Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The Indignity of Commuting by Bicycle: Dead Celebrity Media Scrums

When cycling through New York City, I'm often reminded of my own mortality. Sometimes, a reminder comes in the form of a Nissan Armada whose idiotic leaseholder is under the impression that there's a five-second grace period after a traffic light turns red during which it's still acceptable to proceed. Other times, it's in the shape of a memorial, like this one which I pass every day:




There's an undeniable poignancy to the ghost bikes that are scattered throughout the city, and I have a lot of respect for the sentiment behind them. However, I have to say that I personally don't like them. In fact, I don't like any memorials. I don't like tombstones, or mausoleums, or urns filled with ashes, or graffiti murals in peoples' memory, or tinted rear SUV windshields etched with murdered victims' names in gothic letters. Certain memorials are like submissions to the fixedgeargallery, in that they're more a testatment to the maker's vanity than they are to the thing they're supposed to represent. I don't think I'm the only one who's seen somebody with an elaborate crying Jesus tattoo in memory of a dead relative and thought, "Wow, you were just waiting for someone to die so you could have an excuse to get that."


Still, though, as memorials go, the ghost bikes do have a certain dignity--unlike the clustercoitus on Broome Street this morning:




Commuting by bicycle in a city like New York has an added dimension in that you're often interacting with the very machinery that drives our popular culture. Film shoots, Presidential visits, parades, protests, and world-altering terrorist attacks are just a few of the things that you're liable to encounter on your commute here. And today it was a bunch of idiots pointing their cameras at a dead actor's building.



Certainly this is a juicy story, and while there are certainly more important things going on in the world (like the fact that people who are rich and dumb enough to eat sushi every day are apparently risking mercury poisoning), it would be naive not to expect the media and the public to be obsessed with it. Still, though, I'm not sure why people have to stand there filming the actual building, or just what it is they expect to happen. Are they hoping to score an interview with his ghost? Do they think his corpse might come back for that massage? Are they expecting Jake Gyllenhaal to ride up on a horse in full cowboy regalia, bawling and bellowing, "Oh, Heath, I cain't quit you!"?


In the hope that seeing things from their perspective might help me understand, I stepped in amongst the cameramen, set aside my dignity, and took a photo myself. For an instant, I was one of them, and I suddenly knew what it was like to join a fraternity, watch the ball drop in Times Square, or take part in any other mass act of stupidity far greater than yourself. Becoming part of that group temporarily diffused all sense of shame and personal accountability I might have had. I then looked at the photo I had taken:



I was wrong. They hadn't been shooting the building. They had been filming the flowers. If you look closely you'll even see a camera on the sidewalk, getting a rat's-eye view.

I was now even more confused.

But there was one thing of which I was now certain. On a commute bookended by memorials, I had been forced to contemplate my own mortality, and I was surer than ever that should my demise "drop" prematurely and I join that great "collabo" in the sky, I don't want anybody to make a ghost bike for me. Fortunately, though, I think I've engendered enough ill-will in the cycling community that it's pretty unlikely anybody will.

But if you must do something, you can ghost ride a Trek Madone 6.9 straight off the Manhattan Bridge. In fact, you're more than welcome to do it even while I'm still alive.

102 comments:

Anonymous said...

first post!!! yeah

Anonymous said...

bah.

Anonymous said...

podium!!

Anonymous said...

so close

Anonymous said...

that's pathetic!!! what have I become? is this all life has to offer? is life worth it?...decides to go for a ride to sort things out.

Anonymous said...

Saw the bike snob, Chinese menu in his hand, walking through the streets of SoHo in the rain...

Eric Thrasher Troili.. said...

When I mistake my Madone off of a bridge, please don't say, "He died doing what he loved"..

I love living.. I doubt that I'll love dying..

Anonymous said...

a vast wasteland

Danimal said...

Wow, Snob, cleaning up your act. Cluster-coitus. Nice.

After the water-drinking-DJ-contest-fiasco in LA, I'm not sure you want to be exhorting people to ride their bikes of the bridge for you.

