Hundreds of cyclists rode downtown on July 4, 2002 as part of a Freedom Ride highlighting abuse suffered by bicyclists and pedestrians on Houston’s streets.

The ride started near the Texas Medical Center, where cyclist and student Milan Etinski was killed by an 18-wheeler in March 2002. Before leaving, the 300 assembled cyclists held a moment of solemn silence to honor their fallen comrades. Since the ride was announced, Maria Socorro Rouse was killed by an 18-wheeler while walking to work downtown and Clinton Gregory was struck and killed by a METRO trolley bus. On June 27, Mark Maness and Grant Smith were cycling single file in a marked bike lane when they were both murdered by a hit-and-run driver.

The riders, having dressed their vehicles and their bodies with fourth-of-July colors, streamers and flags, proceeded in a law-abiding fashion north from the Medical Center, along the West Alabama bike lanes to Kirby, and on West Gray into downtown. In an act of civil disobedience, riders posted their demands in the form of "13 theses" stuck to the METRO headquarters. METRO was singled out as a culprit for unilaterally closing bicycle trails without providing alternatives, reneging on its promise to install bike racks on buses, and failing to properly train its bus operators to safely share the road with cyclists.