Ollies Bike Parade

05/30/2026

We have a few announcements here at OBP!

So many of our amazing volunteers, sponsors and community families have reached out about this years bike parade!

We are still finding are sweet grove on what works best—-and are really excited to announce….

This year we will be partnering with FC Moves for Fort Collins Open Streets!!! Our missions align so well and this is a joyful celebration of community and reclaiming streets for the people who live here!

Our parade will be the kickoff event for the day—-and we will be keeping so many things that you love!

The date is Oct 18, we are hoping for beautiful fall weather! (And this falls squarely in Traffic Violence Awareness Month)

The theme this year is “The movies!”

Join us in a celebration of life, childhood, safe streets, good movies and in memory of Ollie!

We will be announcing more about Volunteering this year, sponsors and participants so stay tuned! Mark your calendars!

It’s time to show Fort Collins Open Streets the joy our kids are made of!

Can’t wait to see you there!!

05/30/2026

05/29/2026

This happened! So proud of everyone involved, and I’ll be back to share more!

I am in blue for Ollie.

05/04/2026

It continues to baffle me—-that legislators and drivers can see the danger of drinking and driving and not texting and driving.

They are so similar in the dangers they pose on the roadway—-just another flavor of dangerous behavior for a different generation.

We already know what this looks like-we don’t have to take decades to bring laws to equality, so many lives can be saved if we speak up! 💙

04/24/2026

We wanted to share that Bike Fort Collins is hosting their annual Ride of Silence on May 20, 2026-and Ollie’s Bike Parade will be out to support! Put it on your calendar and come join us! I will share more information is it is available.

Curious about what it is?

The Ride of Silence is a national (and international) cycling memorial event that honors people who have been injured or killed while riding bicycles on public roads.

It’s typically held once a year in May in hundreds of cities across the U.S. and many other countries.

What it is:

* A slow, silent group bike ride
* Usually 10–12 mph pace
* Cyclists wear white armbands or shirts
* Routes are often short and symbolic, passing places where crashes or memorials have occurred

Why it exists:
The event was created to:
* Honor cyclists who have been killed or injured by motorists
* Raise awareness that cyclists have a legal right to share the road
* Encourage safer driving and cycling behavior

Key feature: silence
Riders do not talk during the ride. The silence represents respect and also symbolizes how often cyclist deaths receive little public attention.

Who participates
* Anyone can join: recreational riders, families, commuters, advocacy groups
* No registration fee in many locations (some rides accept donations for cycling safety causes)

Origin:
It began in 2003 in Texas after the death of endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz, and has since grown into a global remembrance movement known as the Ride of Silence.

We first attended the year that Ollie passed away and we will be out in support-come join us! You don’t have to BE a cyclist to care about one!

Bike Fort Collins

Save the Date

Join Bike Fort Collins for the 2026 Ride of Silence, a meaningful evening of remembrance, reflection, and community.

On Wednesday, May 20, 2026, the Fort Collins cycling community will join thousands of riders around the world for the International Ride of Silence—an annual event held on the third Wednesday in May. Together, we ride in silence to honor those who have been killed or seriously injured while riding on public roadways, and to raise awareness among motorists about the importance of safely sharing the road.

This is a no-drop, slow-paced ride designed to be accessible and respectful for all participants. Whether you ride daily or occasionally, your presence helps send a powerful message of solidarity and advocacy for safer streets.

Ride Details are still being worked out, but you can register for free here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-ride-of-silence

03/18/2026

Part 4: Who Our Streets Are Really For

Once you start noticing it, you can’t unsee it.

When a cyclist is hurt, the first questions almost always land on the person on the bike:
Why were they in the road? Were they visible enough? Did they follow every rule?

But when a car hurts someone, we rarely ask whether the car belongs there at all.

There’s a contradiction at the heart of how we think about streets.

Bikes are treated as vehicles when it suits someone to deny them protection, and treated as nuisances when it suits someone to push them aside.

Cyclists end up in a trap.
They aren’t protected like pedestrians. They aren’t respected like drivers. They are expected to carry the risk without ever being granted the safety.

We forget that streets weren’t built for cars.

For most of history, roads were public spaces. Children played in them. People walked, vendors worked, neighbors talked. Streets belonged to people.

Then cars came. They didn’t just join the streets — over time, they took them over.
The fastest, heaviest machines changed how streets were designed, what laws were made, and what we were taught to expect. Spaces that were once for everyone became spaces for vehicles. People were pushed to the edges.

Today, anyone who moves differently — walking, cycling, using a mobility device — is treated as a disruption.

