“Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists’ right to safe travel.”
- ghostbikes.org

Since bicycling, for numerous excellent and timely reasons, is becoming a more valued component of urban transportation, tragedies that were once brushed aside as mere accidents are now regarded as emblematic of an infrastructure and culture that needs to change. Ghost bikes are recently becoming more visible in certain cities, and are perhaps making biking more visible.

Since January 2009, we have been collecting footage and interviews for a feature length documentary about the worldwide ghost bikes project. Beginning in our own backyard in New York City, we started with the ambitious goal of photographing each of the over 60 ghost bikes that had been installed in NYC since 2005. Since then we’ve filmed ghost bikes, interviews, and cyclists in over a dozen cities: new york, san francisco, chicago, seattle, portland, philadelphia, pittsburgh, albuquerque, st louis, enid, boston, london, and sao paulo.

acknowledgements

We are grateful and thankful for the wonderful people who have helped this film production. We have slept on their couches and futons and floors, eaten their food, borrowed their bicycles, hitched rides in their cars, taken their advice, and felt a tremendous love and support from all. This could never be a complete listing of their contributions, as every one mentioned has done so much, but here’s a go at it:
Jennifer Buntz and Steve Mathias of the Duke City Wheelmen in Albuquerque: for opening your home to us, building us some bikes that fit, and all your tremendous fundraising work, amongst myriad other support as both cycling advocates and people. Elizabeth Adamczyk at the Chicago Ride of Silence: for the support, the encouragement, and all your hard work each year organizing this memorial ride. Kim Nishimoto and Keiko Miceli in Chicago: for the pancakes, for the love, for the stories, for the understanding, for your strength. Kathy Schubert in Chicago: for the bicycle tour, for the stories, for your support and advice as a film maker and editor, and for the beautiful handmade balaclava. dusty Folwarczny: for loaning us your Snuggie and a couch to curl up on, your amazing raw cacao pudding, and your support and encouragement as a fellow creative. Lauryn McCarthy of San Jose Bike Party and Alex Page in San Francisco: for letting us take over your living room, connecting us with SF cyclists, letting us view the Golden Gate Slide from your rooftop, and the much appreciated homebrew wheat ale. Billy Savage: for your solid advice and enthusiasm as a film maker, for stepping up as Associate Producer, for your tireless promotion, for your photography at InterBike, and the much needed pep talks. Ryan Corley in Seattle: for giving up your entire bedroom to our production office, fixing up a sweet old school cruiser for us, riding with us in San Francisco and Seattle, introducing us to your lovely girlfriend, and being an all around supporter of our efforts. Daniel Goscha, Catherine Miles, and Ryan McWilliams in Oklahoma: for introducing Meaghan to the thrills of biscuiting, for the lovely road trip to Enid, for inviting us into your personal spaces, and for sharing artistic and life experiences that go beyond the scope of this film. Ashley Philips and Ben Philips in Portland: for letting us crash on their respective couches on two separate occasions, taking us on a vegan food cart tour, loaning us a kickass Gary Fisher cruiser, and being great friends. NYC Street Memorial Group: for your patience and support on yet another film project about ghost bikes, and especially to Leah Todd and Ellen Belcher. Mike Fader in San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland: for riding with us, for not dropping our tired asses on the hills, for your helmet cam photography, for taking some weight off, for your positive energies, for taking us on a much needed respite in Forest Park, and for keeping it all in perspective. And finally, to Mike Fader’s mom, who lent Meaghan her bicycle for her first sunset ride over the Golden Gate Bridge.

we’ve been funded on Kickstarter… thank you!

the ghost bikes film project is a privately funded, independently produced, feature-length documentary. part of our production budget was crowdfunded by a community of backers on Kickstarter. thank you for kickstarting our production: cecilia granata, kim cummings, dahlia pena, brad farkas, lewis winter, james keegan, kenton hoppas, Duke City Wheelmen, martin ballantine, jon mackinnon, zoe nolan, adam voiland, matt fenby taylor, edd hames, ben brown, james grieve, allan patrick, wolfgang harry loscher filho, david hurley, bruno canesi morino, arlindo pereira jr., billy savage, marília moschkovich, charlotte, bob tilley, lee hirsch, stan engelbrecht, nic grobler, ho-mui wong, daniel goscha, david haines, parker mullins, cristina olds, sandra chavez, sherry anderson, rodrigo sampaio primo, luis henrique cassis fagundes, matt cleinman, robert mach, renee mach, becky nasadowski, patricia casey, dean truettner, gary gilbert, leeann, steve boehmke, marina massaro, phil conigliaro, thomas pitilli, mike freiheit, dennis ostermaier, andrew lloyd, nicole, kathryn belongia, alessia evi, melissa rosales, bob colover, susan kubota, zanf, karla reinhardt, franca granata, shannon o’rourke, sara, trevor callaghan, jennifer, charles hannon, sylbert joseph, tyler eusden, ben philips, lauryn mcarthy, stephanie ortega

cast and crew credits

appearing in the film:
albuquerque, nm: Jennifer Buntz; Steve Mathias; George Tapley; Craig Degenhardt; Sherry Anderson
chicago, il: Kat Ramsland; Keiko Miceli; Kim Nishimoto; Britta Youngren; Kathy Schubert; Micky Jacko; Elizabeth Adamczyk; Margo O’Hara; Jeffrey Lewie; Leah Pine
enid, ok: Catherine Miles; Daniel Goscha
london, uk: Emma Chesterman; David Pippin; Cristina Schoenborn; Christian Wolmar
new york, ny: Charles Komanoff; Michael Smith; Chien Huey; Jason B. Grant; Leah Todd; Gabriela Manrique; Lizi Rahman
portland, or: Reverand Deacon Kenneth Arnold; Susan Kubota; Steph Routh philadelphia, pa: Steve Bozzone
pittsburgh, pa: Nick Drombosky; Erok from BikePGH
san francisco, ca: Hugh D’Andrade; Jo Slota; Lauryn McCarthy; Ted Weber; Amber Lamason; Matt Dove; Lilli Sandler; Gary Fisher
sao paulo, brazil: Bicicletada members; Daniel Haase; Thiago Bennicchio; Leandro Valverdes; Martin Montigelli; Tinho Costa; Andressa Nozue
seattle, wa: Michael Snyder of SeattleLikesBikes.org; founding members of ghostcycle.org, who shall remain anonymous per their mission statement
st. louis, mo: Patrick van der Tuin; Michael Weiss; Donna Haggerty Payne; Jayme Schultz; Jamie Valencheck Shupp
vancouver, wa: Leah Jackson; Marcus E. L. Griffith

working on the film:
direction and photography: Meaghan Wilbur
brasilian unit director: Andressa Nozue
photography, Sao Paulo: Marcelo Quiñónez
photography, Albuquerque: Marina Massaro, Meaghan Wilbur
photography, Miami: Tony Blazejack
photography, InterBike: Billy Savage
additional photography, NYC: Thomas Perry, Matthew Selkirk, Chris Hamilton, Chien Huey, Marina Massaro
additional photography, San Francisco: Mike Fader
additional photography, Portland: Mike Fader
production assistants: Ryan Corley, Jennifer Buntz, Steve Mathias, Bobbie, Kathy Schubert, Gabriella Davalos, Helena Corvini, Miles Crawford, Derrick Ito, Lee Williams, Gene Malkin
additional funding: Kickstarter.com community
associate producer: William Savage, Thomas Perry