Cyclists gather in front of the Ghost Bike installed in memory of Donald Parker, who was killed by a truck on Harts Run Road, Indiana Township.  Photo by Jim Logan

Tuesday, June 01, 2010
By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Donald Parker was an avid cyclist.

He participated in the MS150 ride every year and was the captain for his company’s team, Aptech.

He regularly chose to ride his bike the 16-mile round trip from his Hampton home to his office at the RIDC North complex in O’Hara.

But on Thursday morning, on a bright, sunny day, Mr. Parker, 52, was struck and killed by a truck as he climbed the hill on Harts Run Road from Saxonburg Boulevard.

Early Monday morning, about 80 cyclists from around the region gathered to participate in the first local Ride of Silence to mark Mr. Parker’s memory.

“There but for the grace of God go I,” said Jim Logan, a ride organizer for the cycling group, Western PA Wheelmen. “We all ride these roads.”

Mr. Logan helped organize the memorial ride, in which cyclists rode portions of Mr. Parker’s route slowly — at no more than 12 mph — and in silence, because he thought it was necessary to raise awareness of the danger of local roads.