And that way of thinking runs deep.

Bicycles aren’t just a hobby. For many, they are access. Independence. A way to move through the world.

They are essential for people who can’t afford a car, who can’t drive, who cannot handle the sensory load of driving, who aren’t old enough to drive yet, who use adaptive cycles, e-bikes, cargo bikes, or need low-impact ways to manage pain. For these riders, bikes are more like assistive technology than recreation.

Yet accessibility is often dismissed if it inconveniences the people in power. History is full of it. Safety is called “too expensive.” Inclusion is treated as optional.

There’s an unspoken assumption everywhere: streets belong to cars. Everyone else is a guest who has to prove they deserve to be there.

But streets are public. They exist for people — not just for the fastest, heaviest machines.

Making streets safer often requires changes drivers don’t like: narrower lanes, slower speeds, protected bike lanes, road diets, less parking, safer intersections.

And instead of questioning the system, too often the conversation turns to blaming the victim.

When any system is built around the most powerful, the most vulnerable pay the price.

Safer streets aren’t about choosing bikes over cars. They’re about choosing people.

Choosing lives over speed, convenience and dangerous behavior.

Everyone moving through a community deserves to get home safely.

We have completely forgotten that.

(Photo Credit: this phot was taken at the Denver Science Museum)

03/12/2026

Part 3: Why Do People Blame the Victim?

One of the most shocking and destructve things my family experienced after our son’s death was victim blaming. It’s hard to talk about—-but it matters, so I will. I have since witnessed it happen to so many other families.

It didn’t just happen online.
It happened in our neighborhood, in my chidrens schools, in the community, in the media, in the courtroom (relentlessly) and in conversations between people who had never even met him.

Instead of protecting the memory of a child who had just lost his life, narratives began to form that chipped away at his innocence, his integrity, his legacy and his memory,

One of the most surreal parts of this experience was watching people who were not there speak online with complete authority about what had happened.

Some even drew detailed diagrams of the tragic event, claiming to know exactly what had happened, who was where, and what choices were made—despite having no firsthand knowledge. Others claimed to know my son when they didn’t.

People who had never met him spoke as if they understood his choices, his actions, and even his character.

In reality, they were filling gaps in the story with assumptions. But those assumptions had real consequences. They shaped public perception and slowly began to erode the truth about who my son was, about how our families grief was seen and treated in our own neighborhood.

The death of our little boy became political debate for public consumption, and the cruelty aimed at him was unbearable. All we had left was his memory, and we couldnt protect it from all the strangers who came to destroy it.

The driver involved was later convicted of causing my son’s death and tampering with evidence, yet even after the conviction and completed sentance, our family still faces ongoing layers of victim blaming.

I have spent a lot of time processing the trauma that came with those attacks on our son’s memory and trying to understand why people do this—why they blame the vulnerable instead of holding the harmful accountable?

I have learned that part of the answer is psychological.

Many people hold an unconscious belief that the world is fair—that if you are careful enough, smart enough, or responsible enough, bad things won’t happen to you.

When something terrible happens to someone who did everything right, that belief is threatened.

So instead of changing their worldview, people sometimes change the story. They search for something the victim must have done wrong.

Because if they can find a reason—any reason—they can reassure themselves that the same thing could never happen to them.
They can keep believing they are smarter, safer, or more careful.

Once you see the pattern, you cannot unsee it.

I also have to be honest about something very real.
We did teach our child how to be safe. He acted safely. There was no evidence to suggest he did anything
wrong that day,
And he still died—

We didn’t know that driver.
We didn’t invite them into our lives.
Yet their decisions changed our lives forever, and ended Ollies completely.

Living with that level of horror and lack of control is something I struggle with every day. For a long time it was hard to let my children walk out the front door. Paralyzing fear.

I understand why people want to believe they have control over what happens to them. That instinct is human. The difficulty is when people cling to that belief by blaming victims, it becomes incredibly damaging to the people who are actually living with the loss.

So the next time you see victms being targeted: speak up.

If you feel the urge to comment about what a victim “should have done,” pause for a moment.

Consider that a victim’s father, mother, sibling, spouse, or child may be reading every word you write.

Think about responsibility.
Think about power.
Think about accountability.

And think about the real, living impact your words can have on grieving families.

When you see it in the comment section: speak up.

Challenge your own inclinations to try to protect your worldview by blaming someone who was harmed.

Because that community harm causes real and sustainable trauma for the grieving. And as a society: we can do better. We should do better.

