John Kaczor honored his brother as he bicycled through downtown Ann Arbor Wednesday evening.

Kaczor’s brother, Peter, 37, died in 2008 while on a bike ride to train for a triathlon. While wearing a helmet and reflective vest, he was struck by a car from behind on a road near his southwestern Michigan home.

Wesnesday, John Kaczor, 42, of Ann Arbor, joined about 40 other bicyclists in the Ride of Silence, organized locally by the Ann Arbor Bicycling and Touring Society. It was the fifth annual ride held in Ann Arbor, but Wednesday’s event coincided with similar rides across the country.

Rides were planned in 32 communities in Michigan, including Ypsilanti.

“People have to be aware that bikes and cars have to co-exist on the roads,” said Kaczor, who rode with a picture of his brother attached to the rear of his bicycle.

The events are intended to honor bicyclists who have been killed or injured while riding, raise awareness of biking safety, and remind bicyclists and drivers to share the roads.

Nationally, nearly 700 bicyclists are killed each year, organizers say. In Michigan in, 25 bicyclists were killed and another 1,638 injured in 2008.

The ride started around 7 p.m. at Wheeler Park. The bicyclists rode slowly, making a 7-mile loop across the city. The route took the group along several downtown streets. Bicyclists rode in silence without speaking to each other.

Organizers urged the riders to wear helmets and obey all traffic laws. An Ann Arbor police officer on a bicycle stopped traffic at some of the major intersections.

One of the riders, Greg Stevens, 36, of Ann Arbor, said the long line of bicyclists “makes people notice. Especially when you stop traffic,” he said. “It kind of reminds people you’re part of the road.”

Several of the riders wore red armbands to signify that they had been injured in a collision with a car in the past.

Bill Hudson, 47, recalled how a driver cut in front of him as she took a right turn from Washtenaw Avenue onto Platt Road many years ago. He suffered scrapes and bruises and was shaken up.

He learned to assume that he’s invisible to drivers. The incident made him more cautious.

“I tend to think the only motorists who respect bicyclists are bicyclists themselves,” he said.

Kevin Novess, 50, of Clarkston, who was in the city to ride with a friend, said he has been forced off the road a few times by inattentive drivers. Being struck, he said, “always crosses your mind.”

“We’re just trying to raise awareness that we should all share the road,” he said.