Cyclists Ride With Cars in Roanoke

Cyclists force cars to share the road during rush hour in downtown Roanoke.

It’s the first of its kind in Roanoke.

A bike event has riders taking up more road space than you think.

Starting at 4:30 Friday afternoon, three bikes with metal frames in the shape of a car hit the streets of downtown Roanoke.

Organizer River Laker says the idea is to prove to car drivers how little road space bikes take up.

He says rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon is the best time to get their point across.

“It usually comes to a standstill I think at 5 o’clock on Elm crossing 58, so we won’t be accused of holding up traffic,” Laker said. “Also, that’s our biggest audience, that time of day, so it seemed an ideal time.”

Laker says he got the idea from a group in Montreal who did a similar demonstration in 1981.