Ride Is Memorial To Killed Cyclist
Bicyclists and motorists will honor Deborah K. Budwig Sunday on a Mother’s Day memorial ride along the Moscow-Pullman highway.
The 39-year-old Moscow mother of three died in a bicycle-automobile accident April 26 as she was commuting home from work.
“Everybody that rides a bike in the area feels this,” said Thomas Lamar of the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute. “It’s been a realization among a lot of people that it could have been any one of us.”
Lamar is helping to organize the ride for Budwig, who would have been 40 next week. Although he didn’t know her personally, Lamar said he’s received many calls and e-mail from local bicyclists and friends of Budwig interested in the Mother’s Day ride. Its primary purpose is to help along the grieving process, said Ryan Law, a close friend of Budwig’s.
“This community has been hit very hard by Bud’s death,” Law said. “Whether they knew her or not, when a mother, who is 39 years old with three children is gone, that’s a loss as a community.”
Law met Budwig at the New Life Bible Fellowship eight years ago and their daughters became best friends. Budwig and Law both were lifeguards at the University of Idaho pool and their husbands also worked together. Ralph Budwig, a UI professor, plans to participate in the memorial.
But others who never knew Budwig also are taking part, in part to show concern for safety on the heavily trafficked eight-mile stretch between Moscow and Pullman.
The white line marking the shoulder has faded from the highway in many places, Lamar said, and while a line might not stop a car, it’s still an important piece of communication between the motorist and the cyclist.
Motorists are being encouraged to drive with their lights on Sunday.
“There are a lot of people who feel this loss that drive cars,” Lamar said. “All of us who drive ask ourselves ‘Are we really paying attention? Are we 100 percent there when we are driving?”’
All area cyclists are invited to join the ride, starting at 3 p.m. Sunday. Moscow riders will meet at the parking lot near the former Ernst store in the Palouse Empire Mall while Pullman riders will meet at the Quality Inn parking lot.
As riders pass the site on the south side of the highway near mile marker 6 (across from Washington Water Power) they will be encouraged to leave a flower. A white cross now marks the place where Budwig was killed.
Cyclists may wear a red armband (Budwig was a blood donor) on their left arms during the month of May.
The Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute, The Palouse Bicycle Touring Club and friends of Budwig organized the event.
, DataTimes