Tucson Tuesday Night Ride report, October 30
Elizabeth and I were both on the Tuesday Night bike ride this evening. We were a little worried when we arrived, as there were motorcycle cops present and lots of bike cops. Captain Tarrant was there as well.
Elizabeth had put big “X’s” of reflective tape on the bike marshals, who met at Time Market before the ride and agreed to work to keep people riding in a single lane. Part of our agreement with Tarrant was that the motorcycle cops would not accompany us if we had our own marshals.
So we were kind of peeved to see motorcycle cops at the start. But as it turned out, the motorcycle cops roared off early, and unlike last week, they did not follow along with us; also, the bike cops kept off to themselves and did not threaten anyone, at least that I saw. I think Tarrant kept his word, and I think the bicyclists kept theirs, too.
The ride was well attended — I do not know the total number, but I would guess more than 200 people were there.
The motorcycle cops blocked off every major intersection for us, and the bike cops took care of the minor ones.
I saw no arrests or incidents at all, and I think everyone had a pretty good time. I certainly did.
Let me know if you saw anything different. I am very pleased that this ride is so successful and that we apparently have overcome the depressing events of last week. Congratulations to all, and thank you Nick, Adam, Ed, Aaron, and the other people who got this whole thing started and who are working so hard to keep it going! This is a very exciting project that I am proud to be able to attend and enjoy.
Also, the Tucson Weekly is working on a story about this ride. They have interviewed the organizers and gotten some legal info from me. The article should be out a week from Wednesday. Thanks to Janet M for cluing them in! (You know who you are . . . )
–Erik Ryberg