'Ghost bikes' memorialize cyclists killed on road

  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
  • : Function ereg() is deprecated in /home/ghostbikes/site/includes/file.inc on line 649.
Orange County Register

Published: Dec, 14 2012
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ghost-380713-bike-gamboa.html

Stark white bicycles placed at sites of deaths are eerie, haunting reminders for drivers to be careful around riders.

 A ghost bike, painted white and locked to a no-parking sign, was left in memory of cyclist Brian Winfrey, who was killed at the intersection of Euclid Street and Wakefield Avenue in Garden Grove on Nov. 26. Winfrey, 47, of Laguna Hills, was riding along the right shoulder of Euclid Street near Wakefield Avenue when he was struck by a white Honda CRV traveling south on Euclid shortly before 7 p.m.

MORE PHOTOS »

A
"ghost bike," painted white and locked to a no-parking sign, was left
in memory of cyclist Brian Winfrey, who was killed at the intersection
of Euclid Street and Wakefield Avenue in Garden Grove on Nov. 26.
Winfrey, 47, of Laguna Hills, was riding along the right shoulder of
Euclid Street near Wakefield Avenue when he was struck by a white Honda
CRV traveling south on Euclid shortly before 7 p.m.

BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

By ALEJANDRA MOLINA
/ THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Michael Mata, 22, was riding home when he stopped on the corner of
Knott and La Palma avenues to look at a memorial, a "ghost bike."

The bicycle, painted in a stark white, is chained to a light pole. It
carries a sign that reads: "A cyclist was killed here," referring to
Jeremy Kidder, a bicyclist who, in November, died in a crash at age 20.

On a recent Wednesday evening, drivers zoom through on the wide
roadway at this Buena Park intersection. Cyclists stick to the sidewalk;
pedestrians hurry to cross the intersection. But when the light is red
many heads turn toward the solemn memorial.

"I kind of tripped out when I saw it," said Mata, of Anaheim.

It's not the only ghost bike. In an anonymous nod of solidarity,
bicycle advocates have placed about a dozen of the haunting memorials in
Orange County to mark spots where cyclists were killed in traffic,
urging motorists to be wary of cyclists on the road.

Victims of car crashes or shootings are often honored through
makeshift street memorials by family members and friends who place
candles and flowers at the site of their death, but the placement of
ghost bikes is a bit more obscure.

Those responsible for setting up ghost bikes typically do so at night
or early morning. They don't want the spotlight on them, but, rather,
on the tragedy that occurred.

Danny Gamboa of Long Beach began filming and installing Orange County
ghost bikes about a year ago when he met fellow cyclist and Cypress resident Leslie Caldera, who has set up the vigils for years.

"There was a time when he (Leslie) would be really busy with work and
I told him I'd go ahead and do it," Gamboa said. "Between he and I, we
take care of this area."

Gamboa and Caldera build the ghost bikes with parts donated by The Bike Guy, a Long Beach shop. And, through the Ghost Bikes-LA Facebook page,
which they both help administer, fans of the page also post of bikes
they are willing to donate. Once the paint job is done, Gamboa and
Caldera customize the bicycles with a sign including the fallen rider's
name and a message: "Watch for bikes" or "A cyclist was killed here."

The first ghost bikes appear to have been created in St. Louis in
2003. Since then, the ritual has spread across the world from Mexico to
London and Austria and Ecuador, according to ghostbikes.org – a website
that chronicles the memorials.

Gamboa said they keep track of fallen cyclists trough the blog,
BikingInLA, which tracks fatal bicycle crashes in Southern California
counties.

"There's been a few lately that I put up the day after it happens," Gamboa said. "It helps people react more."

Here in Orange County, Gamboa installed the most recent ghost bike in
early December to commemorate Brian Winfrey, a cyclist who died in a
Garden Grove crash Nov. 26.

Ghost bikes can serve as an artistic platform of bicycle-safety awareness, Gamboa said.

This year, 14 bicyclists have died in Orange County – 12 of whom were
involved in a crash with another vehicle, coroner's officials said.
Most were male, ranging from a 14-year-old boy to a 79-year-old man. In
September, two women riding bikes were struck and killed in Newport
Beach in the span of two days, Sept. 14 and 15.

To address tensions between motorists and bicyclists after the
repeated deaths, the city of Newport Beach installed banners that read:
"Same Roads, Same Rules." In October, the Newport Beach City Council
approved a bike-safety improvement fund and waived fees associated with a
memorial ride in honor of the fallen cyclists.

The city's task force on bicycle safety even discussed the placement
of ghost bikes in a meeting shortly after the deaths. In Newport, the
city's policy is to remove the memorials 30 days after they were placed.

To Gamboa, bicycling in Orange County is a different experience than in Long Beach.

"Orange County has a lot less bike lanes," Gamboa said. "The attitudes of the drivers in Orange County are very entitled."

"Many of them may not be aware that bicyclists have the right to
share the road," Gamboa added. "Typically, the streets in Orange County
have a faster limit. People drive faster ... and drive more
aggressively."

Early this year, the League of American Bicyclists, a nonprofit advocacy group, launched a website, Every Bicyclist Counts,
to document bicycle fatalities. The site is somewhat of a "virtual
ghost bike" that aims to highlight particularly dangerous locations and
features fallen cyclists from across the country, including those who
have died in Orange County.

The league's goal of their new site is twofold: to identify problem areas and memorialize fallen riders.

"Bicycling is a really safe activity. ... But at the same time we
would like there to be accountability when bicyclists are hit," said
Elizabeth Kiker, the league's executive vice president.

For Patricia Paine, the mother of a 41-year-old bicyclist who died in
a July hit-and-run crash in Fullerton, the ghost bike memorial site was
a place she would visit to feel closer to her son. No arrests have been
made from that crash.

"When I saw the ghost bike it was like my heart just opened up,"
Paine said. "It was such a joyful feeling ... this overwhelming feeling
of love. It meant so much to our family."

Paine would often drive from her Bakersfield home to the ghost bike
site memorial on Bastanchury Road and Morelia Avenue. It's "the last
place where he was," she said. On Nov. 8, the intersection served as a
gathering point for Richard's family and friends who came together to
celebrate his birthday.

When the ghost bike was taken away, Paine was frantic.

Paine went to the police, called the city and asked if they had
removed the memorial. Her sons found the Facebook profile that features
ghost bike memorials and asked if anyone knew who had taken it. As of
now Paine still has no answers of the bike's whereabouts. City officials
said they did not remove it. To replace the ghost bike, her sons
installed a cross.

"That's all we had," Paine said.

As Mata stood next to Kidder's ghost bike, which has since been
removed, he recalled a close call he had when he crossed paths with a
driver who was going too fast.

"It's crazy because you never know if you can expect a drunk driver out of nowhere and they can hit you," Mata said.

Contact the writer: amolina@ocregister.com or 714-704-3795