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Bicyclists ride to Phillip Bishop's viewing

Cris Barrish, and robin brown

Nearly 30 bicyclists paid solemn tribute Thursday night in Hockessin to Phillip Bishop, riding en masse to the viewing for the cyclist killed last week in a hit-and-run crash.

White Clay Bicycle Club ride leader Charlie Johnston of Newport didn't know Bishop, but organized the procession because he felt it was "important to honor him and show support for the family."

Gathering at Lantana Square shopping center before the procession to Chandler Funeral Home, riders mourned the 27-year-old, who was killed as he rode home to Stuyvesant Hills in Hockessin after work.

Cyclists begin a memorial ride Thursday for Phillip Bishop from Lantana Square  to his viewing at Chandler Funeral Home on Lancaster Pike in Hockessin.

Cyclist Penny Rodrick-Williams of Hockessin had met Bishop at PureBread Deli & Café in Greenville, where he worked as a supervisor.

"He was just such a kind person," she said, adding that she also joined the ride because she is a science teacher and Bishop aspired to become one.

"He was so young, it's just very tragic," said Marcia Cloud of Wilmington. She didn't know Bishop, but like others, said she joined the ride "to honor a fellow cyclist."

Although there still was daylight, the cyclists, with bike lights on, wore helmets and reflective gear – some saying that was not only for safety but to emphasize that police say Bishop was riding legally at the time of the fatal crash.

Bishop – wearing a helmet with a head lamp, flashlight and his bike equipped with a rear flashing red light – was hit about 8:45 p.m. Friday on winding and narrow Brackenville Road.

Gabriel F. Pardo, 44, of the 2300 block of Brackenville Road, is accused of hitting Bishop. He is was charged with criminally negligent homicide and leaving a collision resulting in death, and is free on $50,000 secured bail.

"I rode by the spot yesterday," said tribute cyclist Doug Brown of Sherwood Park.

Debris remained there from the car that hit Bishop and he saw tire marks on the grassy shoulder, Brown said, adding, "it's pretty sobering."

Members of the New Castle County Police Department, which investigated Bishop's death, led and followed the slow-speed 2-mile procession to the overflowing funeral home in the 7200 block of Lancaster Pike.

The family appreciated their presence, said Kathy Drysdale of Hockessin, who has known the Bishops for nearly two decades.

"They knew the tribute," she said, wiping tears.

She recalled knowing Phillip, the third of their four children, "since he was a little kid, swimming at Westminster, where I coach swimming."

His family is devastated, she said, but they are "are holding up as well as can be expected" under the circumstances.

"They are just the most amazing family," she said, adding that Clyde and Johanna Bishop "were always there for all their kids. They're the epitome of a close family."

Friends and family recalls Phillip A. Bishop as a man who loved nature and people.

Supporting the family was as essential as showing the unity of the bicycling community, said cyclist Stephanie Rosenberg of Avondale, Pennsylvania.

"It's a sad thing," said Rosenberg, who was shocked to learn where the fatal crash occurred. "I ride that stretch and it's not even on my most dangerous list."

"Sadness" was the main thing Brown said he felt joining a mourning procession for a fellow cyclist literally half his own age.

Christine Ross and Bob Carter, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, found the tribute uplifting.

"It's awesome," Carter said. Ross called the procession "a beautiful thing."

Bishop's family also planned a celebration of his life after the viewing at the Redfire Grill in Lantana Square.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, 7200 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, followed by a memorial luncheon at Hartefeld National near Avondale, Pennsylvania.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made in Bishop's memory to Bike Delaware.

One rider in the memorial procession called that designation a fitting tribute, "because he had a real love for cycling."

Contact senior reporter Cris Barrish at (302) 324-2785, cbarrish@delawareonline.com, on Facebook or on Twitter @crisbarrish. Contact robin brown at (302) 324-2856 or rbrown@delawareonline.com. Find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @rbrowndelaware.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, 7200 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, followed by a memorial luncheon at Hartefeld National near Avondale, Pennsylvania.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions in Bishop's memory to Bike Delaware at www.bikede.org/phillip.

Read Phillip Bishop's obituary at bit.ly/1o6LVum.