6 ‘Ghost Bikes’ pay homage to slain riders

From the Arizona Republic:

White bicycles stationed along several Tucson roadways are part art, part memorial and, mostly, public service, say some who have installed the six “Ghost Bikes.”

The bikes mark the spot at which a cyclist was killed. An accompanying Web site has a map of the locations and brief descriptions of the circumstances for each bicycle.

They serve as a memorial, alongside makeshift roadside memorials from friends and family, but these bikes often are installed by people who did not know the victim.

The local cycling community sees the memorials as a chance to raise awareness of bicycles among motorists and remind everyone on the road of their fragility.

“I found out about Ghost Bikes online, and I thought it was a beautiful movement,” said Ari Shapiro, who put up the first Ghost Bike in Tucson.

He installed it in May, near where 14-year-old Jose Rincon was struck from behind in January by a woman accused of drunken driving.

“I’ve always known that Tucson cyclists, like in any town, occasionally one will get struck,” Shapiro said. Rincon’s death “was just really tragic in my mind.”

This week, authorities discovered the bike Shapiro installed had been stolen. The chain holding the bike to a city sign apparently had been cut, the flowers at the site were strewn, and the bike was missing.

Read the Article…

Also there’s more info at ghostbikes.org/Tucson

[tags]bicycling, bicycle, arizona, tucson, ghost bike, bike safety, cyclists[/tags]

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