I’d been assigned to cover the 999 Ride, a popular, meandering bike ride around town that’s happened every Thursday night for nearly seven years. It’s grown in popularity, and this week hundreds of people showed up at 9th and 9th around 9 p.m. and began a slow cruise through the city at about 10 p.m.
I’d heard of the ride and had planned to join some week to see what it was about. I never made the time. Then the ride catapulted into the public spotlight on July 19, when 22-year-old Cameron Hooyer was hit and killed at a railroad crossing during that week’s ride.