Motorcycle riders in Edmonton gathered Sunday afternoon to remember one of their own.
Jules Vautour died on Easter weekend following a single-vehicle crash east of Edmonton.
Dozens of fellow motorcyclists rode from downtown to the crash site on Sunday, where they marked the scene with a ghost bike.
The event’s organizer says Vautour was relatively new to the community, and was excited to ride this summer.
“I had a brief conversation with him just hours before he died. I shook his hand and told him that I would be riding soon and I’d show him all the cool areas in the city to ride. Unfortunately later on that night, he passed away,” said John Taylor.
As the summer months approach, Taylor hopes that motorists and riders ensure roads are safe for everyone on them.
“Unfortunately this is what we’ve been to led to have to accept, that riding a motorcycle is risky and it really isn’t as risky as everyone is led to believe,” said Taylor. “It’s about everybody on the road understanding that motorcycles are out there and you have to watch for them and the riders have to watch for the other drivers.”
The memorial fell on the same day the Alberta Motorcycle Safety Association launched a new safety campaign.
