Memorial Ride of Silence

Today the Santa Rosa Cycling Club (SRCC) cancelled their planned route for a special memorial ride for Kathy Hiebel. Kathy was a co-worker of mine and a fellow SRCC member. She was hit and killed by a truck at the intersection of Guerneville & Marlowe Roads. To honor her memory, the cycling community came out in droves, with 150 cyclists making a single-file procession to her service. We met at Howarth Park (see photo), donned black arm-bands, and proceeded down Sonoma Avenue making our way around City Hall. Our tightly packed peloton rode silently amidst personal reflection. The Santa Rosa Police Department opened a special back gate (see photo) for our oversized group to access the Prince Memorial Greenway. We slowly continued on the path exiting at Pierson, then following 3^rd and Stony Point to Occidental Road. Cars yielded their right of way and didn’t know what to make of our “black armband’ critical mass. We arrived at the Center for Spiritual Living and found that the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition had set-up special parking for hundreds of bikes. The service was beautiful with speakers from her family, the medical community, cycling groups, and clergy; hundreds of people were in attendance. A recurring theme throughout her life was “seize the day” and was recounted by her many friends. As a single mom and nurse, Kathy truly did enjoy the individual moments of her life. And, she died doing something she loved. It was a beautiful day to celebrate her life in the comfort of her community.