He said the Ride of Silence currently takes place in all 50 states, in 26 different countries, and on all seven continents.

Participants at the Greater Lansing event ranged in age from 14 months to 81 years old. More than 130 people gathered at Wells Hall to participate in the event, which ended at the foot of the state Capitol building.

Carol Prahinski, a business professor at MSU and a participant at the event, said bikers are sometimes harassed by motorists for riding in the road.

"In Kentucky, a man told his dogs to get us," Prahinski said in regards to her bicycle group. "Luckily, we were faster than the dogs."

Prahinski said motorists have even thrown apples and fried chicken at her while she was cycling.

On a more solemn note, Prahinski said she knew biker fatalities all too personally.

"One of the men I bicycle with cross-country was killed during a ride," she said. He had already biked across the United States and was halfway across Australia when he wad hit and killed by a motorist at 65 years old.

Prahinski handed out armbands at the event. Participants wore red armbands if they knew someone injured in a cycling accident, or had been injured themselves. Black armbands were worn if they knew someone killed while cycling.

"People keep getting hurt. We have accidents all the time here in this state," Prahinski said.

Sergeant Chad Pride of the East Lansing Police Department said the ELPD receives phone calls about such accidents when they occur in the area.

Pride was one of the many police offers who escorted Ride of Silence participants along their route to the state Capitol building.  

The police stopped traffic occasionally in order to get the bicycle procession through intersections and keep the group together. 

"The police department wants to make the road safe for all riders, whether they're in a vehicle or on a bike," Pride said.

William Collins kicked off the bike ride with his rendition of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. 

Collins said Tim Potter, the manager of MSU bikes, contacted him to play at the Ride of Silence four or five years ago.

Potter serves on the national Ride of Silence Board. Potter said the board is a small, volunteer-run organization. H e processes reports of people killed or hurt in cycling accidents all over the world for the organization.