9th Annual Finish The Ride and Run Event Draws Thousands in Support of Safer Streets

Our 9th Annual Finish The Ride and Finish The Run event was a HUGE success with 1600+ cyclists and runners gathering in the Crystal Springs area of Griffith Park in honor of Andrew Jelmert our growing efforts to make Griffith Park safer for all road users. This was our first event following the pandemic in LA and we were so excited to be back!

The event drew 1600+ individuals not only from California, but other states and countries, such as Amsterdam, Korea, Canada, and New Zealand… all in support of saving lives and making safer streets in our communities, especially within Griffith Park.

Occurring shortly after a tragic collision in Griffith Park, Finish The Ride and Finish The Run was dedicated this year to Andrew Jelmert, a 77-year-old cyclist who was killed in Griffith Park. On the 16th of April, Andrew was pedaling the final stretch of a 67-mile training ride in preparation for a 545-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles benefiting the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. He was killed by a speeding driver who also appeared to have been drinking.

Andrew was a realtor at Deasy Penner Podley, working in their Silverlake-Echo Park offices. He was known to be humble and giving. His husband and partner of 28 years, Andre Goeritz, said, “Andrew, his life was all about giving, all about love. It was all about selfless service. And, you know, to have been killed this way — it just seems unfair.”

SAFE is currently working with Andre, providing services and support as part of our SAFE Support program. To learn more about our efforts to make the park safer for all road users, check out and sign our petition on Change.org

This year also brought us back to the Crystal Springs area in Griffith Park for our first event in Los Angeles since before the pandemic!

Activities included 4 rides ranging from a 12-mile Family Ride/Roll to a grueling and challenging Half Century Ride with close to 4,000 feet of elevation gain, runs from a 5K to a Half Marathon on the trails around Griffith Park. The LAPD even provided escorts for our 12-mile ride.

Our opening ceremony included:

Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, who spoke on how much he supports SAFE and Finish The Ride and their impact on the City of Los Angeles.

Andre Goeritz (Andrew Jelmert’s husband and partner) spoke prior to the start of our Andrew Jelmert Half Century Ride, speaking lovingly about Andrew and the importance of making safer streets in Griffith Park to prevent anyone else from being killed.

THANK YOU to all who joined us on May 1st in support of Streets Are For Everyone! It is thanks to you that we can continue our all-important street safety work in the City of Los Angeles and beyond. Also, thanks go out to all of our volunteers, we literally could not do it without you.

LARGE thank you to our TOP SPONSORS this year!

Pocrass & DeLosReyes — supporting Finish The Ride/Run and Streets Are For Everyone since its origination in 2014. We truly could not continue our work without them. At this event, they also provided a hilariously fun photo booth for our participants!! Make sure you check out their website, www.pocrass.com, and stop by their booth at the next event.

Verra Mobility — They have been at the forefront of Smart Mobility technology that makes transportation safer, smarter, and more connected. Thank you for supporting our event and making sure the fight for safe streets for all road users continues! Learn more about Verra Mobility at www.verramobility.com.

Motional — Our warmest thanks to one of our top sponsors, Motional, for supporting FTR GP and allowing us to continue our cause for safer streets for all road users! Motional launched the world’s first robotaxi pilot and operates the world’s longest-standing commercial robo-taxi service. Learn more about them at www.motional.com.

Tranzito Vector — Thank you for supporting us for the first time! As a mobility operator, Tranzito specializes in micromobility, curbside management, and multi-modal infrastructure in cities. Learn more about Tranzito at www.tranzito.com

For more information and background on our Finish The Ride/Run events, check out www.FinishTheRide.org.

Check out all the photos from the event at https://my.racewire.com/media/raceid/36912.

You can register now for Finish The Ride and Run Halloween on October 30th at www.streetsareforeveryone.org/finish-the-ride-santa-clarita.

#NeverGiveUp #PhoenixRising