Ghost Bikes
On the junction by scala in Kings Cross, there is a new ghost bike. It is almost unrecognisable because of all the flowers. It’s covered most the way up the lamp post in flowers.
It breaks my heart because whoever lost their life there was obviously so, so loved.
It’s not so hard to take a second look for cyclists before you turn. To have an extra 10 seconds of consideration. I can say this now as a driver as well as a cyclist. Just look. Open your eyes.
And rest in peace, whoever you are.
For Joe, creating the bike was a cathartic experience. The loss of his best friend spurred him into action, and he spoke to a few close friends about a memorial for Dan. “We kind of thought, we need something manly to do; we need to build something to get Dan’s friends together,” explains Joe. “So we thought we should build a bike.”
This battle is about so much more than a few city clerks on Bromptons — or whatever the stereotype of the London cyclist is this week — having to deal with more hostile traffic on the way to the office from Waterloo. Blackfriars represents a battle over the very basics of what sort of a place we want London (and Britain) to be. By driving these great roads and massive junctions through the centre of our cities we are not just sacrificing — sometimes literally — cyclists and mass cycling. We are destroying a chance to step towards a fairer, more pleasant and more liveable city. And with that we are falling behind the progress of the rest of the world and sacrificing London’s future as a competitive world city. And all to avoid inconveniencing the pampered powerful few, and to accommodate a bunch of wasteful business practices.”
ghost bike for Dan Cox, Hackney, London
Ghost bikes make a fitting memorial in London »
Eilidh’s Ghost Bike and the painful truth that still more people are being killed all the time
via @KaraByerswriter
My route from Shoreditch takes me past the junction of Clerkenwell Road and Goswell Road. There, chained to a traffic barrier near a branch of Costa Coffee is a solitary bike, painted white. It marks the spot where Rebecca Goosen lost her life at just 29 when she was crushed in an horrific incident with a cement mixer in April 2009.
Every time I see that white bike, it catches me and I feel I freeze for a moment – it’s a profoundly affecting, understated tribute.
England: Van driver throws juice bottle at cyclist for “not paying road tax”
Ah, the wonders of helmetcams and YouTube. What before were mere stories about drivers throwing objects – and barbed gibes – at cyclists can now be watched by all. A cyclist in Gosport, Hampshire, has uploaded an HD video of a van driver throwing a full bottle of juice at him through the open passenger window. Why? Because of a ‘love tap’ and because the cyclist said “road tax” hadn’t existed since 1937.
…
It’s pretty tough to carry on a debate about road funding while on the move in two separate vehicles, but this cyclist and the van driver managed it. Not that it was a reasoned debate: the van driver swore, and threw a missile. But kudos to the cyclist for getting the right date for the cessation of the Road Fund.
The driver of a grey Vauxhall Vivaro, registration number HN56 HHC, has been reported to the police for his poor driving skills and his anger-management issues (see update below). In the video he can be clearly seen weaving along the road, intent at arguing with the cyclist. In doing so, the driver was partially on the wrong side of the road, endangering traffic coming the opposite way, including an adult cyclist pulling a child on a trailer bike.
….
Shocked at the erratic driving, the cyclist yells “You’re driving!”
The driver shouts back: “You don’t pay road tax though, do you?”
Cyclist: “I do actually mate, but I choose not to use my car.”
Driver: “You should pay f*cking tax…”
[…other obscenities shouted, but not clear on video].Cyclist: “Neither do you. Road tax hasn’t been around since 1937.”
Driver: “You don’t pay road tax on this [van] though do you…”
At this the driver – who has been holding a bottle of orange juice on his steering wheel – swears again, and throws the almost full bottle of juice at the cyclist.
posted Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
London Cycle Hire Stats »
The Telegraph published an interesting graph showing London cycle hire usage plotted against temperature and rainfall. The data suggests usage is related to temps and rainfall (not…
ghost bike
Eilidh Cairns
Pembridge Road and Notting Hill Gate
London, England
Inquest continues in London cycling death from February 2009 »
Lorry kills woman cyclist on road too narrow for it to pass
via London Evening Standard, posted January 22, 2010
A cyclist was crushed to death by a tipper lorry at an accident blackspot where the road was too narrow for the vehicle, an inquest heard today.
TV producer Eilidh Cairns, 30, died from multiple injuries after the rush-hour collision at a pedestrian crossing near Pembridge Road, Notting Hill. The road narrowed to two metres at that point and the truck, driven by Joao Lopes, was 2.5 metres wide, Westminster coroner’s court heard.
As Ms Cairns lay trapped under the wheels at 9am on 5 February last year, she pleaded with a woman to stay with her until the ambulance arrived. Eyewitnesses Melinda Ross told the inquest in a statement: “I heard a loud bang and a scream. I saw a woman trapped under the second wheel of the lorry.
“Her body from the waist down was under the tyre itself. She asked me to help her and not to leave. She found it hard to breathe and was in pain.
“She kept asking where the ambulance was and I stayed with her and tried to keep her calm.” Ms Cairns, of Kentish Town, died in hospital at 10.48.
Anna Morris, for Ms Cairns’s family, said: “The collision investigation report specifically makes observations on the narrowing of the carriageway at this key point.
“It notes that at one point it is two metres wide, while the vehicle in question is 2.5 metres wide.
“It is obvious now from the material obtained there have been other incidents at this crossing. There have been allegations of incidents resulting in serious injury that have been noted by the council.”
Deputy coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe rejected an appeal by the family to adjourn the inquest so Kensington and Chelsea council could see the report.
Ms Cairns’s sister Kate said: “Eilidh always strove to be fit and active and loved to cycle to work. Her daily commute alone was 20 miles a day.”
Mr Lopes faces criminal proceedings in connection with the death. He attended the inquest with a Portuguese interpreter.
The inquest continues.
from Flickr user Mikey B_
ghost bike
St John Street
London, UK
from Flickr user Mikey B_
ghost bike
Lucinda Ferrier
Manor Road and Stamford Hill
London, UK
Second female cyclist in 24 hours killed in collision with HGV in London »
(HGV stands for Heavy Goods Vehicle, and is how the Brits call cargo trucks over 3.5 tons in weight.)
