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(Enlarge) Yates’ cousins, Greg McCracken, left, of Frederickburg, Va., Chris McCracken, of Columbus, Ohio, and Bane McCracken, of Ona, W. Va., ride in Yates’ honor. (Photo by Brendan Cavanaugh)

While most of the immediate world was watching the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 8, many bicyclists were riding in the Tour de Greater Homewood. They were paying homage to longtime Charles Village resident Jack Yates, an avid cyclist and board member of the Greater Homewood Community Corp., who died in a traffic accident while riding his bike in August.

According to the Sun, Yates, 67, suffered fatal injuries when his bike got tangled up in the rear wheels of a truck that was turning right on Lafayette Avenue at Maryland Avenue. The accident is still under investigation, Baltimore police confirmed.

The tour, which began at 1 p.m. at the University of Baltimore's Gordon Plaza at Maryland and Mt. Royal avenues, a few blocks from where Yates was struck, was sponsored by Greater Homewood, a nonprofit that helps 40 neighborhoods and 17 public schools in north and central Baltimore. Yates, who joined the board in 2004, was described by Greater Homewood as "a tireless advocate" of its youth programs.

Yates was a former educational consultant to the Abell Foundation, and later served as a mentor for Lake Clifton High School's Educational Opportunities Program, where he counseled 89 graduates of the Baraka School from 2001-2008, and helped nearly all of them graduate from high school, according to Greater Homewood.

With Yates' widow, Ellen looking on, 81 cyclists embarked on a route that took them through north Baltimore on a warm, sunny day, according to Greater Homewood's Web site, www.greaterhomewood.org. Participants were encouraged to donate $10, for youth programming by Greater Homewood.

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