Unless of course it's to verify how torsionally stiff and laterally compliant (or whatever) the madone is during 75 mph water impacts. That could be cool.

Anonymous said...

Is it really _THAT_ cool to get the first post? Get a life!

Anonymous said...

"On a commute bookended by memorials,"

hey prolly (or any other snob stalker), hope you're taking good notes, you're getting plenty of clues....

erik k said...

I'm organizing a mass sacrifice of Virgin Madone which will be ghost ridden off the bridge to pay tribute to the snob. Then later when the day of reckoning is upon us, we can raise the rusted heap form the ocean compact it and then shoot it forth from a cannon!

Prolly said...

I am bike snob

Daniel said...

Shit, man, the thing I miss most about living in Brooklyn are the memorials. The non-standard spelling, the snapshots, the damp stuffed animals... You really took me back. Here in Los Angeles, I still hear gunshots at night, but there's never any cardboard shrines cluttering the sidewalk in the morning. New York is better!

Anonymous said...

Prolly not...

LK said...

Snob

I am glad to hear that you are neither Heath Ledger or a Ghost Bike.

I aspire to be the same.

Danimal said...

I'm thinking I like the ghostbike, replete with flowers, more than the "A CYCLIST DIED HERE," message scrawled on the lane on my daily commute.

On second thought, though, it's sort of fitting. The same intersection has a nice crucifix (replete with glow-in-the-dark jesus) to memorialize a car accident.

And a couple of doors down, between buildings frequented by our down-and-out population, there's the priceless "DON'T SHIT HERE BITCHES" friendly reminder.

Hmmm. Maybe they outta do something about that intersection. If it doesn't kill you it'll scare the shit out of you, apparently.

A long winded way of saying, if I die there, a flowered ghost bike is preferable to a pile of shit.

Anonymous said...

I second that final opinion. The Trek Madone 6.9 is a pile!!! in fact! all those ultra lightweight carbon bikes are piles of shit! Unless you are fortunate to cruise everyday on streets that have been sweep'd clean...eventually a rock will tag the down tube hard enough to create a crack.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm really confused about NYC now: I thought it was the Mecca of fashion, culture, style (at least that's what my girlfriend told me when she broke up with me to pursue her dreams of dancing on Broadway).

In looking at your second picture in today's blog (wide angle shot of Ledger's building) I notice you caught a pedestrian walking past wearing a blue skirt, black tights and boots. I'm assuming once she gets to her destination the boots will be changed out so I'm not faulting her for that... but what the hell is up with that skirt?

Didn't bright colored stretch-lycra mini-skirts on white chicks go out of stlye after the white Fly Girl on In Living Color stop wearing them?

LK said...

Anon.1:15

Good point. Take note of the UGGs. She may be a tourist or from LA.

Anonymous said...

Prolly --

When and if the time ever comes, we can all announce "I am Bike Snob."

It's kinda like announcing "I am Spartacus." (Or maybe not; that didn't work out too well in the movie.)

In the meantime, we can all do our part by riding by the Apple Store in Soho on alternating mornings to take pictures of bikes.

Anonymous said...

Eric K,

You'd have to look pretty hard to find any iron on a Madone, so I doubt it would be particularly rusty when you dredged it back up. Soggy is more like it.

Anonymous said...

UGG Boots are quite possible the lamest piece of attire in existence.

Anonymous said...

Of course mourning is important but why so publicly? After Kurt Cobain and Princess Diane we've become a world of public mourners and I agree with the Snob, it's kind of creepy. We're all acting.

There was an interesting essay about this in the Atlantic Monthly a couple years ago that focused on this topic. The author argued that we are all turning into method actors. We hear some news and then respond as if we are on television, like we're being filmed.

I don't see this kind of response for "third world" citizens.

Anonymous said...

anon, Mr. Complaint,

I'm pretty sure the "white fly girl from In Living Color" look is due for a retro comeback any day now. This young woman is most likely a savvy fashion pioneer.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 1:26pm,

Indeed. Have you noticed 8-Ball jackets are back in style too?

--BSNYC

Anonymous said...

