BOULDER, Colo — On Sunday, thousands of cyclists rode from the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) campus to Diagonal Highway, doubling back after passing a ghost bike marking the spot where Magnus White was killed last summer.
The memorial ride was fittingly called "Ride for Magnus: Ride for Your Life."
Magnus was 17 years old at the time of his death. He was killed while on a training ride for the Junior Mountain Bike World Championships in Scotland. He was proudly wearing his Team USA jersey when a car rammed into him from behind.
The accomplished teenager had several titles to his name. He won the 2021 Junior 17-18 Cyclocross National Championships and competed with the USA Cycling National Team for a season of European Cyclocross racing. He ended the year at the 2022 UCI Cyclocross World Championship in Arkansas, the organization said. He represented his community and country at another Cyclocross World Championships in January 2023.
However, Magnus was never one to brag.
“He was always impressive. He could do anything. He was shocking. It's like, he was next level, and everyone recognized that, but he'd never talk about it," one of his close friends, Amedeo Claudia, said before participating in the memorial ride. “I was a little bit into biking, but he made me a lot into biking. But most of our friendship was off the bike. He was more of a friend to me than he was a cyclist.”
Claudia, who is 18 and starting school at CU in the fall, said the morning made her feel melancholy.
"I'm really happy that we're all doing this, but I can't get over the sadness that's lingering," Claudia said. “It's great that we're doing this and we're doing it for change, but behind all that, my friend died and that's why I'm here."
During the ride, Claudia thought of his friend Magnus. He felt supported by the thousands of other cyclists doing the same.
“There's obviously a lot of people here, and they're not just here to ride their bike. They're here because they care," Claudia said once he had finished the ride. “I think as long as we all keep riding our bikes, keep having fun, his legacy will live on, because we've all got a little bit of Magnus in us today.”
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Jill and Michael White, along with a team of volunteers, planned the ride in only five months. Jill described it as an emotional roller coaster.
“What happened today was, I believe, was an outpouring of love for Magnus," Jill said while looking around at the huge group of people at the end of the ride. “What we see is hope. Hope for change.”
The Whites said the past year without their son has moved both fast and slow. The pain of missing their son is the only constant.
“We're here today, and we see our son's name everywhere, right? And it's lovely, but it hurts so much at the same time," Michael said. “I hate that this is his legacy. Absolutely hate it.”
The two caught glimpses of their son's light throughout the day.
“Most of his friends were riding along with us, and they were doing tricks as they rode, and they were having a good time, just like Magnus. If he was here, he would be having a good time, and just finding a way to goof off and be silly," Jill said. “He had an enormous amount of love, and you could just see it in the way he smiled at you, how he saw you, and really lit you up from the inside out. So, I think that I felt some of that here, just that love of him.”
Jill and Michael were on electric bikes during the ride, and sometimes felt as though someone was behind them, pushing them to go faster.
“Definitely [Magnus] telling us to go faster, because all his friends were taking off and dropping us," Michael said with a smile. “He would want us to do something like this. You know, he was probably out there leading the whole group.”
The Whites said their son should still be alive today, and they are working to ensure there are safer roads throughout the entire country.
According to Bicycle Colorado, drivers in Colorado hit and killed 133 pedestrians and 20 bicyclists last year.
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At the conclusion of the memorial ride, cyclists gathered at Farrand Field and listened to remarks from Jill and Michael White. The Whites were joined by a handful of other speakers at the rally, including Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse.
The Whites urged participants and beyond to take action on three issues they believe will make roads safer across the country.
- Locally, they hope to see support for the North Foothills Bikeway, which is an 11-mile project between Boulder and Lyons. The goal is to create more separation between traffic and vulnerable road users, like cyclists.
- At the state level, the Whites want Colorado legislators to implement harsher penalties for vehicular homicide charges.
- Nationally, the family wants the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to advance the car safety standard for automatic emergency braking to include technology that detects people on bicycles and motorcycles.
To learn more about the three initiatives and how to sign a letter in support of the changes, visit the website for the family's nonprofit started in Magnus' honor.
Yeva Smilianska, who was 23 at the time of her arrest, is accused of hitting and killing Magnus. She pleaded not guilty to one count of vehicular homicide in May 2024. A jury trial is currently scheduled for December.
An arrest affidavit claims Smilianska fell asleep at the wheel at the time of the crash.
The White family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Smilianska as well.
