Ghost bike

A ghost bike (also referred to as a ghostcycle or WhiteCycle) is a bicycle roadside memorial, placed where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured, usually by the driver of a motor vehicle. These bicycles are painted entirely white and can often be seen with signs, flowers, or personal mementos from the families of the lost lives. They appear in different cities around the country and the world. They are created by the local communities and volunteers in order to honor those that have been lost.

Ghost bikes are typically put up once the sun has set often done in a solemn ceremony by fellow cyclists as a way to honor the life that has been lost. Though, the installation of these bicycles is not started until the approval of the family of the fallen is given as a way to respect both them and their lost loved one.

Apart from being a memorial, it is usually intended as a reminder to passing motorists to share the road. Ghost bikes are usually junk bicycles painted white, sometimes with a placard attached, and locked to a suitable object close to the scene of the crash. These ghost bikes are typically considered to be old or previously discarded bicycles that have certain parts removed to make it less likely to be stolen, and then completely painted white from the wheels to the handlebars. They are usually places near the scene of the crash either alone or with a placard mentioning the lost life.

Though, outside of this, those that make these ghost bikes do not only want people to see these things as memorials but as a form of art. They want their creations not to be seen an everyday junk project but as something beautiful and meaningful.

Ghost bike memorials, marked by their immobility and stark white paint, create sites that not only commemorate loss but also invite diverse performances and connections to unfold. Intentional performances aimed at shaping others' perceptions differ from the incidental ones that arise spontaneously, yet the two can concurrently memorialize the past as well as celebrate the interconnectedness of the community. These bicycles are created white and have the vital parts taken off in order to remove the possibility of the bicycle being stolen or removed from the area.