LOCAL & STATE
A dreary morning Saturday was fitting for what Paul Pikel had planned: A memorial for his friend and fellow cyclist David McGrinn, who died last month after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle near the Orlando International Airport.
“It was raining and it was appropriate and the tears were coming down,” Pikel said.
But just before Pikel and more than a hundred other cyclists gathered in Lake Nona, preparing to ride a roughly 11-mile route in McGrinn’s honor, the rain cleared and sun shone through parted clouds.
“This is David saying, ‘I’m in a good place,’” Pikel said before the ride. “I think this is him making sure we all have a safe ride and that we all get to celebrate his life together.
“This is nothing sort of a miracle.”
Cyclists from around the region convened outside Canvas restaurant in Lake Nona before they took off south toward Osceola County, eventually arriving at Heartcry Chapel in Saint Cloud.
McGrinn, a Marine Corps veteran who cycled most Saturday mornings with a group Pikel founded called Nona Cycle, died July 27 after he was struck by a driver who veered into the bike lane on Heintzelman Boulevard in Orlando.
Many people participating didn’t know McGrinn personally, but came out in droves to ride in honor of him, saying those who participate in the sport are like family.
“We’re one big cycling community. We’re a family and we support each other,” said Crockett Bohannon, who rides with a cycling group in east Orlando. “We don’t have to ride with each other to know that we’re out there taking care of each other all the time.”
McGrinn rode a modified three-wheel racing bike after suffering long-term injuries from a car accident that left him with paralysis on the left side of his body.
Spencer Phelps, who helped form Nona Cycle, said McGrinn didn’t let his injuries hold him back. He never let his cycling group help him retrieve his bike or get it ready for a ride.
“The pulled the bike off his truck and he set it up every time,” Phelps said. “He was humble and polite and always sincere and genuine.”
Many riders hoped the contingent, which snaked out of Lake Nona and traveled down Narcoossee Road, would bring awareness to drivers about cyclist safety. Orlando is consistently ranked one of the most dangerous cities in America for pedestrian safety.
Under Florida law, a bicycle is considered a vehicle and motorists are required to stay at least three feet from them when passing by, but some riders say they want more room.
“They say 3 feet. We want more than 3 feet,” said John Rios, who rode with McGrinn a few times in Bicyclists
the past and said he was in a crash himself about four months ago. “We all want to get home.”
Riders on Saturday were escorted by a trio of Osceola County deputies on motorcycles and followed by EMTs in an Orlando Fire Department truck.
Bohannon said drivers should learn to see cyclists as members of their communities,
“The problem is when the cars are driving down the road, they see us as a cyclist. But we’re not,” Bohannon said. “We’re a mother, we’re a brother we’re a business owner. we’re an uncle and an aunt. They need to see us as … more than just a cyclist.” not a nuisance.