I disagree. Tomb stones are neat. So are mausoleums. So are ghost bikes, even though there's not a single one in my town.

Le sigh.

erik k said...

hmm... I was hopping the DURA ACE would rust. but maybe not Yah, the carbon fiber would probably end up the texture of a wet noodle,,,

Anonymous said...

pretty lame post bike snob. save it for your personal notebook.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 1:36pm,

This is my personal notebook.

--BSNYC

Anonymous said...

I hereby volunteer to ghost ride a Trek Madone off the Manhattan Bridge in BSNYC's honor.

Heck, why not, I can do it on my way to work.

Getting over the 10 foot high chain link fencing could be a problem.

But I'm willing to ride a memorial Madone for however long it takes me to figure that one out.

BSNYC -- who should I send my measurements to?

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:25,

I've heard that UGGs are actually very warm, which isn't so lame at all in January.

Evershed said...

ghost cars for all those that die in car accidents

Anonymous said...

Pretty lame comment, anonymous 1:36. Save it for your bunnng hole.

Anonymous said...

white needles for junkies!

Andrew said...

"ghost cars for all those that die in car accidents"

haha, nice

Anonymous said...

Would you really want some one to waste a perfrctly good Madone? Wouldn't it be better if someone took the wheels off an improperly locked Langster and ghost rolled them of the bridge?

MINGUStheMECHANIC said...

ghost bikes get attention from people who are not cyclist. Everyday I pass the ghost bike to Eric Ng on the west side and I often see pedestrians reading the sign, who knows maybe they'll check their rear view mirror for a cyclist next time they drive,(idealistic)
Thanks BSNY for bumming me out, on my ride home tonight I'll be looking for the perfect place for a fatal crash one that will yield max. exposure for my ghost bike- like anyhere on Chambers st.

Clayton said...

when i see attractive women in the city wearing ugg boots i cry a little.

ay said...

"Indeed. Have you noticed 8-Ball jackets are back in style too?"

Seriously. I saw five people wearing them within two feet of each other at graham and broadway. pretty amazing.

oh, and i didn't understand what you meant regarding why you dislike ghost bikes:
"they're more a testatment to the maker's vanity than they are to the thing they're supposed to represent."

how do you gather they are a testament to the maker's vanity? for one, all bikes are painted white, lacking any creativity or personalization to the bike. also, the decorations placed on th bike like flowers, candles, etc, are done by multiple people, and has nothing to do with personal vanity, but rather the utilizes the objective symbols of mourning.

so again, please explain what you meant, because i don't get it. it made no sense.

kurtz said...

Can I get this in bronze?

chi-town fuck shit love said...

I don't think I'm the only one who's seen somebody with an elaborate crying Jesus tattoo in memory of a dead relative and thought, "Wow, you were just waiting for someone to die so you could have an excuse to get that."

You're right: you're not the only one.
What I like to do is shoot people so I can get those tattoos . . . and then I call it performance art.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Allen,

Sure, since you asked...

I said "certain memorials" are vain, not necessarily ghost bikes. I think memorial car decorations and tattoos are a good example of this in that they sometimes seem more like opportunities for customization and public display than anything else.

My reasons for disliking ghost bikes in particular are a little different, though I suppose I do think there's a certain vanity in public displays of mourning, and this includes ghost bikes. Then again, I'm highly cynical and compulsively private.

Basically I appreciate ghost bikes but they don't resonate with me in the same way that they do with others for that reason.

Hope that makes sense.

--BSNYC

Anonymous said...

Dear Dr. Johnathan Tuttle:

Is that ghost bike a Ross or a Huffy ? Where is it ? Did you get a serial number ?

Wouldn't a better memorial be to fix up an older bike and donate it to a charity that gives bikes to kids ?
Sister Theresa's orphans would certainly be appreciative.

As for the other "memorial": Were they really there to photgraph the building and/or flowers or were they trying to identify the elusive BSNYC ? Which can't be done if we are all a little bit Tuttle ...

chi-town fuck shit love said...

