Ghost Bikes

Spread throughout the city are bikes painted white and left chained to street signs. Some have placards, some have flowers in a handlebar basket. Every single one of them is placed at the site of a biker's death. Every single one is a ghost bike serving as a reminder and memorial to a biker's life and the pursuit of safe streets for all.

Ghost bikes are an international phenomenon that began in New York City in 2005. 67 bikes are placed around the city. Between 1996 and 2005, 225 bicyclists were killed in NYC. Between 1996 and 2003, 3,462 bicyclists were seriously injured.

Have I finally joined the NYC bike culture?

After a week of rain, the sun finally decided to show its glorious face. More people are on the street than in the past few months of winter. Crowded sidewalks and streets make it harder for everyone to get around but most people don't seem to mind. It's too beautiful outside to care.

And for some people, it's too beautiful outside to care about looking both ways when crossing the street. Or, to even look at all before quickly darting across the road. Today, a girl crossed LaFayette at Bleeker and the biker in front of me, riding north on LaFayette was caught between traffic on one side and construction on the other. The girl popped in front of him, out of nowhere. He yelled. She got out of the way. No harm no foul.

I started biking in NYC a year and a half ago. I've pedaled through rainstorms, snowstorms and freezing cold days. Not until today, though, have I felt a part of NYC's diverse population of urban cyclists.