On your left! Triangle group rides highlight road safety gaps
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Hundreds of Triangle students are expected to bike to school Wednesday for Bike & Roll to School Day.
Why it matters: Advocates hope the group rides boost kids' confidence on the roads and also highlight safety risks tied to gaps in biking infrastructure.
By the numbers: 83 schools across North Carolina are participating during national Bike Month, including dozens in the Triangle.
- Nationwide, there are around 2,000 registered events.
Driving the news: The rides come shortly after a teenage bike rider's shocking death on a suburban Durham road.
- A driver hit and killed 15-year-old Jack O'Shea as he was riding his e-bike home at dusk on a Saturday in mid-April.
- Jack was a freshman at Raleigh's Cardinal Gibbons High School and "a beloved classmate, loyal friend, dedicated teammate, and cherished son and brother," per the school. "The depth of this grief is beyond anything we could have ever imagined," Jack's mom wrote on Facebook.
- Police charged the driver with driving while intoxicated, WRAL reports.
Zoom in: The road Jack was riding on does not have a dedicated bike lane.
- "He had every right to be in the road," Bike Durham spokesperson Jonathan Ortiz tells Axios.
What they're saying: Taking up space on local roads is one point of the group rides the cycling community has planned this month. Infrastructure changes can take years or decades, and cyclists and motorists must learn to coexist in the interim.
- "Group rides are a big thing right now," Ortiz says, adding that, "it's just a community to be a part of."
If you go: The biggest upcoming group ride is this Saturday in Durham.
- The Bull City Bike Stampede begins at Crank Arm Brewing Company, 620 Fernway Ave.
- Bike tune-ups start at 10:30am and the group rolls out at noon. A block party continues until 3:30pm.
What's next: Next Thursday (May 14) is national Bike to Work Day.
- Bike Durham and Raleigh's Oaks and Spokes are coordinating group rides, including to Research Triangle Park.