I'm going to start using clustercoitus. I'll give you credit the first time. I really think that you may have just added a new word to the language, which makes me think of Dan Savage (who coined "santorum"), which brings me to another thought: you should start giving sex-advice to bike-nerds. In fact, I wonder what your sex-life is like.

Anonymous said...

BIKe SNob - That ghost bike picture you show I unfortunately witnessed the accident while walking to work. Everytime I walk by the bike I get chills and remember the poor guy on the ground that cold morning in 2007.

Anonymous said...

Snobby..snobby..you just don't get it, actors are IMPORTANT.
These people do so much for society, they employee hundreds of dope dealers, plastic surgeons, personal trainers, divorce lawyers, personal shoppers, style advisers, the entire loser-based service industry, which now employs 18% of all American labor. The future of America lies in more actors. Who will we look to to replace our 'Von Dutch' caps? How can dressing like white trash ever be fashionable if only white trash does it?

In the amount of air time showing a an apartment window oon Broome, likely 20-30 more 3-8 yr old 'insurgents' have had a body part blown off.

But c'mon, fuck them, they are not important.

Cycle Jerk said...

Could be worse. Your grave site could be the mecca for all overweight, middle aged single guys who "could have gone all state"

http://photo.net/photo/pcd2331/belushi-grave-12.4.jpg

Anonymous said...

For two weeks a year LA transports itself en masse to my town to get drunk and freeze their asses off. This tradition is called "Sundance" and is (I suspect) the only reason UGGs have persevered so well. I am pleased to report that LA has finally shelved their marginally practical boots in favor of heels. Watching PIBs wade through 2 foot snow in tights and heels, then inevitably fall on the ice is much better entertainment for the locals than any overpriced movie and you don't even have to stand in line.

chi-town fuck shit love said...

I wonder if you complain while your having sex.

Anonymous said...

quentin loves caddy said...
which brings me to another thought: you should start giving sex-advice to bike-nerds. In fact, I wonder what your sex-life is like.


I really don't wonder this, nor want to know.

Anonymous said...

quentin loves caddy - It probably involves a nipple wrench and alot of hard riding !

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:55 PM --

I'd like to meet his tailor.

bikesgonewild said...

...as you first mentioned, "there's an undeniable poignancy to the ghost bikes"...

...that poignancy is not lost on me as i find them to be a beautiful tribute to not only the intended person at the site, but as a reminder of all cyclists who've fallen as prey to vehicles...

...fully agree w/ ya on mausoleums , tombstones & whatnot, (please, take my ashes out for an awesome ride, scatter me beside a trail w/ a great view & then drink some good beers & piss into the wind...thats a tribute) but a ghost bike w/ flowers for someone who is run down...touching...

Anonymous said...

Polygraf said:
ghost bikes get attention from people who are not cyclist.

Yes, but I've always wondered what message the non-cycling world takes from ghost-bikes. I'm guessing that most see the ghost bike and conclude "biking is dangerous . . . i don't want to end up as a ghost bike, so no biking for me." So those who want to increase participation in cycling to increase bike safety are probably self-defeating when they push the ghost-bike thing. But this may not be a bad thing, depending on your perspective. More cyclists typically means more bike salmon (which itself begs the question of whether merely putting more traffic-skill-challenged cyclists on the road will actually make cycling safer).

bikesgonewild said...

...forgot to mention that ol' heath ledger was a regular guy who loved cycling...

...his vision of a shop to be named "brokeback mountain bikes" will never be realized...

Anonymous said...

Where I live ... people generally watch out for cyclists; where I work ... people don't stop for cars, trucks, lights, signs or police ... ergo ... location, location, location ! More bike salmon would only help.

Anonymous said...

I'm in favor of using a trebuchet to "ghostride" a flaming Trek Madone off the Manhattan Bridge. Course I'm in favor of using trebuchets for most anything so...

Anonymous said...

GHOSTRIDE THE WHIP!!!!

RIP MAC DRE

MINGUStheMECHANIC said...

