By Elizabeth Sims
Enterprise Editor
Dark clouds hang over the Coppell High School parking lot, alluding to the coming rainstorm. Despite the weather, a group of cyclists have gathered. As a Coppell Fire Department bagpiper plays “Amazing Grace”, the cyclists pull out of the parking lot in small groups in complete silence.
The 6th annual Coppell Ride of Silence has officially begun.
Among this group is local cyclist Martin Garza. Dressed in a bright orange jersey with black sleeves and cycling shorts, he does not particularly stand out from his fellow cyclists. However, at a closer look, his clothes are a little
worse for wear and his sleeves cover a scar on his right elbow. These are the only evidence of his accident just two months earlier.
On March 20, Garza was riding on Belt Line Road to a routine Wednesday night ride at Standridge Stadium in Carrollton. Taking care to follow traffic laws, he pulled into an outside right lane to make a left turn. Suddenly, a 22-year-old man ran a red light and hit his front tire. Garza rolled onto the hood of the car before skidding on the road. Though he only suffered a hip contusion and road rash, Garza experienced emotional injuries that are still in the process of healing.
“I am still a work in progress in many aspects. Right now, I am an angry rider. I want answers,” Garza said. “The guy says he didn’t see me but he didn’t sound convincing so I quickly turned to anger.”
Despite his anger, Garza recognizes just how lucky he is and that he took a risk in riding rather than driving that day.
“It could have been a lot worse. Luckily, the car hit my bike and not my body,” Garza said. “I took a risk that day, riding to the group ride, but regardless, no one deserves that.”
In order to get help during his healing process, Garza contacted Dallas Athletes Athletics Club cycling coordinator and Ride of Silence coordinator David Stonecipher. Though he was out of the country at the time of the accident, Stonecipher still set aside time to listen.
“I unfortunately was in France when Martin was struck, but I made it a point to contact Martin as soon as I heard. Though physically Martin’s injuries were relatively minor, emotionally he was impacted significantly,” Stonecipher said. “The best help I could provide was to listen, and then try to help him understand that it was not his fault. He did everything right, but as with other car crashes, accidents do happen.”
As Garza’s physical and emotional injuries began to heal, the Ride of Silence came around. After participating in the ride in support of his fellow cyclists the previous year, Garza was determined to ride again. This time his reason was much more personal.
“I participated in the previous year’s Ride of Silence when I was just beginning to ride. This year it was even more personal,” Garza said. “I participated because I do not want to be an angry rider. I wanted to lose my vehicles versus cyclists mentality.”
To make the ride special, Garza wore the same clothes from the day of his accident. For him, this was just another way to help come to grips with what had happened.
“I wore the clothes on purpose. It was like facing the teeth of the monster and gripping the situation,” Garza said. “It was something that helped me fight to regain confidence on the bike.”
Through Garza’s participation, Stonecipher hoped the other cyclists would be able to connect a familiar face with the true message of the ride.
“The Ride of Silence honors cyclists killed or injured by motorists while riding on roadways. We talk about the number of people killed each year and how big a number it is,” Stonecipher said. “These are not just statistics. These are not just names. These are friends. These are neighbors. Having Martin join us this year helps us put faces with the names, reminding us that these are our friends and neighbors.”
Though the scar on his elbow serves as a permanent mark of the accident, Garza hopes that, as his emotional injuries heal, he will be able to use it as a reminder to not make the same mistakes with other cyclists.
“I doubt [the scar] will fade much. I look at it today and think of the negligence that occurred to put it there, but I think in time I will look at it and think that that’s the only reminder I have from the incident,” Garza said. “I’ll have moved on and built on that experience, maybe to help other riders or maybe to wave a cyclist through an intersection on my way home from work.”
Garza has started to come to grips with what occurred and still sees the benefits of cycling despite the risks.
“I am still fearful riding down commercial roadways and maybe I’m a little too sensitive, but there was nothing else I could have done differently. You can be as cautious and alert but accidents are like injuries, they don’t ask for permission. They sometimes just happen,” Garza said. “You just have to gain support and not go through it alone. If there was no risk in cycling, I don’t think it would be as rewarding.”
