Durham cyclists ride silently through the city, remembering 3 lives lost
Grace Allore couldn’t speak for long.
“He was riding with his helmet on, with lights on the front and the back of his bike. He was on a straightaway. The sun was out,” the teenager spoke, recalling the day less than two months ago when she lost her father.
John Allore was 59 when he was fatally struck by a car while biking on an Orange County road. Allore was the city of Durham’s budget director, and a well-known writer, podcaster and local actor. He left behind three daughters.
Grace was one of more than 100 people who gathered at the annual Ride of Silence downtown Wednesday night to remember those in Durham’s cycling community who had been hurt or killed. The tears, which had flowed freely throughout the evening, quickly overtook her as she spoke.
Most of those gathered brought their bikes along. Bike Durham plotted a 5-mile route from downtown to Ninth Street, escorted for the first time by Durham Police Department motorcycles blocking traffic.
Bike Durham’s executive director, John Tallmadge, gently took the microphone before the cyclists took off from CCB Plaza.
“Pay attention to what feelings come up for you. I know that after hearing the words today, there may be feelings of grief, feelings of fear on the streets, sometimes feelings of anger,” Tallmadge said. “Know that when we are together that we are sharing those feelings.”
Grace climbed onto a bike and joined the riders as they streamed through the city for 40 minutes. She said she was on the fence about whether to go on the ride, but was happy she did.
“It was really beautiful riding with everyone and riding with my family,” she told The News & Observer. “It’s hard to be sad on your bike.”
Shaun King, who is chair of the Bike Durham board, said it was the most memorable ride in recent memory.
“To see motorists come to a standstill was incredibly powerful,” King said.
Moving through the city with so little friction, thanks to the police blocking traffic, was a rarity, she explained.
“The way the city is set up for car dominance has kind of made it so that the way we ride together is a combination of hyper focus and then calm relaxation as we move back into the neighborhood streets, and then hyper focus and concern, and then back to the state of bliss,” King said. “There’s a future where it could be much more consistent.”
Charges filed in 3 cyclist deaths
The relatives of two other cyclists who died since last year’s Ride of Silence also spoke Wednesday night:
- Craig LaRobardier, widower of Cheryl LaRobardier, 61, killed in Wake Forest in December
- Allison Simpson, widow of Matt Simpson, 40, killed in Durham in July
In all three incidents, charges were filed against the drivers who struck and killed the bike riders.
Allison Simpson said her partner of 17 years was a devoted dad of two, one of whom graduates pre-school Friday. He was hit by a speeding car where the West Ellerbee Creek Trail crosses Guess Road on a family bike ride home from the Museum of Life and Science.
“There are no words to describe the impact of this loss. I continue to struggle to comprehend how we could be doing something we loved all together one minute and to suddenly having our world shattered,” she said, hands sharking violently. “I feel so much pain thinking about all of the big and small milestones Matt has missed over the last 10 months.”
Budget includes bike infrastructure improvements
City Manager Wanda Page, who attended Wednesday night’s event along with several other city employees and City Council members DeDreana Freeman and Javiera Caballero, released a $610 million proposed budget this week.
It includes funding for many of Bike Durham’s priorities:
- Local coordinator position for Vision Zero, an international campaign to eliminate traffic fatalities
- $10 million in sidewalk repairs
- $22.5 million for new sidewalks, new bike facilities and neighborhood bike routes
- $1 million for improved streets crossings at schools and trails
- $600,000 for multi-modal improvements in street resurfacing projects
- Continuation of fare-free buses
This story was originally published May 18, 2023 at 12:56 PM.