People are missing the point about ghost bikes, vast differences than tombs, murals and tattoos. Ghost bikes are installed by an advocacy group which is different than relatives or loved ones propping up a memorial.

the artist at Visual Resistance(ghost bike) and specialized should team up for a "green" brakeless bike that paints itself white on impact.

Anonymous said...

A lot of people commenting on this post have no idea what "ghost riding" is.

Just to clarify:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cGyeYtvb4M

BTW: I've seen you reference ghost riding a bicycle several times (as I've read every single post on this blog). The visual is absolutely hilarious, and has caused milk to become a nasal propellant on more than one occasion.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWy_Hanw_RE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okpa_StzUcQ&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPNJjL9iznY&feature=related

A few more video examples. These never get old.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cGyeYtvb4M

BTW: I've seen you reference ghost riding a bicycle several times (as I've read every single post on this blog). The visual is absolutely hilarious, and has caused milk to become a nasal propellant on more than one occasion.


Well, I am now longer amazed at the genius of the hip hop community. Milk shot right out of my nose.

Weird, I wasn't drinking milk at the time.

Anonymous said...

BSNYC 1:38

Brilliant!!!

or as BGW would say:

...brilliant...

Anonymous said...

Leroy, not if that really is the snob in the cuffed blue jeans.
Anon 12:55 p.m.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:39 --

If that were the case ....

Better stay away from him.

Anonymous said...

Hey Manhattanites, how long B4 Heath Ledger's apartment comes back on the market? Is there a way that I can get dibs, or is that why all of the people are already gathered outside on the sidewalk?

Kevin Jaeger said...

Gosh, a Snob memorial, what to do?

First possibility - a blog page where every weekday at noon a variation of the pomo essay generator (http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/) cranks out some random cycling jargon and commenters race to be first to comment.

Other possibilities pose a challenge. Since we don't know much about his regular cycling habits we don't know what would be the most apt memorial. A mountain bike with its fork embedded three feet up in a tree trunk? A lycra-clad roadie forever suspended in mid air with the front wheel stuck in a grate? A cyclocross rider wrapped as a pretzel around his frame after an unfortunate moment of indecision on whether to dismount or bunny-hop the barrier? Or simply a commuter bike stuck in the grill of an SUV with its blinky still on, the SUV forever driving back and forth between Brooklyn and Manhattan?

Mostly he writes about commuting though, so I think we should commission a sculpture of modern art made exclusively out of reflective tape and blinky lights, and stick it in front of that Apple store in Soho.

Anonymous said...

Someone should paint an empty sleeping pill bottle all white and put it out front of that apartment...

Anonymous said...

BSNYC just 'happened' to be in the area yesterday by Heath Ledgers apartment. Hmmmm, is it he who 'can't quit' him??

J/K, I actually am a little bummed, the guy was a decent actor - wasn't a head case or anything, as far as I know.

Reckon I must get along now...

James and Heather Europe 2013 said...

BSNYC why cain't I quit you?

ruggerknox said...

Never heard of ghost riding and sort of depressed now that I have. Just what level of toopid can the human brain be taken to?? They are all cool hip-hoppers while the "whip" is 3mph or so, but they need to kick it up a notch - 55 mph and out on the hood if they are worth their salt or future greasy spot (on a closed course; don't want these turds taking out any real people). B/c that would shortly be followed by a ghost bike.

Anonymous said...

....My cat's name is Mittens...

bikesgonewild said...

...nah, while it's morbid to speculate on bsnyc going down, hey, shit does happen...so...

...i think a fitting tribute would be a fix gear, aerospoked, flower bedecked, white ghost bike...would it piss him off ??? yah, but just a little & hey, so what...

...rather than a descriptive sign, it would be fitted w/ a small flat computer screen (in the main triangle) w/ constantly revolving copies of his postings...

...as a 'personal' tribute & to ensure it wouldn't be boosted by some girl pants-ed hipster looking for a cheap fix, we all take turns coming to nyc, to watch over it...we kick down, pay a years rent on the snobs apartment & righteously man snob-station...

...after a year, 'freehub' comes in & in a fitting ceremony, trebuchets the flaming bike, screen & ashes off the manhattan bridge, into the east river...

