Ghost Bikes

Some readers will be aware that, when not writing about cycling and attempting to control our four ferrets, I've also been setting up a very loosely-organised group here in Cambridge with the aim of creating some ghost bike memorials around the city, both to commemorate our fallen friends and to increase awareness of cyclists among drivers and the need to ride safely among cyclists.

Recently, I was contacted by a journalist from the Cambridge News paper, wanting to an article on ghost bikes and the group. Initially, since the group is at present a blog, a Facebook page and a few people showing interest, I was reluctant; but agreed in the hope of spreading the word.

The article was published today and can be read here. My thoughts upon it are here.

Ghost Bikes

Ghost bikes is a public project begun in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2003 when local cyclists began to commemorate the deaths of fellow riders in a simple, poignant and impossible-to-ignore way - when a friend or stranger was killed on the roads, they placed a white-painted bike at the scene of the accident with a plaque listing the victim's name, date of birth and date of death.

One ghost bike would have gone largely unnoticed by the car-driving public, but with so many cyclists killed each year there were soon many similar memorials around St. Louis. People noticed, and began to stop to find out what the bikes were all about. When someone is confronted with death like that, it makes them think.

"Last night I took a cab, and the driver was talking about the challenges of life as a cabbie. He was complaining about bike messengers and then suddenly shifted gears, lowered his tone, and said, "Do you ever see those bikes painted white, hanging up? That means someone died there. When I see them it reminds me to be careful for the bikers." In other words, people notice." (Anonymous, ghostbikes.org)

Creating a ghost bike is simple. All it takes is an old bike with the chain and brakes removed so that it can't be ridden. Degrease it and give it a coat of white paint, then print or hand-write a plaque that can be attached using zip ties. Place the bike at the point where the cyclist whose death you are marking was killed, or as safe as is possible to do so.

There may already be other ghost bikes in your area or yours may be the first - consider having a look at ghostbikes.org and adding yours to the lists already there.

We're feeling a bit inspired by this and have decided we'd like to get some sort of loosely-organised group together here in Cambridge to set up ghost bikes around the city and on nearby roads in the hope of increasing safety awareness among both drivers and cyclists. Find us on Facebook by clicking this link.