss of a loved one through bicycling accidents, and that you remember Ellen Bengtson and be with her family, who will continue to go on mourning her loss. …”

“Father, we pray that you would be with those who are driving, that they would be more aware, that you would be with us, that you would keep us safe as we cycle,” he prayed.

The Ride of Silence began in 2003 in Dallas to honor a well-known local bicyclist who was killed while riding when he was struck by a bus. Originally intended as a one-time event, the news of the ride quickly spread and prompted similar silent rides in other communities.

Today thousands of riders in hundreds of cities around the globe take part in the ride that is usually held the third Wednesday of May, during National Bike Month.

The Ride of Silence asks cyclists to go no faster than 12 mph so everyone can keep up, wear helmets, follow the rules of the road and remain silent during the ride. There is no registration — riders are asked to just show up and take part.