...just a thought...

M. Weed said...

The cruelty of reality: Heath Ledger dies, the Olsen twins survive.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 3:47pm,

The apartment actually belongs to an Olson twin, which implicates Lance Armstrong somehow. Also, a reader spotted yesterday's London Langster on Broome Street today.

The mind boggles.

--BSNYC

Anonymous said...

This is better than Ghost Riding
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJupNDIKkEk

Anonymous said...

I love you and I hope you never die. Ever.

Anonymous said...

I pulled all of the hair off of my taint in a gesture of painful anguish for the life lived and died.

Anonymous said...

The difficult thing for me with 'Ghost Bikes' is that they seem to imply that any death while cycling arose from an act of negligence by a motorist. Certainly, this is often the case--I've come close to being that kind of victim enough times to know that.
However, given how often I see cyclists doing stupid, inconsiderate things traffic-wise makes me resent the implied saintliness of the cyclist. If you are killed in an accident that ten of ten cyclists with brakes on their bikes would have avoided easily, perhaps inquiry is necessary.
Yes, I think motorists need to be more aware of bikers and that cyclists need to be seen as unquestionably entitled to the streets. However, the edgy, 'us against them' message I detect in some bike memorials does not further this goal. Message to motorists: "look out for cyclists, so you won't be quite so horribly subhuman"

On a lighter note (maybe), it seems to me that the favorite form of affection shown in the cycling world is scorn for one another's bikes and riding attire. Why should this end at death?

"A cyclist died here. On a shitty Cannondale."

Anonymous said...

bikesgonewild you are a sycophant. your fawning is distasteful. stop it, and please, for the sake of our collective sanity, stop abusing the ellipsis! really now, aren't you a literate adult?

Geoff said...

I used to ghost ride my old bmx into my swimming pool when I was a kid - even called it ghost riding. Maybe I should sue Mistah F.A.B. for stealing my term, or for stalking little kids.

bikesgonewild said...

...i think i'm more of a sicko-phant but, hey, to each his own...

...& what would lead you to believe i'm a literate 'anything' if you assume i abuse the three dot elliptii ???...

...oh, never mind, i probably don't really care anyway...

broomie said...

Urchin:

"A cyclist died here. On a shitty Cannondale."

Brilliant! makes me wish I had a shitty cannondale. Getting whacked on my Felt or GT lacks the same ring.

Anon 1:25 lamer than a dickie?

First Anon 1:26 who cares about third world citizens? Their movies suck. As long as I'm getting my $15.00 malaysian shirts I'm happy.

commiecanuk, Re: 3-8 y.o. insurgent amputees. Can they still work in a sweatshop? I need some summer threads.

Freehub: Trebuchets are indeed cool. Although I've noticed its a guy thing.

Anonymous said...

So no one rode by the press anarchy at Dean and Hoyt tonight? Reporters opening SUV doors into the bike lane, reporters standing in the bike lane, cars in the bike lane because the reporters were given a pig ol' press pen on the right side of the street. A bunch of losers, indeed.

[Anon 2:23--I believe the ghostbike pictured is the one for Liz Padilla outside Miriam Restaurant in Park Slope.]

bikesgonewild said...

...i can't play on-line for awhile cuz i'm going out for a hike in the cold & hurty, but rest assured i shan't be doing any fawning...

...undoubtedly, i will see deer & other wildlife, but i have no propensity towards bestiality & therefore those little fawns are quite safe beyond my lustful aspersions...

...& while they're cute, they're too damn fast anyway...

Lee said...

Anonymous 1:03 it is THAT cool, yes.
I did it once........

Lee said...

BSNYC 1:28- how 'bout 8ball helmets to go with that?
http://www.nutcasestore.com/8ball.html

Anonymous said...

Hey Prolly, If you magnify that dude in the third photo a quadrillionth times then you might get a reflected image on his glasses of the Snob. Or perhaps a DNA sample of his expelled breath might yield a result, assuming that the Snob is of human origins.
Good to have a hobby tho'

Judi said...

Yea, his death made me sad too. He was a talented actor.

