A wonderfully diverse group of people showed up Saturday evening for Zachary Parke’s memorial bike ride in Santa Cruz, California
25 year old Zachary Parke was killed on Empire Grade Road in Santa Cruz on June 8. The driver fled the scene; CHP found the car and arrested a suspect last week.
Rick Graves organized a memorial ride for Zachary. 200 to 300 people of all types showed up to remember Zachary on Saturday night at the clock tower on Pacific Avenue, riding slowly up Empire Grade to place flowers and install a ghost bike at the site of Zachary’s death in a somber ceremony. Rick (pictured below with Zachary’s mother April Clarke) owns Clutch Couriers and employed Zachary as a bike messenger.
Road cyclists in full kit (including a handful of pros), smelly bike hippies, mountain bikers, college students, families, and everyday bike commuters (including several who I see regularly on the Highway 17 bus) showed up to pay their respects to Zachary Parke.
Below is a slideshow from the ride, or click here to view full screen. For the flash-free version of this set of photos, click here.