CLERMONT, Fla. -- Organizers say hundreds of cyclists take part in a memorial ride around Lake Minneola in Clermont every year.
It's called the Clermont Ride of Silence, and it's held the third Wednesday of every May.
- 'Ride of Silence' raises awareness of bicycling safety
- Memorial ride held 3rd Wednesday of every May
"It’s a little less than 8 miles just around the lake -- very slow, no more than 12 miles an hour. It’s for families. Parents bring out their children. It's for everyone," said Diane Travis, a Clermont City Council member.
Travis has a personal tie to the event. She rides for her former fiancé Harry Nickell.
"Ever since we met, we did everything together. We would bike and run all the time together," Travis said.
Diane says Nov. 21, 2010 was one of the few weekends they weren't together.
She had gone to get their cabin ready for Thanksgiving when she got a call from their neighbor.
"When she first called, obviously she didn’t tell me. It's still hard to re-live, but I just told her clam down, he’s been in bike crashes before."
Harry was killed on his way to the Horrible Hundred, a cycling event located in Clermont.
Travis said an 84-year-old driver veered off the road and hit him while he was on his bike.
Since his death, Travis rides every year in the Ride of Silence.
"I do it for Harry and all the people who have been killed or injured or even the near misses," Travis saod.
Harry's daughter, Lacey, organizes the Clermont Ride of Silence. The ride honors cyclists hit or killed by motorists and promotes awareness of bicycling safety.
"The city of Clermont is known for cycling. We have great hills here unlike anywhere else in Florida, so it’s a very popular place to come and cycle. We have to make it safe for them," Travis said.
The ride starts and ends every year at the Waterfront Park bench dedicated to Harry that has this reminder: "Please share the road."