And yea UGGS are horribly ugly, but man they feel good on my feet after a long run. Or when it's snowing and the dogs need a walk.

The Great White Hype said...

Hey, 2 Australian product references in the comments: Ugg boots and Heath Ledger!

One sadly died, and the other fad SHOULD die.

Jim
GWH

Anonymous said...

Urchin,
Before the bike "safety" thought police come to get you for daring to suggest that cyclists themselves might have something to do about bike safety, I'll list the arguements against you (they are THAT predictable)
1. Cyclists shouldn't have to obey traffic laws, which were written for cars anyway.
2. Cars kill more cyclists and pedestrians than cyclists do, therefore we shouldn't talk about things that cyclists do which are dangerous to themselves or anyone else.
3. Any studies done of dangerous behavior leading to cyclists' deaths are tainted and biased: remember, all bike crashes are caused by motorists, all the time, even the ones that don't involve motor vehicles. Even that crash in last weekend's CAT 5 central park race, on a loop closed to cars, was caused by a negligent motorist. So are all the crashes in the 5 boro bike tour, and any bike crash on a rail trail.
4. Bicycles don't pollute, use less space, are quieter, their users more virtuous and saintly; therefore bicyclists are entitled to behave rudely towards others, and behave dangerously in traffic, even if their behavior threatens other cyclists.
5. If a cyclist on a bike with dis-connected brakes gets killed as he runs a red light at night while riding against traffic, listening to music on headphones while holding a 40oz in one hand and his video game in the other, and you point out some of the problematic cycling behaviors, you are blaming the victim.

You are hereby sentenced to 10 years of listening to Paul Steely White demand that the city do more to make the city safer for this poor dead cyclist.

If you are killed in a bike crash during this 10 year sentence, no ghost bike for you.

Anonymous said...

"Ghost Bike Busters"= That pretty much taxes me out.

Anonymous said...

Snob, thought that you were just kidding about the Olsen reference. How random is that? You couldn't make this stuff up.
Anon 3:47

Anonymous said...

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 3:47pm,

The apartment actually belongs to an Olson twin, which implicates Lance Armstrong somehow.

Thus, another French anti-USA conspiracy. Wrongdoing is suspected, 'Francis' is in custody.

Anonymous said...

We have the "White bikes" in Toronto too...unfortunately.

If they make just a few drivers ask why and then think about it then they are worth it.

We also have many of those annoying film shoots that mess up our limited bike lanes just so they can shoot so made for T.V. piece of #$%t

Anonymous said...

"Oh, Heath, I cain't quit you!"
Beautiful!
I think they were waiting for sundown to film this scene.
If you remember the book, or the movie, the othercowboy's might not approve of the gay cowboys---
and don't tell me that NYC doesn't have cowboys, Pace Picante sauce instructed us for years that there apparently are cowboys in New York City!

(I wonder if Heath or Jake would have worn the Championship scarf mentioned in your other post?)

Dan K said...

When I was just a lad, about the age of the kid in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO0iviMGlas that is what ghostriding meant, and it was standard issue on how to park the bike when arriving in a friend's yard, or your own yard, or school, or whatever your destination is. Bonus points if you hit one of your friends with it.

It seems "ghostriding the whip" is another version, for people whose brain functions at the level of a 10 years old boy, but whose body has somehow aged 17+ years and therefore qualifies for a drivers license.

Anonymous said...

Inquiring minds want to know:
1)Is Lance somehow implicated in this?
2)Does Lance need to lawyer up?
3)Is this the start of some bizarre "six degrees of seperation" sort of thing where every seemingly unrelated post actually leads back to Lance Armstrong in some way or another?

Anonymous said...

Post # 99 is incredible!
Yes, we can trace this to Lance:
1) Heath died
2) Boobs showed up to photograph the flowers
3) Bike Snob NYC blogged about it
4) Lance is featured in Bike Snob NYC's post about Tall Bikes
Just Four Degrees baby!
Way to go Bike Snob NYC!

Anonymous said...

His hair, like the Patriots, was perfect.

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