On Wednesday, May 15 the Downers Grove Bicycle Club will host a special community bike ride which will move silently through village streets. The club’s annual Ride of Silence remembers club member George Christensen, 73, of Countryside who was killed on April 22, 2024, when struck by a tractor trailer during a cycling trip in South Carolina. The ride also honors the memory of more than 1,200 cyclists killed in crashes in the United States each year. It will promote bicycling safety and raise awareness of state and national laws which specify that cyclists and drivers share the road. 

The four-mile ride will begin at 6:00 pm at the Downers Grove Village Hall at the corner of Mackie Place and Curtiss Street with remarks from club President Colin Burke and recitation of the official Ride of Silence poem. The Downers Grove Police Department will escort the riders to ensure safety. Riders are expected to remain silent for the entire route. Area residents who can ride four miles at a ten mile per hour pace are invited to participate in the ride. All participants are required to wear bicycle helmets.