Joshua Rioux, 5, had two reasons why he joined the Share the Road ride, all 15 km, on his one-gear bike Thursday night.

"We’re here because Sofia died," Rioux said, still running after his ride.

Rioux also recalled a cycling accident of his own. When he was almost one, a car hit the bike trailer in which he was riding.

"We were on a little bike ride and next thing you know a person was backing up in their car. They couldn’t hear my brother. Next thing you know, they got hit," his brother Noah, 9, added of the accident he witnessed in 2010.

His mother Anastasia kicked at the car to no avail to warn the driver. "She still kept going over us," Rioux recalls. She called EMS come to check them out after the collision.

The Rioux family were among more than 100 riders from all walks of cycling in the seventh edition of the Share the Road Ride on Thursday night.

With the support of Greater Sudbury Police, Sudbury’s own three-time Olympic skier Devon Kershaw led the riders around a 15-k loop through Sudbury’s south end, a ride that always includes a stop at the memorial to his late girlfriend, Sofia Manarin.

In June 2001, Manarin, then the top North American female Nordic skier, was killed during a training ride involving a transport truck.

As Mayor Brian Bigger said during his remarks before the ride, Share the Road is born of two cycling tragedies: Manarin’s death and Share the Road Cycling Coalition founder, Eleanor McMahon’s husband Greg Stobbart, an OPP officer, was killed while he was cycling in 2006.

Share the Road rides are held in cities across Ontario to support safe cycling and proper cycling infrastructure as part of the Share the Road Coalition.

"It’s good to see people riding their bikes, enjoying the outdoors," said John Manarin, Sofia’s father, who also credited Kershaw with continuing the rides each year.

The poignant moments on the shores of Silver Lake led to reflection that Sofia would have been right beside Kershaw at the highest levels of Olympic skiing.

Still, Manarin also recalls her enthusiasm. "This is what she was all about, the outdoors and enjoying every minute of it."

Kershaw reflected on how Sudbury differs from the other Share the Road rides. "This is a community event and it needs to stay a community event until we get the bike infrastructure that Sudbury deserves," said Kershaw.

"What I really love about it is you have kids on bikes, adults in full racing kits, and maybe some older people on commuter-style bikes. That’s the spirit that needs to be represented here."

Kershaw’s vision for cycling in his hometown is simple: he just wants Sudbury to be on par with other Northern Ontario cities. "It’s laughable how far behind Sault Ste Marie we are. I don’t see changes."

He praised the running trails he trains upon in Sudbury. "It’s too bad I can’t ride my bike safely from my dad’s place downtown five km to the trail head. Until that happens, I will sound like a broken record."

For Jacob Demore, 12, Share the Road meant he could meet the subject of his school project on the 2014 Sochi Olympics. "I like his personality and especially how he never gives up and goes to the end, to the finish line."

And Demore also came to ride with his grandfather Paul Brunelle, a former high school coach of Kershaw’s and Manarin’s. "Lately, I haven’t (been spending much time with him) because I have too much hockey. I’m here just to have fun. It’s a beautiful day today."

Erin Gordey and her partner Gordon MacKay moved to Sudbury two years ago from Iqaluit. "It’s a good community event," she said. "I have noticed a lot of the roads could use a bike lane so maybe this event will encourage the city to continue (building bike lanes) as they are improving the streets."

Mayor Bigger reminded the riders that the city has included $500,000 for cycling infrastructure in this year’s budget, as well as $162,000 for maintenance to existing trails. "This is a start and we will be examining ways for the city to become more liveable," Bigger added.

sud.sports@sunmedia.ca