Ghost bike

Ghost bike

A ghost bike or ghostcycle is a bicycle set up in a place where a cyclist has been hurt or killed as a memorial to the injured or fallen rider and as a reminder to passing motorists to share the road. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/235063_ghostbikes03.html 'Ghost bikes' offer eerie reminder to share the road] , "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" 3 August 2005.] A junk bicycle is painted white and locked to a suitable object close to the scene of the accident,merged with a white placard and (typically) red stencilled lettering. These memorials are mainly a political statement – aiming to make a wider point beyond personal loss – erected by pro-cycling organizations, unlike a typical roadside memorial, which is usually purely personal.

History

The first ghost bike memorial project was in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in October 2003. After observing a motorist strike a bicyclist in a bike lane on Holly Hills Boulevard, Patrick Van Der Tuin placed a white-painted bicycle on the spot with a hand-painted sign reading "Cyclist Struck Here". Noticing the effect that this had on motorists in the area, Van Der Tuin then enlisted the help of friends to place 15 more "ghost bikes" in prominent spots in the St. Louis area where cyclists had recently been hit by automobiles. [ [http://mobikefed.org/2007/10/first-press-coverage-of-ghost-bike.php Roadside displays focus on plight of bicyclists] , Greg Jonsson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 17 November 2003; re-posted on Missouri Bicycle Federation website, 29 October 2007.]

Similar projects began in Pittsburgh in 2004, [ [http://pittsburgh.indymedia.org/news/2004/05/14196.php Pittsburgh ghost bikes] ] New York City, [ [http://ghostbikes.org/new-york-city New York Ghost Bikes] ] Seattle in 2005, and Chicago in 2006. [ [http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=25&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=1308&TM=74525.19 Elegy for a bike rat] ] London Ghostcycle was active in 2005 and 2006. [ [http://www.ghostcycle.org.uk/ Ghostcycle UK] ] There have been similar projects in dozens of other cities worldwide. [ [http://ghostbikes.org/cities Cities with ghost bike projects] ]

San Francisco artist Jo Slota began the original ghost bike project in April 2002. This was a distinct, purely artistic endeavor [ [http://www.momentumplanet.com/features/ghost-bikes Momentum Planet] ] which involved finding abandoned bicycles locked on city streets, painting them pale gray, and recording them on a website. [ [http://www.ghostbike.net/ Jo Slota's website] ] Shortly after learning of the growing 'ghost bike' movement, Slota stopped painting bikes to avoid confusing the iconography.

Quotes on ghost bikes

Usually within one week of a cyclist’s dying in the saddle, a bicycle is donated or salvaged and covered with three coats of white paint. Often members of the project will gather for a memorial ride to the accident site. A short ceremony will conclude with a “bike lift,” a cyclist send-off in which mourners raise their bikes above their heads and are silent. The victim is rarely known to the cycling community, but the memorials often serve as congregating places for members of bicycle-advocacy groups like Time’s Up! and Transportation Alternatives. [ [http://nymag.com/news/features/47819/ New York Magazine, "Ghost Riders" (June 2008)] ]
"When we make ghost bikes, we tap into the hurt of the world. Each person is part of the soul of their city. These stories can make headlines one day and are forgotten the next - we try to make the city remember. We choose to honour that stranger we know could just as easily be our friend, our sister, our own self. That choice makes us whole." [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/may/17/art "Cycle of Life and Death" The Guardian (May 2008)] ]

ee also

* Bicycle safety
* Ride of Silence
* Vehicular cycling

References

External links

*Information on ghost bikes around the world: [http://ghostbikes.org Ghost Bikes]
*Patrick Van Der Tuin's web site [http://www.pbase.com/terbo/brokenbikes Broken Bikes Broken Lives] with photos of original Ghost Bike installations
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92577689 For Cyclists, 'Ghost Bikes' Are a Haunting Memorial, NPR Radio (July 2008)]
* [http://nymag.com/news/features/47819/ New York Magazine, "Ghost Riders" (June 2008)]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/may/17/art "Cycle of Life and Death" The Guardian (May 2008)]
* [http://mobikefed.org/2003/11/st-louis-cyclists-bring-attention-to.php Earliest known press coverage of the Ghost Bike movement]
* [http://mobikefed.org/2003/11/ghost-bike-project-on-fox2-news.php Early reference to Ghost Bike campaign in St. Louis]
* [http://mobikefed.org/2004/06/broken-bikes-broken-lives-ghost-bikes.php Press coverage of the Ghost Bike movement in 2004]
* [http://ghostbikes.net/projects/ghostbikes.php Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin Ghost Bike Campaign]
* [http://Ghostcycle.org/ Ghostcycle: Bike Accident Awareness in the Seattle Area]
* [http://la.metblogs.com/2006/09/23/ghost-bike-for-ilia/ Ghost Bike at Los Angeles vigil for cyclist Ilia Pankin killed by hit-and-run driver at intersection of Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards, September 2006]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ghost Bike — (auch: Mahnrad, Geisterrad) ist die aus den USA stammende Idee, weißgestrichene Fahrräder als Mahnmale für im Straßenverkehr verunglückte Radfahrer am Unglücksort aufzustellen. Neben der Funktion als Gedenkstätte sollen sie auch auf mögliche… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • ghost bike — n. An old bicycle painted white and locked to a fence or post near the scene of an accident that killed a cyclist. Also: ghost bicycle, ghost cycle. Example Citations: Bob Shenton rolled up next to a blood stained roadway with a bouquet of white… …   New words

  • Bike or Die — Developer(s) Toyspring Stable release 2.1b / 2009 03 10 Operating system Palm OS iOS Website Bike or Die! off …   Wikipedia

  • Bike derby — Also known as Foot Down a bike derby is a contest, the goal of which is to be the last person still riding their bike. Modeled somewhere between a Demolition derby and a Roller derby, a bike derby adds the element of maintaining balance on a… …   Wikipedia

  • bike box — n. A traffic light intersection feature that creates a designated area for bicycles to stop in front of cars when the light is red. Example Citations: Located at the entrance of the intersection, a bike box is a demarcated area that straddles the …   New words

  • ghost call — n. A silent phone call received from a person who has inadvertently dialed or selected the number on their mobile phone. v. ghost calling pp. ghost caller n. Example Citations: One added problem for the emergency teams, particularly at this time… …   New words

  • ghost farmer — n. A person who owns a large farm but who does not actively engage in farming the land. Example Citation: It looks like it is the end of the road for Brunei s ghost farmers, who have been making fortunes pretending to be agriculturists. Brunei:… …   New words

  • ghost brand — n. A once famous brand name that remains on sale but is no longer popular. Example Citation: In that regard, I remembered a clipping I d saved from 1997. ... It starts, Burma Shave, Brylcreem, Pepsodent, Ovaltine, William s Lectric Shave, RC Cola …   New words

  • ghost sign — n. The remnant of a vintage advertisement painted on the side of a building. Example Citation: The early billboards could be found on barns and brick walls, in popular alleyways and warehouses across the country from about the 1890s until the… …   New words

  • ghost work — (gohst wurk) n. After a round of layoffs or firings, the work that used to be done by the former employees and that must now be handled by the remaining staff. Example Citation: In an office haunted by the ghosts of laid off employees, those… …   New words

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”