Victims like Ollie deserve better, and so do our families. 💙

——

(Part 4: The deeper belief underneath this conversation — the idea that streets belong to cars, and what happens when systems are built around the most powerful.)

03/10/2026

DIsability Awareness Month: Bikes Are Accessibility for so many people

Many people picture cyclists as athletic hobbyists. But for a lot of people, bikes aren’t only about recreation.

They’re independence.

Bicycles are mobility tools for people who:

• can’t afford a car
• can’t drive due to vision differences or seizure disorders
• experience sensory overload while driving
• are neurodivergent and find driving overwhelming
• are teens who legally cannot drive yet
• use adaptive cycles or e-bikes
• rely on low-impact movement to manage chronic pain

For many people, bikes function more like assistive technology than sport. But here’s the pattern we’ve seen throughout history, and that nobody wants to acknowge when talking about cyclists and pedestrians in the roadway:

When accessibility challenges the comfort of the majority, it’s often dismissed.

Wheelchair ramps were once called too expensive. Audio signals at crosswalks were called unnecessary. Service animals were called inappropriate in public spaces.

Accessibility has repeatedly been resisted—until society finally recognizes that equal access isn’t a special privilege.

When people say bikes shouldn’t be relied on for transportation, they’re often unintentionally dismissing the mobility of people who cannot drive.

And that raises a bigger question:

Who are our streets designed for?

Because when systems are built around the needs of the most powerful, the most vulnerable are the ones forced to adapt—or left behind. So how can it be a surprise at all ——that our laws and infrastructure protect the most dangerous and blame the most vulnerable?

Coming tomorrow Part 3: Why conversations about bike crashes so often turn into blaming the person hit.

02/07/2026

Courage comes in many forms—neighbors, responders, jurors, witnesses. Speaking up matters.

I’ve never spoken publicly about this before, but I’m ready now.

On the day Ollie was killed, the driver gave an account that became the initial public narrative. That account was later proven in court to be false and included evidence tampering.

A witness from our neighborhood came forward, describing Ollie waiting attentively at the corner and waiting to cross. Her observation directly contradicted the false account.

Because she chose to share what she saw, investigators were able to consider additional information and investigate more deeply. Her decision to speak up mattered.

I cannot fully express what truth means to a family who has lost a child. We knew our son. But truth requires evidence, diligence, and people willing to speak when something is wrong.

For victims of roadside violence like Oliver, they have no voice to tell their story, and often the people at the scene who speak up are those with the most to gain or lose.

We are deeply grateful to all who acted with courage: This witness, neighbors who organically came to the scene -offered aid and called 911, the Timnath response team, investigators, local bike news outlets who spoke for truth, those who prosecuted the case, and the judge & jury who attentively listened and saw the truth.

As a community we must speak up for what’s right. Speak up about the dangers of texting and driving, speak up to friends and family, and your local representatives.

If you see something, say something. Dont assume someone else already did…Verify facts.

Use your voice in the smallest and largest of spaces. It matters—and your voice can make every difference in the world.

02/01/2026

Case Update:

As we continue to advocate about the dangers of texting and driving, we want to share an important update ahead of an upcoming release.

Amy Weiss, the woman who killed our son, Oliver, was convicted of careless driving resulting in death and pled guilty (moments before trial) to tampering with evidence at the scene. She was sentenced to one year and is now being released after serving approximately nine months in an alternative facility.

In our view, nine months is not—and could never be—an appropriate consequence for ending a child’s life.

Despite a court order, the points on her driver’s license—which, under Colorado law, should have resulted in at least a one-year revocation—still have not been applied. She has never lost her ability to drive.

Our family continues to live with the permanent loss of Oliver. While Mrs. Weiss returns home this week, Oliver never will.

Why we are sharing this?

Lawmakers and communities rarely see what these crimes amount to in practice—or the lifelong impact they have on real families. What happens at the capitol when arguing the wording of a law, and in courtrooms where offenders have more rights than victims—- often bears no weight to the gravity of the harm caused.

What change could look like:

• Texting and driving should be a primary offense, with meaningful penalties and license revocation for repeat offenders.

• In Colorado, careless driving resulting in death is treated as a misdemeanor. Ending a life should never be “just” a misdemeanor—it should be a felony.

• Victims’ families should have the right to know whether a cellphone was used behind the wheel. Colorado isn’t asking, recording or taking this dangerous and reckless behavior seriously.

Texting and driving laws must change—but just as importantly, our culture must change. Please put down your phone while driving, and do not ride with drivers who won’t.

What happened to Oliver was completely preventable.

Be the change Colorado roads need. Attentive drivers mean safer streets for everyone.