An old bike painted white – tires, handlebars, pedals, chain, and seat are all stark bone white – is locked to a lamppost on a dark road somewhere. A sign hangs from it reading, “A cyclist was killed here,” and perhaps a plaque showing the fallen rider’s name. Spectral, silent, sombre, and alone, this apparition is a Ghost Bike.
A Ghost Bike is an old bike that has been painted white and installed as a memorial to a fallen cyclist, usually one who has died by being hit by a car. The bike is locked to a sign, a post, a fence, or something, at the place where the collision occurred.
Ghost Bikes are found in many cities across North America, and in several European cities as well. The first appearance of a bike as a memorial was in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003. An enraged rider named Patrick Van der Tuin installed 15 mangled bikes at locations around the city where he knew fellow cyclists had been struck or killed. One man’s inspired protest was noticed and copied elsewhere, and soon a movement arose.
At the same time, an artist (and cyclist) in San Francisco named Jo Slota was quietly pursuing a project he called Ghost Bike. Since 2002 he’d been painting abandoned bikes that he found around the city, still locked but stripped of all resalable parts. He would arrive one day, paint the skeleton white, photograph it, and deem it a Ghost Bike. He posted these photos on his website.
Someone noticed them, and the next bike memorials that appeared – in Pittsburgh in 2004, again using mangled bikes – were painted white and were also called Ghost Bikes. More white Ghost Bikes appeared on the streets of Seattle and New York in 2005. These bikes were not mangled; they were installed intact.
Said Slota when asked how he felt about his idea being appropriated for a much different purpose, “When I initially learned of other people working on Ghost Bike projects, I had a hard time dealing with the idea that something I had done independently for four years was all of a sudden taken, changed, and not mine anymore. I made contact with Ghost Bike people in Seattle and New York, and realized that they appreciated what I was doing. I’m very excited about the Ghost Bike project. It has a life of its own, and hopefully it will save and improve the lives of cyclists around the world. To be even a small part of that is incredibly rewarding and fulfilling for me.”
Ghost Bike memorials are installed at night by other bike riders, after consultation with the fallen cyclist’s family and friends. As Martin Reis from Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists in Toronto points out, “It’s vital that the family is okay with what we do. Not nice to have the press hound a family in grief.”
Reactions to the Ghost Bikes have been mixed. The City of Pittsburgh tore them down almost immediately, citing a by-law “prohibiting signs on any city right of way.” Other cities leave them alone, recognizing them as shrines. Families of the cyclists are usually very appreciative. “Of the nearly 20 Ghost Bike memorials we’ve installed across the city, only three have been removed – we suspect by local business owners. For the most part, local residents have taken care of the memorials – fresh flowers show up every few weeks. Friends and family bring candles, pictures, letters. Andrew Morgan’s Ghost Bike was knocked down by a cab that jumped the curb and a nearby bar took it in overnight so we could reinstall it,” added Eliot, from Visual Resistance in New York.
Those who have installed Ghost Bikes describe it as a cathartic and disturbing experience. They recognize all too clearly that it could have been them. “Each time we say we hope to never have to do it again – but we remain committed to making these memorials as long as they are needed.”
The number of cyclists killed by cars in Vancouver this year is nearly twice what it was at the same time last year. This has provoked some discussion about a Ghost Bike project in Vancouver. Things learned from other cities include:
- The media will notice and start asking questions. There is usually a flurry of newspaper and television stories after Ghost Bikes appear in a city.
- As such, having a literate press release prepared beforehand is a good idea. A website people can be directed to is good as well. Some Ghost Bike installers (ghostcycle.org in Seattle, for example) will not speak to the media, directing them instead to the Press Kit page on their website. “It’s not about us,” they say, and that’s worth remembering.
- Include the families of the departed. If they are not comfortable with the media attention they will suddenly get, don’t do it.
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