Registration Opens for Memorial Ride

Registration is now open for the Share the Road Memorial Ride 2012 to honor the lives of two women who were killed while cycling in Newport Beach, and raise money for bike safety improvements.

The ride will take place on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 8 a.m. in memory of Catherine "Kit" Campion-Ritz and Sarah Leaf. It will begin in the parking lot of Whole Foods Market at Fashion Island and the route will include a slow paced remembrance lap around Newport Center. All riders will be required to wear a helmet.

The memorial bike ride is free, but donations are encouraged to help pay for bike safety improvements in the city of Newport Beach. To register for the memorial bike ride, visit newportbeachmemorialride.com. In order to help raise money, T-shirts and wristbands are also being sold and a raffle will be held to help pay for bicycle safety improvements in Newport Beach.

On Oct. 9 the Newport Beach City Council will vote on a matching funds program. According to ride organizers, Councilwoman Leslie Daigle will propose that for every $1.00 raised,  the city will match $3.00 up to a matching limit of $450,000. 

The memorial bike ride will be held in honor of two women.

Leaf, 29, was killed in a bicycle collision on the morning of Friday, Sept. 14 when she was cycling on Pacific Coast Highway and the driver of a stake bed truck turned right onto Bayside Drive.

Campion, a doctor who treated patients in Newport Beach for close to 30 years, was killed during a fatal hit-and-run on Saturday, Sept. 15 as she cycled on Newport Coast Drive with her husband. Michael Jason Lopez, 39, of Anaheim, was arrested three days after Campion died. If convicted, Lopez faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison for the deadly hit-and-run crash.

Donations can be made online, in person at the memorial bike ride or by mail. If you are interested in donating, visit newportbeachmemorialride.com.