Friday Roundup – Bicycle Bits & Pieces

I was one of the individuals who installed one of the bikes in her photoset. While it is on a public road, and things like that, we never relased permission for Genea Barnes to take pictures of our memorial. This was a good while ago.

I feel it being kind of dirty that she’ll be making a combined $21,000 of funding for a book that photoshops people potentially not even related to the memorials that she is taking photos of.

I guess since I have a personal investment in her subject material, I feel it is exploitation of the dead, not memorializing them.

If you feel I’m wrong with my impressions, I’m open to your discussion.

I get your point Wv Cycling. But, I never looked at it a exploitation. I looked at it as bringing awareness to the problem of cyclists not being seen by motorists. I don’t think that she’s out to make a quick buck with this project. She’s already put a lot of her own money and time into traveling to the various cities seeking out the ghost bikes. Perhaps her book will get noticed by major media outlets and start a discussion among non-cyclists that these ghost bikes represent lives that were snuffed out too soon.

Guy is riding brakeless without foot retention and only one hand on the handle bars.

This project is something that means a lot to me. I ride a bike every day and have had more close calls than I can count, but still, I am one of the lucky ones. One of the things that is so frustrating in this day, is people’s lack of spatial awareness. A Ghost Bike represents the most grievous outcome of someone (cyclists and drivers alike) not being aware of where they are in reference to others. This is not a project that is meant to make me a ton of money, It is meant to remind people and raise awareness of this growing problem. More and more people are choosing to commute by bicycle, many drivers are frustrated, and most of our roads are not built in a manner to make sharing the road easy to those that are not willing. I want my art to speak to the idea that this could happen to anyone that rides a bicycle, and that the danger and lack of awareness is real; that we must all make a conscious effort in living amongst each other to keep each other safe.