A week after the accident hundreds of riders turned out at Como St. for a memorial ride. The group stopped at the intersection where Rob made his fateful decision, and vowed to make training rides safer. It was a vow we all knew would be forgotten in a couple of months, when in the heat of mock battle, riders would again treat the scofflaw behavior as acceptable risk. In 1996 Canyon Velo and Simply Fit collaborated to create the annual Rob Robbins Memorial Relay. The goal was not just to remember Rob, but to remember the circumstances of his death and renew our vow of safety.
Bicycle racers train in a gray world where momentum is king and safety is relative.
All year we make decisions about what is safe enough. We run stop signs and red lights based on calculated risk. The race is a fifty mile time trial composed of 10 relay legs. Each team is composed of 10 riders which must include at least one woman, one rider over 50 and three riders over 40. The team which completes the course in the least time while following all rules and obeying all traffic laws wins a perpetual trophy and hosts the race the following year.