Ghost bikes (ot)

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Jaybro

Social climber

Wolf City, Wyoming

Jan 31, 2014 - 01:42am PT

I think they provide closure for families and friends and keep those of us who ride bikes a lot vigilant. Death is always there over our left shoulder, no reason to help the reaper, though!

wilbeer

Mountain climber

honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys

Jan 31, 2014 - 08:40am PT

Well said,Jaybro.

MisterE

climber

Jan 31, 2014 - 09:09am PT

So that's what those are - I have been wondering.

Thanks!

That Norton! Stuck there forever? Meh.

Bad Climber

climber

Jan 31, 2014 - 09:21am PT

I think we mechanized, high-speed Americans can use all the reminders we can get about the consequences of inattention and the risks of our motorized lives. As a cyclist who's on the road almost every day, I think these ghost bikes are a good idea. I could see, however, where too many could be, well, too many. I'm not sure what that number would be, however.

I remember that out on Hwy 14 in CA just before Kramer Junct. where it crosses 395, there is a gentle "S" curve that was (is?) the scene of frequent fatal car accidents, and the crosses kept piling up. The addition of a cross had no effect on the stupidity of the drivers. It wasn't exactly Arlington National Cemetery out there, but the number of crosses was impressive. I think CalTrans finally took them down.

As my wife and I cycled through Montana we saw lots of roadside crosses. I guess drunk driving deaths are VERY common up there in the Last Best Place (to die drunk driving).

I get yer point, PUD, but cyclists feel especially vulnerable for obvious reasons, and humans have an innate need to memorialize their dead. For now, I'm okay with the Ghost Bikes. Wake the hell up busy dads and harried soccer moms! You are not alone on the road!

BAd

drljefe

climber

El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson

Jan 31, 2014 - 09:33am PT

I've personally never frowned on ghost bikes or any memorial, no matter where they are.

Remembering ones we've lost.... I think it's called being human.

pud

climber

Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 31, 2014 - 09:56am PT

Blurring the lines between remembering your loved ones and chaining a bicycle surrounded by trash in a public place avoids the issue.

justthemaid

climber

Jim Henson's Basement

Jan 31, 2014 - 09:57am PT

I have sorta mixed feelings on the bikes. In general, I like the concept. of honoring the deceased while being a reminder to
motorists. That being said...

The first time I saw one I thought it was a really cool idea ...6 months later when the same bike was still sitting there in the same
place collecting trash and weeds, looking completely neglected - it started to get on my nerves since it was looking more like a
rubbish heap at that point. Fortunately, they finally moved it and cleaned up the mess.

I guess my take on it is it's fine to honor your dead friends... just don't make it a lasting eyesore for the living.
Edit to add: Impermanence is probably best with these types of memorials.

weezy

climber

Jan 31, 2014 - 11:06am PT

What an absolutely bizarre thing to be upset about.

There must be piles of white bikes all over the streets of sportbikeville.

pud

climber

Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 31, 2014 - 11:15am PT

DMT,
They are piles of trash after a few months.
These 'memorials' are taken care of for a short time then become a pile of trash.
In a cemetery, memorials are kept clean for decades as a sign of respect for the occupants.
Bikes chained to poles surrounded by trash do not reflect the same.
They seem almost insincere in their neglect.

There are half a dozen of these things within 15 minutes of my home.

TGT

Social climber

So Cal

Jan 31, 2014 - 11:34am PT

One corner I pass five days a week has had its vela votiva and dead flower collection for almost ten years, and I've had them for a few months on our block. Somebody usually straightens them up once every month or so.

No ghost bikes, but plenty of bus stop bikes that sometimes end up abandoned, locked to the sign for weeks at a time.

To be upset by it seems a bit irrational.

If the trash that collects bugs you, stop and clean it up.

pud

climber

Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 31, 2014 - 11:38am PT

Hardly upset TGT.
Just an observation.

pud

climber

Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 31, 2014 - 11:50am PT

Agreed, no personal harm. They are just ugly. If I were a little old lady trying to reach over this mess to push the cross walk button, it may be a different case.

The "slaughter zone" is the San Fernando Valley.

pud

climber

Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 31, 2014 - 11:56am PT

You're welcome.

nita

Social climber

chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.

Jan 31, 2014 - 12:32pm PT

I'm a bicycle commuter, i ride my bike on busy streets - every single day. The first time i saw a ghost bike it haunted me to my core, i kept thinking about the young woman, her family and loved ones. She was only 21, and hit by a drunk driver.

I learned at a young age that life is often short, and memorials are remembrances for the living.
If a Ghost bike gets any motorist to think about their driving and a cyclist to be careful...well..

Myself, I find billboards an eyesore ..They often collect trash, block views and ...don't even get me started on LED billboards...

litter in general, drives me crazy... The Yosemite facelift has made me keenly aware of litter, and i try to pick up some litter everyday.... It only take a couple of minutes to stop and pick up litter off the ground.

TYeary

Social climber

State of decay

Jan 31, 2014 - 06:39pm PT

"Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists' right to safe travel.

The first ghost bikes were created in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003. Currently there are over 575 ghost bikes that have since appeared in over 200 locations throughout the world. For those who create and install the memorials, the death of a fellow bicyclist hits home. We all travel the same unsafe streets and face the same risks; it could just as easily be any one of us. 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."

http://ghostbikes.org/

TY

Mike Bolte

Trad climber

Planet Earth

Jan 31, 2014 - 09:43pm PT

I'll break my long-standing policy of ignoring all the noise aspects of ST and say that in my opinion, the OP is stupid, mean-spirited and pointless.

rottingjohnny

Sport climber

mammoth lakes ca

Jan 31, 2014 - 09:48pm PT

The ghost bike might do more good welded to the bumper of the driver that murdered the cyclist...Kind of like tying a dead chicken to a marauding dogs neck....