Advocacy & Safety - Ghost Bike as an NYC fashion symbol

I'm heading up Clinton street two days ago and see an all white a ghost bike halfway between rivington and stanton. My first thought is dread: oh no! Another cyclist killed.

I don't know about the rest of the country but in NYC the ghost bike (http://www.transalt.org/press/media/2006/253.html) is a memorial to the fallen cyclist.

Later I see the ghost bike inside a shop. There is a new fashion/clothing store with an all-white theme going. I feel relieved... now that I know what's up.

But now the bike gets parked outside the shop every day. Is this wrong? Simply misguided?

I think its a bit misguided, but harmless. The ghost bike isnt just a memorial to killed cyclists, but a reminder to motorists that we're out there on the streets and that big metal things often kill or hurt squishy things made of meat when they come into contact. I guess one extra one out there is just increasing the visibility of that message, so thats not too bad.

did you tell them the deal?

off topic

i suppose ghost bikes get stolen and/or vandalized eventually
?

When I originally read this, I was thinking of a ghost ridden bike. Which made the thought of another dead cyclist slightly funny, not that it ever truly is funny.

I think ghost riding bikes should be the next big NYC fashion symbol.

off topic

i suppose ghost bikes get stolen and/or vandalized eventually
?


the ghost bike for Bronx John at s4th and roebling in williamsburg had the crankset stolen off of it, i can't imagine the thought process that goes into stealing something off of a memorial, grave robbers have a very special kind of karma

misguided. you should say something to the shop.

I thought this thread would be about a fashionable t-shirt with a ghost-bike reference. Kinda relieved that it's not.

the ghost bike for Bronx John at s4th and roebling in williamsburg had the crankset stolen off of it, i can't imagine the thought process that goes into stealing something off of a memorial, grave robbers have a very special kind of karma
ridiculous that someone would even think to do that

one day you are going to see someone with an all white theme riding an all white bike and then things are going to get really weird..


I'm heading up Clinton street two days ago and see an all white a ghost bike halfway between rivington and stanton. My first thought is dread: oh no! Another cyclist killed.

maybe they didn't know it was a memoriam?

i feel like if someone didn't know anything about cycling/cyclists and they saw a white bike there they wouldn't know any better. unless there's a sign saying "rest in peace..." and so on

did you tell them the deal?
I did decide to try and explain that the ghost bikes setup around the city are are there because they're a memorial to a person killed on a bike, etc etc.

When I went in to the shop I discovered that I vaguely know the owner. He's the ex-boyfriend of an ex of mine from a long time ago, so I only know him very very vaguely. But he remembered me. Weird.

Back on topic, he asked point blank if it was offensive to me. I said no, not personally, then re-iterated that it's a typically done to raise awareness and remember the person. A memorial, i.e., the ghost bike on Houston street a few blocks away for the girl who got hit by a dump truck, or the one on the west side bike path for the doctor who was killed this past winter. I explained for a minute or two but that's it. Just let him do what he wants - but now he knows what the deal is.

cool cool.

Before reading the follow-up to the story, my guess was going to be the retailer did not know the meaning of an all-white bicycle. Heck, most non-riding members of the general public would have no idea what an all-white bicycle signifies unless there were signs, flowers, candles, and stuff like that distributed all around. The goal is to win friends and influence people, so courtesy is paramount.

good deal, he didnt know so I hope he does the right thing now that he does.

Ghost ride the whip?

The crank being stolen from the bicycle is closer to zen-mind than grieving over the impermanence of a symbol.

If someone uses that crank to ride, isn't that more directly accomplishing the goal?

Would a more impacting memorial be to leave bikes or usable pieces of bikes for others?

off topic

i suppose ghost bikes get stolen and/or vandalized eventually
?


Hmm, good question. Most of the ghost bikes I see are old delapitated kids bikes or town bikes. Meaning, landfill.

When I think of ghost bikes I think of the ones we did in Oakland where we took an old road frame and used it to make a shadow via Krylon on walls all about. Not in memorium, just art, I guess.

Ghost ride the whip?

:D